Rebellion on the Gold Coast

Robin Sheeran
The Politics Show Northern Ireland

The Westminster expenses firestorm has had the unexpected effect of smoking out the UUP's only MP to reveal her objections to the party's alliance with David Cameron's Conservatives.

North Down is referred to as the 'Gold Coast'

On Wednesday 13 May Lady Hermon announced she would not be standing in the next general election under the Conservative Party banner.

Her rejection of the UUP/Tory pact could hardly have come at a worse time for party leader Sir Reg Empey.

When the Ulster Unionist Party selected Sylvia Hermon to stand in North Down in the 2001 general election she seemed the ideal candidate.

And so she proved, seeing off their bête noir, the UK Unionist incumbent, Bob McCartney.

Low profile

Since then the North Down MP has flown low under the media radar.

Lady Hermon: kept under media radar

Despite being re-elected in 2005 as the sole UUP Member of Parliament, she prefers to communicate with her constituents through the local newspaper.

Her displeasure with the Conservative hook-up only emerged during a BBC interview when she apologised for accidentally claiming £2,700 in rent for her London flat.

Yvette Shapiro visits North Down on the Politics Show Northern Ireland to gauge local views on Lady Hermon, her expenses claims and her rejection of the link with the Conservatives.

Lady Hermon 'anger'

Sources close to Lady Hermon say she is particularly angry about the way the Empey-Cameron pact was sealed.

They say she was not consulted and learned of the impending marriage through a newspaper article.

North Down may be derisively referred to as the Gold Coast.

Bangor: Marina ...and deprivation

It may have some of the most expensive houses in Northern Ireland, but it is also the setting for deprived areas such as the Kilcooley estate in Bangor.

As Yvette discovers, Sylvia Hermon's titled status has not prevented her building a support base there.

Disappointing

Down the road in middle-class Ballyholme Colin Breen is chair of the local branch of the UUP.

Mr Breen says it is disappointing that Lady Hermon cannot go along with the majority view in the party.

"It comes as no surprise to me that she has taken that stance," he commented.

"It has always been well-known that she has always tended in votes at Westminster to side with the Labour Party."

In 2005 Sylvia Hermon retained North Down with just over 50% of the vote against the DUP's 35%.

Were she to stand as an independent it could blow the field wide open in the next Westminster election.

The Politics Show for the Northern Ireland, with Jon Sopel and Jim Fitzpatrick on Sunday at 12:00 on BBC One.

You get a second chance to see the programme again that night, at 22:55 GMT on BBC One.

Let us know what you think.

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