The Ballymoney branch of Traditional Unionist Voice held its Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 25th February. Officers elected for the incoming year were James Patterson (chair), Councillor Audrey Patterson (secretary), Willie Gracey (vice-chair), Tom Ferguson (press officer) and Peter Moye (chaplain).

The election of officers was presided over by TUV press officer, Samuel Morrison. Mr Morrison also addressed the meeting, welcoming the election of the officer team and praising the branch for its hard work.

Mr Morrison then went on to review the successes of last year, including the phenomenal performance of Keith Harbinson in the Dromore by-election last February and the highly successful party conference in November. He proceeded to deal with the challenges which the party faced in 2009, chief among them being the European election in June.

Samuel Morrison said:

“Jim Allister is a first class MEP. He, unlike his predecessor, has a performance record second to none. To date, he has made 200 speeches in the European Parliament, more than 100 more than any other MEP from Northern Ireland and 176 more than Ian Paisley in his final term as an MEP. Unlike the part time MPs, MLAs and councillors which make up the bulk of senior politicians in Northern Ireland, Jim Allister has delivered fulltime representation on the European stage.

“But as important as the TUV record in Europe is - and it is important - I think we all know that this election will be decided on other issues. This will be Ulster's opportunity to pass its verdict on terrorists in government and the DUP's embracing of Martin McGuinness as Joint First Minister.

“The DUP theme thus far has been to portray their candidate as the only one which can defeat Sinn Fein/IRA. Utter nonsense. If the DUP cared about frustrating the political advancement of Republicanism they would not have advance them to the heart of government. If DUP were genuinely concerned about Barbara Brown strutting the Brussels stage as the voice of Northern Ireland in Europe they wouldn’t have allowed Martin McGuinness to become joint First Minister and therefore allow him to strut the world stage as the voice of Ulster.

“Only by voting for Jim Allister can the Republican agenda be thwarted. If in the poll next June three pro-Agreement candidates are returned there will be no one to highlight, oppose and resist the endless stream of concessions to Sinn Fein/IRA. However, if Jim Allister is returned it will send shock waves through the entire process the like of which we have never seen before. 759 votes in a small corner of Lagan Valley toppled the chuckle brothers. Tens of thousands across the Province would consign the whole thing to a Sadducee’s grave never to rise again.”