The UUP's Cultural Divide
When Sir Reg Empey announced his departure as UUP leader, it might have been assumed that the main battleground for those seeking his job would have been political - namely their views on unionist unity and the Conservative link. As I noted last month, the gap between Basil McCrea and Tom Elliott on these points seems to have closed after Mr Elliot's declaration of opposition to a single unionist party and criticism of the "UCUNF brand".
But now the divide between the two men on social and cultural matters is coming to the fore. In a ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio Foyle debate the leadership contenders touched on their attitude to reaching out to Catholics. Both sounded positive but Mr McCrea talked about actions speaking louder than words and his readiness to attend other churches and to welcome visits by church leaders.
Now Tom Elliott says he's not interested in attending either gay pride events or GAA matches. Although he told the Nolan show that he wasn't ruling out the possibility forever, his stance contrasted strongly with that of Basil McCrea who confirmed that he had and would attend both such events.
Ironically Mr Elliott's comments came into the public eye off the back of a blog entry from his supporter Mike Nesbitt Alliance's Gerry Lynch has pounced on the comments, claiming Mr Elliott is Until now Mr Elliott has looked to be the front runner, but it will be interesting to see what impact, if any, his social, cultural and moral views have on his contest with Mr McCrea.
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