Nigel Farage endorsing DUP candidates Ian Paisley and Sammy Wilson ‘on personal basis’

ireland
Nigel Farage Endorsing Dup Candidates Ian Paisley And Sammy Wilson ‘On Personal Basis’
The Reform UK leader said his endorsement of the two DUP candidates is a ‘personal thing not a party thing’. Photo: PA
Share this article

By Claudia Savage and Rebecca Black, PA

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has said he endorsed DUP candidates Ian Paisley and Sammy Wilson “on a personal basis” and not in his capacity as party leader.

Mr Farage’s endorsement sparked confusion last week because of Reform UK’s alliance with Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV), a rival unionist party to the DUP in Northern Ireland.

Advertisement

Reform UK’s co-deputy leader Ben Habib later insisted his party unequivocally backs TUV leader Jim Allister in the UK general election.

Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister during the launch of the party's candidates for the Westminster elections at the Dunadry Hotel in Antrim in May
Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister during the launch of the party’s candidates for the Westminster elections at the Dunadry Hotel in Antrim in May (Liam McBurney/PA)

Mr Allister is running as a candidate in North Antrim, where Mr Paisley is also running.

Advertisement

Mr Wilson is running in the East Antrim constituency, where the TUV candidate is Matthew Warwick.

The TUV formed an electoral alliance with Reform UK ahead of July’s poll and is standing in 14 constituencies in Northern Ireland.

Reform’s pact with the TUV was announced by the party’s then-leader Richard Tice in March this year.

While it will only be the TUV name on the ballot paper on July 4th, the parties said they would promote a joint message on the campaign trail.

Advertisement

On Monday, Mr Farage told the PA news agency that he is endorsing Mr Paisley and Mr Wilson on a personal basis.

Asked if he would be endorsing DUP leader Gavin Robinson, Mr Farage said: “[Mr Paisley and Mr Wilson] are two friends of mine who I’ve endorsed previously, that’s a personal thing not a party thing.”

Advertisement

 

He added: “Ian Paisley, Sammy Wilson are friends of mine.

“I came into this party as leader very recently, after a different arrangement had been done.

“I didn’t do it as leader of Reform UK, I did it on a personal basis.”

Advertisement

Read More

Message submitting... Thank you for waiting.

Want us to email you top stories each lunch time?

Download our Apps
© BreakingNews.ie 2024, developed by Square1 and powered by PublisherPlus.com