When Alison Bennington became the Democratic Unionist Party’s (DUP) first openly gay election candidate, former Health Minister Jim Wells claimed the party’s founder Ian Paisley would be “aghast”. Five years on Wells is gone but Bennington appears to be quietly going from strength to strength. This week with no fanfare she was elected secretary of the DUP Councillors’ Association. Only in the DUP would this be worthy of much evaluation. She was nominated by councillor Glyn Hanna and seconded by his Newry Mourne and Down colleague Alan Lewis. She faced a challenge from Kyle Moutray, son of former Stormont assembly member Stephen Moutray.