MEP Allister deciding which way to jump

Next week (8 May) a new government opens for business in Northern Ireland, formed from an unlikely coalition between the hardline Protestant Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and the republican Sinn Féin. Jim Allister, an MEP from Northern Ireland, resigned from the DUP in March, in protest at the agreement. He has since been looking for a way back from the political wilderness and has been in contact with both the UK Conservatives and the UK Independence Party about joining them. Back in 2004, when he became an MEP, Allister had talks with UKIP leader Nigel Farage who was then putting together the Independence and Democracy (ID) Group. Farage said at the time that Allister could contribute a lot to the group but in the end he had to choose between him and Irish MEP Kathy Sinnott – a contrasting pair. Sinnott brought an extra nationality to the group, which boosted the group's numbers and brought in additional funding. It may be that Sinnott, a fervent Catholic, could now co-exist in the same group as Allister, if he joined the group as a member of UKIP. Allister has not yet decided which way to jump but a move to UKIP seems more likely than joining the Conservatives, who are having enough trouble keeping the Eurosceptic likes of Daniel Hannan and Roger Helmer in line.