Tories reject NI poll overtures

Danny Kennedy said the parties could review their relationship

Northern Ireland Conservatives have rejected overtures from the Ulster Unionist Party about reviewing their relationship.

The UUP's deputy leader, Danny Kennedy, said pro-union people could benefit if they looked at the situation in the spring, if devolution was settled.

He warned that Conservatives candidates could see seats going to "Labour-leaning nationalists".

But the NI Conservatives, rejected any "electoral pact".

Jeffrey Peel, Vice Chairman of NI Conservatives, said they looked forward to a healthy election contest in March.

"We regret that the Ulster Unionists seem to want to keep the people of Northern Ireland isolated from real politics," he said.

"In doing so they play into the hands of Irish nationalism and narrow-minded unionist nationalism."

Mr Kennedy had said "the primary objective of unionism is to maintain and promote the union, something that should be common ground with the Tories".

"However, the effect of Tory interventions at election time is to shred the pro-union vote to the benefit of nationalism," he said.

"It would be perverse for the Tories to act in a way that could see a Labour-leaning nationalist MP represent Conservative and unionist voters in Westminster if, for example, the Conservatives were to split the vote in South Belfast."

He said after devolution had been settled unionists collectively could "review a future relationship with the Conservative Party, having regard to the UUP's existing links with the Conservatives in the European Parliament".