Allister presents a united front as party plays down Bryson election comments
JIM Allister last night presented a united front with loyalist activist Jamie Bryson after a day of speculation over the make-up of the anti-protocol ticket in East Belfast.
The TUV leader posted on the social media platform X, highlighting that he and Mr Bryson remain united on their views after a day of speculation sparked by Bryson’s comments that he was considering standing against DUP interim leader Gavin Robinson.
Mr Allister would neither confirm nor deny to the Belfast Telegraph Mr Bryson’s suggestion that talks had taken place.
Instead he further highlighted an anti-protocol event both he and Mr Bryson will be attending at Conlig Orange Hall in Bangor on Thursday night.
“I’m looking forward to this rally and our unified message against the iniquitous Protocol,” he wrote.
In Mr Bryson’s last electoral foray, he secured 167 votes in the 2011 council elections in North Down.
Mr Allister has also said he intends “anti-protocol” candidates to stand in all 18 Northern Ireland seats in the election, but refused to say if he himself will be on the ballot paper.
A TUV source said they are “sure” Mr Bryson wouldn’t want to split any “anti-protocol” votes.
And Mr Bryson said that his “position from the outset of all of this” has been aligned with that view.
“In constituencies where those who have endorsed the deal for the DUP are standing, I think that those who are opposed to the deal ought to have the opportunity to vote for somebody opposed to that,” he stated.
“If the TUV and Reform UK have candidates in those constituencies, obviously I would not be seeking to run against them.”
He added that he “differs slightly” to the TUV’S stance, as while they are a separate political party running against the DUP, Mr Bryson himself would not be comfortable running against certain individual representatives, such as “the likes of Carla Lockhart”.
The Upper Bann MP was amongst dissenting voices in the DUP who spoke out against Jeffrey Donaldson’s deal for returning to power-sharing back in January,
“Carla has obviously spoken against the deal in party meetings and spoken against it in Parliament,” Mr Bryson continued.
“Carla did not attack me or anybody else, or our views, [and was] almost in agreement with us. She has continued to use her position in parliament to campaign against it, so I wouldn’t be running against her because of that.
“That is the same type of view I would have had of Sammy Wilson, but Sammy probably ought not to criticise people he was actually in agreement with.”
Mr Bryson’s statements refer to Mr Wilson’s past comments in which the East Antrim MP said that a poisonous atmosphere has been created at meetings opposing his party’s deal on the Irish Sea border, which were mostly led by Mr Bryson and Mr Allister.
Former DUP MLA Jim Wells said that he would vote for Mr Bryson if he was running in his own constituency of South Down.
“Jamie has actually made a very useful contribution to the whole debate about where we’ve been since the protocol,” said Mr Wells.