Election 2010: In North Down, Tories take on lady who was not for turning

The Northern Ireland MP whom David Cameron tried in vain to woo can barely contain her contempt for the Conservative leader. As she prepares to knock on doors of Bangor West, with its neatly mown lawns and perfectly manicured front gardens, Lady Sylvia Hermon stops to reflect on the Tories' attempt to win her over. "I never ever had a conversation with him [Cameron] before July 2008 when I read about his sudden interest in Northern Ireland or the Ulster Unionist party. Before that he never said how interested he was, say, about the 10th anniversary of Omagh or my former party. I am just intrigued and puzzled as to why we never had that conversation before the link between the two parties was formally announced in the Daily Telegraph." Asked about the subsequent meeting she had with Cameron to bring her into the Tory ranks as part of a merger of the Conservatives and Ulster Unionists in Northern Ireland, Hermon starts laughing. "It was a very frank, lively discussion," she says. Hermon used to be the UUP's only MP at Westminster, but in March she announced she was quitting in protest at the party's alliance with the Conservatives. Her opposition was not a surprise: the UUP-Conservatives had already announced that Ian Parsley would be standing for them in North Down, and Hermon has generally backed Labour in the Commons. But it was a blow to the alliance, nonetheless. Although she speaks with a cut-glass accent and dresses like Worcester woman, Hermon stresses that her Co Tyrone roots are poor, rural Ulster small farming stock. She is keen to emphasise that she has more in common with the son of a humble Scottish Presbyterian manse such as Gordon Brown than old Etonian Cameron. She is also full-throated in her praise for New Labour's dedication over the last 13 years to drive the peace process forward. "When they got into power ask yourself this – where did they give priority to? Was it the Middle East? No, it was Northern Ireland first. "We had lived through 30 years of mayhem and violence. I was married to the former chief constable of the RUC who was 10 years in that job during some of the worst atrocities. In that period we lost 100 police officers and 302 murdered over the 30 years of the Troubles. We had almost 4,000 people overall murdered. "So when the Belfast agreement was signed and delivered, Jack Hermon didn't read it. But I remember him when he got the document, putting up one finger and saying: 'If this agreement saves the life of one police officer I am voting for this.' So I look at what the Labour government have delivered here in Northern Ireland and it's called peace. That is no mean achievement. I am enormously grateful for Labour for helping with all of that." Canvassing around Bangor West, her late husband's name keeps coming up on the doorsteps as she chats to voters. A large proportion of the police officers who worked in Greater Belfast during the Troubles settled in North Down because it was relatively safe and more out of reach from republican paramilitaries. There is a huge police family, both retired and still serving, in this area. "Jack was a great man, of course we are going to vote for you," is the common response, particularly among older voters who greet her at their garden gates. Her main rival in this prosperous constituency known as Northern Ireland's Gold Coast is the UUP-Conservative candidate Parsley, a recent defector from the cross-community Alliance party. North Down should on paper be natural Tory territory with its belt of wealthy towns that are home to senior police officers, judges, top lawyers and successful entrepreneurs as well as the golfer Rory McIlroy. The marina on the seafront of its largest town, Bangor, is packed with private yachts and boats. Nearby is an award-winning restaurant that used to be a boat house. It all looks and feels like an upmarket part of the English south coast. But Parsley's camp accept they are facing an uphill struggle to unseat Hermon. They think their best line of attack is to highlight her voting record in the Commons and her support for Labour. "It is clear that Sylvia Hermon has consistently backed the current Labour government, and Gordon Brown in particular. She has said he has done 'terrifically well' in his handling of the economy, and also backed the government on opposing an inquiry into the Iraq war, opposing an early election, and supporting the introduction of massively expensive ID cards. "The fact she says is an independent only makes matters worse. Not only would she cast her vote to keep Gordon Brown in Downing Street, but she would have no influence whatsoever on government policy once she had done so. So there are two key differences at this election: yes, a vote for Hermon is a vote for Brown, and a vote for Parsley is a vote for Cameron." Does Parsley believe that his association with Cameron is a vote winner? "People are impressed not only that he has returned the Conservatives to electability, but also that he has taken so much time to get involved in Northern Ireland. He is also recognised as the party leader who did most to tackle the expenses scandal, including his no-nonsense attitude to dismissing anyone who became caught up in it – that showed a decisiveness which is lacking from the leader of either of the other main parties," he claims. Yet most politicians and observers on the ground are confident that Hermon will be returning to Westminster. There is a history of North Down backing rebels who rage against party machines. The last two MPs before Hermon were Jim Kilfedder and Robert McCartney, both men who had fallen out of favour with the UUP. It looks like history could be about to repeat itself.