Was the New Force with them?

My attention now turns to the UUP, now UCUNF (Ulster Conservative and Unionist - New Force). The party surprised many in this election by maintaining the vote Jim Nicholson won for the UUP back in 2004. He in actual fact built on it, gaining 0.5%. This however cannot be described as a major breakthrough for the party. It can however breathe a sigh of relief. The party can relax in a sense that this is there low point, this is their base. What they have to do now is build on it.

Despite this Nicholson for the first time came second. Many thought, including many TUV, that he would lose his seat. However he proved the commentators and political thinkers wrong. Nicholson held his seat and came in second, after the DUP. His success was reminisant of the Dromore by-election, where Jim Allister's TUV saw the UUP candidate Carole Black win the seat back for the UUP in transfers.

The party have not made a come back. They have leveled their vote, steadied the ship but are benefiting from the formidable force that is Jim Allister. The party have to be careful who they align themselves with. They hate the DUP, their reasons are obvious and that is what unites them with Allister. They have appeared look-warm to devolution. However take part in its day-to-day operation. Indeed they are the people who setup the whole project with the Belfast Agreement. What the party needs to decided is who they represent? The Allister viewpoint, or the DUP position - which is to make devolution work under the terms of the St. Andrew's/Belfast Agreement.

Despite the party now aligned with the Conservatives they seem lost. They have formed an opposition, but it doesn't beat Allister's New Force. If the Conservatives get into government in GB at the next General election the Tories seriousness of such an alliance will be put to the test. What the UUP need to do is worry about themselves and this little place called Ulster.

So ...

The election is over and the votes are counted. Yesterdays outcome was a shocker for the DUP, lead party of Unionism since the Assembly election of 2003. The party has grown in the polls since then at every local and national election. Furthermore this result was a shock for the party as it has repeatedly topped the poll in every European election since 1979, with former leader Dr Paisley on the ballot paper (until 2004 where Jim Allister, now arch nemisis, took over).

The DUP as the party of Unionism has some very important issues to address if it is to retain and regain its position in the polls. We are faced with an election within the next year, certainly by June next year. That's one year for the party to get pull its self together and prepared to face the electorate.

The party had a difficult few weeks leading up to polling day as the Robinson's and Dodd's families were caught up in the headlines. Jim Allister ran a very good campaign with a clear message. He was the real opposition to the DUP and Unionism at Stormont. He broke with the party over going into government with Sinn Fein, but he campaigned on family dynasties, highlighted by the media but jumped upon by Allister, expense scandals - for example the Robinson's thirty-thousand pound dinner bill and the whole issue of education and the future of the 11-plus - which is a mess. However the bottom line was his message was clear, just like in 2003, 2004 and 2005. In those elections the DUP had a clear message which was for a 'fair deal' and leading Unionism. A lot of people picked this up as 'no terrorists in government', which is fair enough, then left the party following May 2007 with Allister. This was and was not the party position. They now say that Sinn Fein are there not because of the DUP, but because of the nationalist electorate - which is true, Sinn Fein replaced the SDLP as the lead nationalist party in 2003, the same time the DUP replaced the UUP. However since 2003, the party has worked towards a 'fair deal' for Unionists. They didn't say that this didn't include working with Sinn Fein.

Various issues contributed to the DUP's loses. The party now needs to rebuild and reconnect with its grassroots. That involves going onto the streets, into the churches, into the Orange Halls and into the shops and telling people what the party stands for today, and why it has taken that stance. Why and how are they relevant to the Unionist poplation of Northern Ireland?

For most of the DUP's history they were in the opposition. They sought to stop Terrance O'Neill, Brian Faulkner and David Trimble. Since 2003 they have left that seen and taken up a new mantle as of March 2007. They are now the party of government, sitting at the Executive table with Ulster's enemy. But why, they need to tell people why and what they hope to achive by this rather than saying: its either this or Dublin rule.

The second point which stems from this is that they have left a vacuum in the area of protest politics. Jim Allister has now officially taken up that mantle and succeeded. There will always be space from someone there. The DUP carried these members to 2007, but when Allister split he took a huge chuck of those people with him. Not all of these people will be able to be won back. They represent the emotional side of Unionism: Ulster is my homeland and it is in my heart.

The DUP needs to clean up its message. What does the party stand for in 2009?

My next articles will focus on the UUP, now UCUNF, Jim Allister - the Future of the TUV and Unionism in general.