Forsythe victorious in battle with Poots for seat

2 February 2022

THE DUP Executive Committee will next week decide who the party’s South Down candidate will be at the Assembly election in May.

Following the deselection of Jim Wells — who has held the seat for almost 25 years — a decision was taken by senior party officers last Friday evening to nominate Diane Forsythe to contest the seat and not current Lagan Valley MLA Edwin Poots who had hoped to secure the nomination.

It is understood that Ms Forsythe (38), a law and accountancy graduate, comfortably won the nomination, but Mr Wells believes that the decision can be overturned by the party’s 130-member Executive Committee when it meets next week.

He is convinced Mr Poots will be the name on the ballot paper when voters go to the polls in just over three months’ time.

Ms Forsythe contested the 2017 Westminster election, securing 8,867 votes and increasing the DUP vote in South Down by just over nine per cent.

The mother of three young children, who has not yet made any public comment on her nomination, quit the DUP in 2020 amid bullying and sexism claims, stating that she had been subjected to unacceptable remarks while in the party.

Her father Glyn Hanna, who is a Newry, Mourne and Down councillor, and Rowallane councillor Kathryn Owen also quit the party when Mr Poots became leader — a position he held for just three weeks. All three subsequently returned to the party when Sir Jeffrey Donaldson became leader.

The battle for the nomination in South Down and the deselection of Jim Wells has dominated the headlines over the past number of days and thrust the constituency into the full glare of the media spotlight.

And with 10 days to go until the DUP Executive Committee meets, all eyes are on who will get the final nod. The Forsythe camp is confident that their candidate will have her nomination ratified, with Mr Wells, who turns 65 in April, insisting that nothing is a done deal yet.

During a series of media interviews on Monday, Mr Wells argued that the DUP could not afford to have a major election “without someone of the experience of Edwin Poots” and admitted that he asked his friend to put his name forward for South Down.

The outgoing MLA, who is contemplating what the future holds for him, said he was “very sad and shocked” that the party decided that he would not be the candidate for South Down on May 5.

“The decision came suddenly and I have to say it was a hurtful experience,” he told reporters, insisting that the DUP’s South Down constituency association was “100% behind him” and the decision to deselect him was taken by the party centrally.

Confirming that he approached Mr Poots when it became apparent that he was not going to get the nomination, Mr Wells explained that he was looking for someone who had the experience and the knowledge to represent South Down.

“Edwin readily agreed to put his name forward and I had assumed that someone of his vast experience would have been selected, but that did not happen,” he continued.

“I am absolutely flabbergasted that our most experienced minister who has held four positions in the Executive, been involved in the party for 35 years and a former leader and vice-chairman, was was not nominated to succeed me in South Down. I was absolutely stunned, but it is not a foregone conclusion because the final decision has not yet been made.”

Mr Wells, who topped the poll at the 2001 Assembly election, insisted that no one has yet been selected to contest the Assembly election for the DUP and that candidates will only be endorsed when the party Executive meets.

He said the membership will have the final say on whether or not Mr Poots is on the ballot paper and that nothing was a foregone conclusion.

“I think Edwin has a lot of support within that body and believe that he could still be the candidate for South Down and he will be there with my blessing and support. The last time I spoke to Edwin he most definitely still wants to be the candidate,” he explained.

“Party officers make a recommendation to the Central Executive and they are the final arbitrator in this. They are the ones who make the decision with its 130 members drawn from all 18 constituencies.

“They have always had the final say. Party officers make the recommendations and the vast majority will be accepted, but we think in this case [South Down] that there will definitely be a contest and Edwin will win it.”

Mr Wells believes there are still a lot of people in the DUP who hold the same core values as him and Mr Poots “and they need to have a voice and need to be represented”. He is also hopeful that the former party leader and current agriculture minister can continue the good work that he has been doing.

Vehemently rejecting suggestions that the party’s South Down Association is split on who should be the candidate, Mr Wells said he had its full backing and described claims of a split as a “myth”. He said there was never a split by candidature with those who resigned from the Association having a different view, with those who remain still supporting him.

Mr Wells said was fully behind Mr Poots, hinting that he had not made any decision on whether to stand as an Independent if Mr Poots failed to secure the support of the party Executive.

Mr Wells added: “I am absolutely confident that I will be knocking the doors for the most experienced Executive member we have, Edwin Poots. I believe there is a large number of people who support him and want him to be on that ballot paper on May 5. We cannot fight an election without him.

“We cannot have him on the sidelines and don’t believe that that is an option. We have to have experience in this election campaign.”

After announcing Ms Forsythe had been selected last Friday night, the DUP confirmed that the party was continuing with its selection processes and all selected candidates were subject to ratification by the party Executive.

The meeting at DUP headquarters was attended by a number of party representatives, including leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, East Belfast MP Gavin Robinson and East Londonderry MP Gregory Campbell.

Tweets by @TheDownRecorder