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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Ian Paisley to stand down as MP | Ian Paisley to stand down as MP |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| DUP North Antrim MP Ian Paisley has told a Ballymena newspaper he will not be standing in the general election. | DUP North Antrim MP Ian Paisley has told a Ballymena newspaper he will not be standing in the general election. |
| Mr Paisley, 83, has held the seat since 1970. It is thought that his son Ian Paisley Jr will face TUV leader Jim Allister in the constituency. | Mr Paisley, 83, has held the seat since 1970. It is thought that his son Ian Paisley Jr will face TUV leader Jim Allister in the constituency. |
| At the last general election in 2005, Mr Paisley polled 25,156 votes, giving him a majority of nearly 18,000. | At the last general election in 2005, Mr Paisley polled 25,156 votes, giving him a majority of nearly 18,000. |
| Mr Paisley was widely expected to retire as an MP after stepping down as DUP leader in 2008. | Mr Paisley was widely expected to retire as an MP after stepping down as DUP leader in 2008. |
| After the anti-powersharing TUV took almost 70,000 votes from the DUP at last year's European election, Mr Paisley signalled he was considering standing for re-election in North Antrim. | |
| In recent interviews, he had refused to be drawn on whether he would stand again, but confirmed his decision to the Ballymena Guardian on Tuesday. | |
| Ian Paisley Jr said he did not want to pre-empt the DUP's selection meeting on Monday by saying he expected to be nominated. | |
| "This is the end of a significant era in British politics and Ian Paisley has left giant footsteps to fill," he said. | |
| Mr Paisley said his hardline former party colleague Jim Allister, the TUV leader who opposes power-sharing with Sinn Fein, was not a good alternative for voters. | |
| "They certainly have a rant, they certainly have a person consumed by their own anger, hypocrisy and conceitedness and a person without a plan," he said. | |
| "He offers nothing - his strategy is destroy the assembly and go back to direct rule - we had a generation of direct rule and that failed." |