Will UUP be left out in the cold?
Thursday, 12 June 2008
Adrian Watson: does not want to relinquish the chains of office.
MOMENTUM appears to be growing behind a cross-party plan to drag the Ulster Unionists 'kicking and screaming' from the top jobs in Antrim Council for the first time since the reorganisation of Local Government in 1973.
Such a deft political manoeuvre would have been unimaginable 10 years ago when the UUP held the reins of power in an iron grip with no fewer than nine representatives in the chamber.
Back then the DUP, who languished some way behind with a three-strong team, seemed content enough in the shadow of the party which had always been stubbornly in the driving seat - happily accepting any crumbs thrown from the top table.
Things have changed, however, and council insiders are predicting that this Thursday the UUP are set to get a 'long overdue lesson in humility' by a coalition of their peers whose influence has grown as quickly as the once dominant Unionist Party's ebbed away.
The last Council election in 2005 was disastrous for Empey's army, with traditional unionist strongholds over-run across the province - and Antrim was no exception.
