Ross to do battle with Campbell in East Londonderry

The Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) party President William Ross has been selected by the party to contest the constituency from which he was ousted by the DUP in 2001.

Speaking after his selection the Dungiven man said: "Many people will ask the question why I have put my name forward again for front line politics.

"Quite simply, like many thousands of decent Ulster men and women I have been outraged by the general behaviour of many Members of Parliament, including some from Northern Ireland.

"They have fallen short of the high ideals they professed and which people expected of them.

"I was approached by many friends and members of the public who said that they were also deeply offended and that honesty and decency had to be restored to Ulster politics.

"Those who spoke to me were former members of both DUP and UUP, others not involved in politics, but all were furious at having been misled and betrayed in succession by both parties over devolution and powersharing with SF/IRA.

"The recent somersault by the DUP over Policing and Justice confirmed their opinion that they could not rely on the DUP to protect the future of Northern Ireland.

"It was also plain that many Unionists had deep concerns about the UUP/Conservative linkup.

"Most said it was very bad judgment as any UUP elected would be bound by the pact to always vote for every decision of the Conservative Party.

"Older people clearly recalled that it was Mr. Ted Heath who destroyed the old Stormont Parliament and Mrs. Thatcher who signed the Anglo Irish agreement, thus setting Ulster on the slippery slope.

"Those who urged me to put my name forward remembered that I had opposed the Belfast agreement and correctly forecast its consequences."

Mr Ross said he finally agreed to stand because Ulster needs people with better judgement than those who have been leading in recent years.

"Those who have failed so comprehensively simply cannot recover the credibility they have squandered by their foolish actions," he said.

"The two Unionist parties are quite openly at sixes and sevens; the Executive is dysfunctional and clearly incapable of controlling the actions of its ministers.

"We must do better. To do better we much have change. To have change we must have a change of representative," he said.

"My sense of duty to my country has driven me back to frontline politics to play a part in bringing that change to our Province," he added.