Frazer may contest Mid-Ulster seat

Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness announced in June that he was stepping down after 15 years in line with his party’s decision to end “double jobbing”.

The Deputy First Minister also said he wanted to concentrate more on his Stormont work.

Mr Frazer told the MAIL that he had been approached by several people in the Mid-Ulster area and asked to stand in the by-election.

Unionist assembly members Ian McCrea (DUP) and Sandra Overend (UUP) recently indicated that they were willing to discuss fielding a joint candidate.

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They claimed that good representation at Westminster level for the people of Mid-Ulster was long overdue.

Mr Frazer, a founder of Families Acting For Innocent Victims (FAIR), said that if he decided to run it would be to give a voice to people who are not happy with the current Unionist representatives. 

“I have taken soundings in different walks of life and people are not happy,” he said.

“The argument that to run would let Sinn Fein in does not apply (in Mid-Ulster). I would give people who have stopped voting, and many tell me that they have, an opportunity to come out and vote for me.

“I tell the true whether people like it or not. I know I won’t get elected but I don’t care. I will give a voice to the innocent relatives of people who have suffered at the hands of IRA terrorism.”

The South Armagh man, who has unsuccessfully contested a number of elections - the most recent in 2010 when he ran in the General Election as an independent in Newry and Armagh and polled 656 votes.

He accused Sinn Fein of being engaged in dismantling the infrastructure of the state and “don’t need to fire a shot.”

He said ordinary Protestants were looking to the main Unionist parties to make a stand.

“If people don’t agree with what the DUP and UUP are doing then they should be given an opportunity to vote for someone else.

“People tell me they are sick of this or that, well I would give them an opportunity to vote for what they believe to be right - not for Willie Frazer.”

Mr Frazer said he did not want to be a politician nor join a political party. “I will leave that to the politicians. I stand for what I believe in and I’m quite entitled to do that.”

At the last General Election Martin McGuinness polled 21,239 votes compared to a combined vote of 13,380 for the three Unionist candidates.

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