Philosophical yet troubled

Philosophical yet troubled

13 May 2015

THE DUP’s Jim Wells found himself with the second highest Unionist vote in South Down (3,486), behind the Ulster Unionist’s Harold McKee (3,964).

It’s a slight from 2010 when Mr Wells, with his 3,645 votes, pipped the UUP’s John McCallister to the top spot. 

He is unlikely to have been affected too much on the ground by the controversy surrounding his remarks on gay marriage but may have lost some voters to UKIP’s Henry Reilly who polled 3,044.

Clearly strained by recent events, which saw him resigning his post as Health Minister, Mr Wells attempted an election speech of good humour when he took to the podium.

He thanked election staff for a “record turnaround” in the South Down count, saying some used to the “marathon 27 hour” sessions were left feeling a little cheated.

After congratulating Miss Ritchie on her result, which he said was an endorsement of her hard work over the past five years, Mr Wells said: “It was an eventful election for me personally. But certainly I am pleased that the DUP proportional vote has held firm in very difficult circumstances and I am also pleased that the overall unionist vote has increased since the last election.

“This bodes well for the next election, which is the most representative of the people of South Down, the Assembly election.”

Speaking afterwards, Mr Wells, clearly concerned about his wife’s current serious condition in hospital, said he was continuing to find recent events “very difficult”.

He acknowledged his recent remarks about people in gay marriages being unsuitable for the bringing up children were controversial but reiterated that he was misquoted on the most serious aspect of his remarks linked to abuse and neglect. He said his words were taken out of context in the social media storm which followed, with a 30 second video clip not including his immediate clarification.

Mr Wells said he was pleased the Down Recorder had published the full tran of what he said at the Hustings event.

With little opportunity to canvass, Mr Wells, who was replaced by Simon Hamilton as Heath 

Minister on Monday, said he was happy the DUP vote had held up. He said there were safe unionist seats in the Assembly on the cards and suggested the UKIP vote had peaked.

“It was an extremely low-key campaign because of personal circumstances,” said Mr Wells.