Northern Ireland gears up for election
The British general election campaign in Northern Ireland will change up a gear today as parties begin to nominate candidates for the North's 18 Westminster constituencies.
Candidates have until next Tuesday to hand in nomination papers, but already the signs are that the battles within unionism and nationalism will be hard fought in several constituencies.
The Rev Ian Paisley’s Democratic Unionists currently have six seats, one of which was gained through the defection of Jeffrey Donaldson from the Ulster Unionists.
The UUP has five, Sinn Féin four and the nationalist SDLP three.
The DUP is looking for gains in the Ulster Unionist strongholds of East Antrim, Upper Bann, South Antrim, South Belfast and North Down.
Sinn Féin believes it will capture SDLP seats in Newry and Armagh, and possibly Foyle, and can run the party close in South Down.
Mark Durkan’s SDLP is hoping to pick up a seat in South Belfast if there is an even split in the unionist vote.
Challengers in two key battlegrounds, Foyle and Upper Bann, will hand in their nomination papers today.
Sinn Féin general secretary Mitchel McLaughlin will lodge his papers in Derry as the party bids to take former SDLP leader John Hume’s seat in Foyle following his retirement.
SDLP leader Mark Durkan has been chosen to defend his mentor’s seat.
At this stage in the campaign, both sides insist the race is too close to call.
Democratic Unionist Assembly member David Simpson will join Lagan Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson and Assembly colleagues, Paul Berry and Jim Wells in Banbridge, Co Down, to hand in their papers.
Mr Simpson’s election team is confident he can end Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble’s career by capturing the Upper Bann seat.
This will be Jeffrey Donaldson’s first election for the DUP since defecting from the UUP last year.
The Lagan Valley MP quit the Ulster Unionists after the party lost its place as the main unionist party in the 2003 Assembly Elections.
Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams and his party’s other Belfast candidates, Gerry Kelly, Alex Maskey and Deborah Devenny were also expected to nominate today.
The SDLP will formally launch its local government election campaign in Belfast.
Senior DUP leaders will also criticise British government plans to introduce water charges in Northern Ireland during the launch of a special campaign document.
