THE Rev Ian Paisley and about 400 members of the DUP will gather in Broughshane, Co Antrim, tomorrow to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the founding of the party. Dr Paisley will deliver a thundering rallying cry as usual, a call for unionists to stand firmly behind the flag of no surrender.
The 70 year old party leader will repeat his warnings about the perceived threat to the North's union with Britain, about Sinn Fein and IRA perfidy, about the threat from Dublin and about British deception. It will be a traditionally alarmist speech.
The Paisley speech will be a tonic for the troops. It will also be an address designed to galvanise the DUP faithful for the forthcoming Westminster election. There will be talk at the conference of a potential "pan nationalist front" between the SDLP and Sinn Fein.
The message will go out that everyone must get behind the Mid Ulster MP, the Rev William McCrea, whose seat would be threatened by a renewed IRA ceasefire and a subsequent SDLP Sinn Fein voting pact.
Stirring speeches can be expected from both Mr McCrea and the party's deputy leader, Mr Peter Robinson.
