The 2010 Club

Well over on slugger O’Toole — http://sluggerotoole.com/2010/10/19/elliott-leadership-under-scrutiny/ — Eamonn Mallie in all his glory informs us that “A caucus of unsettled Ulster Unionist party members met in secret last night to take stock”. I know many of you will find such an explosive piece of journalism hard to take in… I mean how could the man know that a small group of students decided to meet up in a Belfast bar last night? Oh wait they do that most nights… Ok but how could he have known that these students would all be back on a Monday when they had left the city for the weekend? Well I suppose most students who don’t live in the city do that every single week but hey don’t take it away from Eamonn because without him who would have known that some liberals within the UUP were becoming disenfranchised?

My problem with this story is that far from this meeting being some sort of progressive unionist meeting to form a resistance network it was in actual fact a couple of students sitting down a pub complaining about Tom Elliott because “like he’s a big farmer” and ” a throwback to the 1950’s, lad” in comparison to the rightful glorious leader  known only as “El Basil” (who was only beaten because no one voted for him which isn’t fair). O’Neill quite rightly points out on a comment over on “Three thousand Versts” that any of the “Big Hitters” (if they can be known as that, big egos would be better) who would have been “2010 club” members have now gone (Ringland, Bradshaw etc.) into the abyss and as is being continually pointed out on Slugger O’Toole those who are left are nobodies or at best a couple of councillors,  John McAllister and a motley crew of student activists of the waistcoat wearing variety.

Ultimately nothing for Tom to worry about, a pointless exercise in being pointless perpetrated by the “Basil-ites” of Queen’s .

Lets just say the 2010 club is no Reform Club…