"A Passionate Unionist"
I just caught a brief word with the Tory leader, and found him proclaiming himself a "passionate unionist". He clearly wants to seal the deal on his courtship of the Ulster Unionists. But asked about the failure, so far, of Lady Sylvia Hermon to indicate any willingness to take the Conservative whip, he acknowledged there are difficulties in negotiating the new "movement" and it is "a lot to ask" for some people to sign on the dotted line.
When you to talk to some NI Conservatives they see what's afoot as very much a merger, forming a "Conservative and Unionist Party". But Sir Reg Empey and the Ulster Unionists don't go along with that. Instead Sir Reg talks about creating a common "campaigning vehicle".
The DUP fringe meeting around lunchtime brought some of the arguments surrounding the courtship to the fore. Jeffrey Donaldson renewed his old argument with David Trimble, contending that Lord Trimble's assertion that the Tories would fight every constituency would damage the union, by ruling out pacts in places like Fermanagh and South Tyrone. He also claimed that Lord Trimble was still the real UUP leader, not Sir Reg.
The DUP faced some hostile questioning from NI based Conservatives who accused them of representing a narrow sectional Protestant only form of unionism. Predictably Jeffrey Donaldson didn't agree, and he got support from one English delegate who claimed the DUP were the "true patriots" and the NI Tories were a "joke" who should be expelled.
Sir Reg Empey is now in Birmingham and a meeting is expected between him and the Conservative High Command in the morning. There are strong indications that David Cameron will pay the Ulster Unionists a return visit for their annual conference at the end of October, but that will probably depend on the deal being sealed.
I'm 
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