DUP 'trusts the electorate' - Forsythe responds to Doug Beattie's 'parochial' voters comments

Diane Forsythe says Mr Beattie is “out of step with grassroots unionist thinking”.

When asked by the BBC’s William Crawley on Monday if now is not the time for the Ulster Unionists to make a breakthrough against the DUP, when would be the time, Doug Beattie said “We also have to remember how sometimes parochial some of our voters are and look, they pick a party and that's who they stick with, or they pick a candidate and that's who they they stick with. You know, so it's changing minds is what has to happen”, he said.

In another part of the interview Mr Crawley asked the UUP boss why his party “never seem to get any kind of credit from unionist voters” for the positions that it takes – even though the DUP sometimes comes around to the position that they originally took, for example, on the Good Friday Agreement.

Doug Beattie said “I think sometimes people don't want to be shown that they were proven wrong. I think sometimes people don't want to be said, actually you have bought back the wrong horse in this race. I don't think people like that. So they kind of stick with where they were and I think that's a difficult thing to change”.

Responding to the comments, DUP South Down Candidate Diane Forsythe said: “Doug might believe that voters are parochial, but the DUP knows that voters are much more astute, and can see the big picture at this election.

“The public knows that this election is about electing a strong, united voice for Northern Ireland in Westminster. They know that their vote can elect MPs with influence to effect real change that delivers on issues that matter, whether that be funding for public services, growing our economy or securing investment in local communities.

“In this election the choice is clear. It is between those with a record of standing up for Northern Ireland and those strong on the Union, or those who won’t take their seats and have no influence, those who will be lone voices or those who will talk Northern Ireland down and seek to destabilise our constitutional position and political process.

“Once again we see Doug’s ambivalence towards the mood within unionism. He called it wrong on co-operation, and these comments once again show someone out of step with grassroots unionist thinking. We trust the electorate to choose wisely at this election, even if Doug does not.”

In the interview Doug Beattie also said his party had made all of the right calls on Brexit, for example, and that the DUP had moved onto Ulster Unionist ground.

A smiling Mr Beattie told the BBC’s Talkback programme: “We have the DUP now literally taking our slogan of ‘Making Northern Ireland Work’ and making it their slogan… that’s fine I don’t have a problem with that, as long as we make Northern Ireland work”.

The full list of candidates running in the South Down constituency are:

Democratic Unionist Party, Diane Forsythe

Sinn Fein, Chris Hazzard

Aontú, Rosemary McGlone

Social Democratic & Labour Party, Colin McGrath

Alliance Party, Andrew McMurray

Ulster Unionist Party, Michael O'Loan

Green, Declan Walsh

Traditional Unionist Voice, Jim Wells

Conservative, Hannah Westropp