Responding to comments at this morning’s DUP manifesto launch about the First Minister’s post South Antrim TUV candidate Richard Cairns said:
“A number of years ago TUV produced a fact sheet outlining how Martin McGuinness could become First Minister.
“As we pointed out, under the Belfast Agreement Unionists could insist on the First Minister coming from the biggest tradition.
“The legislation flowing from St Andrews changed this and provided that instead the First Minister would come from the biggest party, thus opening the door to a Sinn Fein First Minister being foisted on a Unionist majority in the Assembly.
“The DUP’s fingerprints are all over this legislative change because they thought it would be terribly clever to have the threat of a Sinn Fein First Minister as a means of conning unionists into voting DUP. The real test of the DUP’s attitude to this dastardly change is found in what they said and did when Parliament debated the Bill.
“There was no objection from any DUP MP in the Commons.
“When the Bill went to the House of Lords on 22nd November 2006 a UUP amendment to remove the provision whereby the First Minister would come from the biggest party was debated and voted upon. Whereas two DUP peers, Lords Morrow and Browne voted in favour of the amendment, when that vote was lost and the original and objectionable Clause 8 was voted upon, the DUP peers voted in favour of it, while UUP peers voted against.
“Thus, in the House of Lords DUP peers actually voted in favour of the Clause in the Bill which permits Martin McGuinness to become First Minister!
“It is therefore hypocrisy at its worst to say that there will be “chaos” if the DUP isn’t the biggest party after the election.
“There are two grounds for saying this. Firstly, wasn’t the DUP the largest party in the last Assembly and yet there was chaos over the budget and were we not on the verge of collapse for months?
“And secondly, the possibility of McMGuinness as First Minister only arose because of the actions of the DUP during St Andrews!”