Ian Paisley Jr, friend or foe?
Monday, April 20, 2015 at 11:29 
Between now and the General Election on May 7 I'm highlighting my top 40 'target seats', those where the candidate standing for re-election has consistently supported anti-tobacco policies, and those where a leading candidate is a consistent opponent of excessive lifestyle regulations and policies that infantilise us all. With a few exceptions, like this one, I'm focussing on marginal or semi-marginal seats.
#9 - North Antrim
This is the safest seat on my target list. It's so safe it doesn't really belong here but I wanted to highlight Ian Paisley Jr's tireless campaign against excessive regulations. Some might say his opposition to plain packaging was driven by personal interest – the impact on over 800 workers at the JTI factory in his constituency – but a comment on smoking in cars with children suggests a deeper conviction based on commonsense: "What we should really be engaging in is educating people. We do not require legislation to educate people not to be prats and to be sensible." Likewise an article in which he wrote, "Shame on all those zealots who egged on and continue to egg on over-regulation." There may be some irony in the son of the thunderous Ian Paisley cautioning against zealots, but let's be grateful there's one politician in Northern Ireland willing to stand up to the tobacco taliban. It's a lonely task but someone's got to do it.
2010 majority: 12,558 (29.6%)
Estimated number of smokers in North Antrim: 14,670*
Principal opponents: TUV / Sinn Fein (barely visible in rear view mirror)
Friend or foe: Friend
Target rating: Impregnable
*Based on 20% of the registered electorate in 2010
Note: marginal seats have been defined as those with majorities of 10% or less that require a swing of 5% for the incumbent party to lose.
Reader Comments (2)
More importantly, if Cameron is on a knife edge and crying out for coalition supporters after the election, his plain packs idiocy doesn't make a great friend out of Paisley and the 800 who lost their jobs. ;)
Friend.