DUP veteran Jim Wells has spoken of his “deep hurt” at the way his political career has ended after he was deselected by the party as a Stormont candidate.
Mr Wells also told of his concerns at the current political direction of the party he joined in 1975, warning that it should not move too far away from its traditional conservative base.
He also said the DUP faced a “tough battle” to retain its position as Northern Ireland’s biggest party in the May Assembly poll.
Mr Wells found out earlier this year that he had not been selected as the party’s candidate for the South Down constituency which he has represented since 1998.
On Friday evening party officers chose Diane Forsythe as the candidate, pending approval by the party executive.
I wish I had had the opportunity to retire gracefully and that was denied me by circumstances
Mr Wells said: “I am deeply hurt that it has ended this way. Deeply hurt. But naive in thinking that it would be any different.
“I wish I had had the opportunity to retire gracefully and that was denied me by circumstances.
“If the writing was on the wall, I suppose I would have liked to have stepped down, taken the gold clock and walked away.
“Now, of course, the whole country knows that I have been deselected and I think that could have been better handled.
“It is not so much the fact that I am no longer going to be involved in politics, it is the sense of rejection.
“In this business, you go out and everybody knows you have effectively failed.”
He added: “I am going to have to get something because I can’t sit at home and look out the window, I need to be doing something.
“If I lose my identity in May, I am going to have to recreate it.”
Asked about his party’s prospects in the coming Assembly elections, Mr Wells said: “It is going to be extremely challenging. You have the TUV which looks like it is doing well. You have also got the Ulster Unionist Party.
“It is going to be a really difficult task to emerge as the top party at Stormont.
“We got it last time by one seat. It is going to be a really tough battle to retain that position.”
He said the party needed to deliver a clearer vision on Brexit and the Northern Ireland Protocol in the election campaign.
“I think on the broader issues of Brexit and the protocol we need to give a clarity of vision to the electorate, which is at the moment missing.
“I know that the leadership is working very hard on that at the moment and I am confident that come the election the people will know exactly where we stand on that crucial issue.
“We cannot go into the election without that clarity.”
Mr Wells, who described himself as “old-fashioned DUP”, said the party had changed dramatically from the one he joined decades ago, mirroring changes in society.
I believe the party still must represent a hardcore of people who do care about important social issues
He added: “It is whether you think that move is one that you agree with.
“I believe the party still must represent a hardcore of people who do care about important social issues.”
“But I still believe that there are several hundred thousand people in NI who do actually care about the issues which are important to me.
“I think they have a right to have a voice.
“I think we are in danger of easing ourselves out of that territory and I think that would be wrong because I think that is our core vote.”
He added: “For people who are strong church members, people who have a strong ethical basis, someone has to represent their views and their concerns and they are very worried about the fact now that we have weakened the foundations of society, which are marriage and the sanctity of life.
“I have had an awful lot of people on to me saying you were the only person prepared to take the flack and defend those (values), and now it looks like you’re gone.”
Mr Wells’ wife Grace suffered a serious stroke seven years ago.
“He said the majority of his MLA wages go towards paying for her care.
“The care home fees are £43,000 a year.
“I am going to have to fund that.
“The way it goes is that if your home is worth more than £23,250 then you pay everything.
“I was fortunate I was in a job where the bulk of that could be funded out of my salary; that is obviously going to end.
“So it is going to have to be funded out of my pension and savings and ultimately the family home will have to be sold.
“I think we can put that off for a while.
“That is the same as everybody else in Northern Ireland.
“It has given me an insight into what many thousands of people in Northern Ireland are facing.
“I am obviously committed to ensuring that she gets the best level of care.”
Mr Wells said he would be interested in undertaking work in punditry after he leaves politics.
