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08/04/2010
UU Leader Stands For South Antrim
Ulster Unionist boss, Sir Reg Empey will fight the DUP's Rev Willie McCrea for the South Antrim Westminster seat at next month's UK General Election.
Ulster Unionist party members in the North chose Sir Reg as their Parliamentary candidate last night.
Rev McCrea secured the seat for the DUP in 2005 with a majority of 3,448.
The sitting MP has sought reelection this year, and will battle it out with UUP leader Sir Reg, Traditional Unionist Mel Lucas and Alan Lawther of Alliance on 6 May.
Sir Reg will stand under a joint UUP and Conservative banner.
The Tories vetoed the original Unionist South Antrim candidate, Adrian Watson, over views he expressed regarding homosexuals.
Sir Reg, the Stormont Executive's Employment Minister, has previously stood as a Commons candidate in East Belfast.
He currently represents constituents in the east of the city at the Assembly.
Alliance Deputy Leader Naomi Long, an East Belfast MLA, criticised Sir Reg's decision to represent another constituency in the General Election.
She said: "It raises serious questions - will Reg stand down as MLA for East Belfast if elected in South Antrim? Will he, despite his criticism of others for double jobbing, now try to do not just two jobs, but for two different sets of constituents?"
(PR/BMcC)
Ulster Unionist party members in the North chose Sir Reg as their Parliamentary candidate last night.
Rev McCrea secured the seat for the DUP in 2005 with a majority of 3,448.
The sitting MP has sought reelection this year, and will battle it out with UUP leader Sir Reg, Traditional Unionist Mel Lucas and Alan Lawther of Alliance on 6 May.
Sir Reg will stand under a joint UUP and Conservative banner.
The Tories vetoed the original Unionist South Antrim candidate, Adrian Watson, over views he expressed regarding homosexuals.
Sir Reg, the Stormont Executive's Employment Minister, has previously stood as a Commons candidate in East Belfast.
He currently represents constituents in the east of the city at the Assembly.
Alliance Deputy Leader Naomi Long, an East Belfast MLA, criticised Sir Reg's decision to represent another constituency in the General Election.
She said: "It raises serious questions - will Reg stand down as MLA for East Belfast if elected in South Antrim? Will he, despite his criticism of others for double jobbing, now try to do not just two jobs, but for two different sets of constituents?"
(PR/BMcC)
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03 February 2010
No DUP/UUP Merger Says Empey
There is continued political wrangling today in the North. Ulster Unionist Leader Sir Reg Empey has quashed reports his party is set to merge with the DUP. Sir Reg said the UUP remains 100% committed to its electoral pact with the UK Tories.
No DUP/UUP Merger Says Empey
There is continued political wrangling today in the North. Ulster Unionist Leader Sir Reg Empey has quashed reports his party is set to merge with the DUP. Sir Reg said the UUP remains 100% committed to its electoral pact with the UK Tories.
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Ireland WeatherToday:A sunny but frosty start for many. However cloud increases by midday with a few showers reaching the north coast, these mostly light but spreading inland this afternoon. Chilly. Maximum temperature 8 °C.Tonight:A rather cloudy evening with scattered showers. Becoming drier through the night with some good clear spells developing and a patchy frost away from coasts. Minimum temperature 0 °C.
