Coming just four days after he lost an MLA, Ryan McCready’s decision to join the Ulster Unionists is the last thing Sir Jeffrey Donaldson needs.
iven that the Derry councillor had supported him for the party leadership, it seemed unthinkable he wouldn’t return to the fold when the Lagan Valley MP took over.
A photograph in the Maiden City welcoming back the highly decorated young veteran would have symbolised that Sir Jeffrey was rapidly reversing the party’s fortunes. Instead, it’s Doug Beattie posing with his new recruit on the banks of the Foyle.
That McCready chose a fresh political home is a sign the DUP’s difficulties continue despite the end of Edwin Poots’ leadership. It’s also a significant boost for Beattie who, until now, hadn’t landed any defectors from his troubled rival.
Neither Alex Easton’s departure, nor McCready’s, is Sir Jeffrey’s fault. The problems that led to them leaving were created long before last Wednesday when he took over at the helm. Indeed had Poots not spectacularly miscalculated and thrown away his leadership, Sir Jeffrey himself may not have remained in the party.
There was a real possibility he would have left with others and formed an independent unionist group that eventually would have merged with the UUP. It could easily have been the Lagan Valley MP standing for photos beside Beattie.
The new DUP leader has performed well since he assumed the leadership. His keynote address last Thursday was pitch perfect. Presentation-wise, it’s a big improvement on his predecessor. His apology to the public for all the in-fighting was well-judged. He even said sorry to Poots for walking out before he had made his maiden speech as leader. It was a simple but powerful gesture.
Sir Jeffrey was unanimously backed at last week’s Executive meeting, and Poots joined the party officer team. As vice-chair, he’s on his way to becoming a DUP grandee and succeeding Lord Morrow as chair when he retires.
But is healing genuinely happening or is this just papering over the cracks? Only time will tell. Easton’s departure has spooked the party who fear it will encourage others.
After McCready’s decision, Sir Jeffrey now needs to see the rapid return of the two Newry, Mourne and Down DUP councillors who resigned last month — Kathryn Owen and Glyn Hanna — along with former South Down Westminster candidate Diane Forsythe.
The women were seen as future Stormont stars in what is an incredibly weak DUP MLA team.
Councillor McCready cited the actions of both Ian Paisley and Jim Wells as contributing to his decision not to return to the party. All eyes will be on how Sir Jeffrey handles both men as he moves forward. Some believe he must take decisive action.
Poots remaining as DUP leader would have been better for the UUP with the contrast between the two parties stark. Opinion polls have shown that Sir Jeffrey is much more appealing to unionist voters than his predecessor.
Yet many observers suspect that, whatever his initial intentions to reform and modernise, the new DUP leader will be held back by still powerful fundamentalist forces in his party. He has already been accused of backtracking on his progressive response to the LGBTQ community last week.
Naomi Long said he was now effectively backing Mr Wells’ demand that the gay community apologise for their behaviour. It was a case of “new leader, same old DUP”, she claimed.
It will be very hard for Sir Jeffrey to alter that image without alienating his party’s right wing and jettisoning support to Jim Allister’s TUV. Just like Arlene Foster, it will be a balancing act in which he risks upsetting everybody and pleasing no-one.
By contrast, Beattie is charting a clear course and is preparing to “shrink to grow”. The recruitment of Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston, along with McCready, shows there is a new energy about the UUP.
But Beattie needs further DUP defections and to attract fresh outside talent to the party. His own Stormont team is in dire need of renewal and replenishment. He must make gains in May’s election and prove the ‘Beattie bounce’ is not a mere media phenomenon.
McCready will surely be his new party’s Foyle Assembly candidate. There is only one unionist seat in the constituency, and even that could be at risk. In 2017, sitting DUP MLA Gary Middleton outpolled the UUP candidate three-to-one so McCready will have it all to do in 10 months’ time.
The last former DUP councillor to join the Ulster Unionists was whistleblower Jenny Palmer six years ago. She had left her old party following the Red Sky scandal, alleging bullying. She won an Assembly seat for the UUP in 2016, but lost it the following year.
Yet there is a much more upbeat vibe about the party now than there was back then. Beattie has the benefit of unity in the ranks. While his party’s fortunes are linked with how Donaldson performs over coming months, the UUP leader is not a passive politician. He will want to be out there setting his own agenda, rather than just responding to the DUP’s.
