Hi °C | Lo °C 
It could be a case of ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ as Freddie Mercury tribute artist Harry Hamilton, better known as Flash Harry, takes the first tentative step tonight on the rocky road to Westminster.
Hamilton — he’s the one on the right — believes he has the political ‘X’ factor to land the Ulster Unionist Party nomination for Upper Bann and go on to fill the seat formerly occupied by former first minister David Trimble.
The Hamilton camp followers are today finetuning their arrangements with political pundits predicting a Flash Harry victory as the Upper Bann UUP Association choose their candidate for the House of Commons dog-fight in Lurgan.
Hamilton (44), who insists he is no political Flash in the pan, will be taking on the experienced Arnold Hatch, a former Craigavon mayor, and outsider Robert Oliver, a Portadown businessman, for the UUP ticket. Harry, who has been a UUP member since 1995, is the Upper Bann secretary and election officer and has ‘One Vision’ which is Westminster.
That ‘Killer Queen’ Daphne Trimble was considering putting her name forward for Upper Bann but decided ‘I Want to Break Free’ from husband Lord Trimble of Lisnagarvey's political shadow and will plump instead for the Lagan Valley nomination now that Basil McCrea has pulled out of that contest. Another one bites the dust.
All of which could see the mercurial Hamilton move into the number one spot.
If he makes it, the only element that could stop him now would be the intervention of the Conservatives who will have a say in the final choice and could parachute in a candidate of their own under the UUP-Tory agreement.
But that is unlikely. Upper Bann is not fertile Conservative soil.
The last time they tried for Westminster there was in 1990 when Colette Jones managed just 1,038 votes which also happened to be David Trimble’s UUP debut in Upper Bann.
He swept home with 20,547 votes.
Can anyone stop Flash Harry? “I put my name forward because I believe I can win. It’s time to forget the old orange and green argument and get on with fighting the recession,” he said.
Maybe he can work ‘A Kind of Magic’. Or to use a line from the Queen smash hit ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, he may be “caught in a landslide”.
--
Under Pressure — This Queen/David Bowie classic could be the backing track to Gordon Brown's life.
Show Must Go On — A duet for Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness for those difficult times at Stormont?
Don't Stop Me Now — David Cameron could belt this out as he proceeds towards 10 Downing Street
Hammer to Fall — Stormont Finance Minister Sammy Wilson contemplates the next spending cuts target
I Want to Break Free — Mark Durkan calls it a day as SDLP leader
You're My Best Friend — Ian Paisley Jnr singing into the mirror?
It's a Hard Life — Bertie Ahern’s fall from power
