Tuesday 21st April 2015

Democratic Unionist Party Manifesto Launch. Antrim  N Ireland.

Having discovered that the DUP are unveiling their manifesto at the factory where the new London Buses are built, as opposed to the factory in Galgorm where they’re fitted out, I double back towards Antrim.

A red, double decker bus, destination Victoria, stands incongruous next to a field in Northern Ireland as the backdrop to today’s election campaign event.

The DUP are the 4th largest party in the House of Commons and during this election campaign refer to themselves as possible ‘kingmakers’.

Their manifesto launch feels like a special occasion in the N, Irish election campaign calendar and guests have dressed up in their best clothes for the event.

Work at Wrightbus continues in the background, though speeches by party leader, Peter Robinson, deputy Nigel Dodds and Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister Arlene Foster are timed to start once the factory’s elevenses whistle has blown.

There are three black leather armchairs beside the lectern. As I draw the scene it starts to look like the set of a late night chat show. But with a big red bus in the background.

After the event I make some drawings of DUP party members, including Ian Paisley junior, as they pose on the rear platform of the bus to Victoria.