DUP

The former DUP leader’s arrest led to fears of another Stormont shutdown. Instead, optimism is breaking out

Stormont may be back, but the rot and dysfunction at the heart of Northern Ireland will not be easily fixed

The arrangement comes with many advantages, even for Unionists who hate it the most.  Northern Ireland’s Unionists are extremely angry right now, with some reason. A Conservative government and indeed movement with which many sympathised – just trying to ‘get Brexit done’ – has ended up building a trade barrier down the Irish Sea. That […]

Concerns are quickly rising over the future of power-sharing in Northern Ireland after DUP leader Edwin Poots stepped down after just 21 days in the role. He becomes the shortest serving leader in the history of the party.  He resigned after an internal revolt against him began over a deal he agreed with Sinn Féin […]

A former special adviser to Arlene Foster has warned that the election of the DUP’s new leader will leave a “toxic legacy” with voters. Foster resigned her position as first minister at Stormont this week after she was ousted as party leader and replaced by Edwin Poots. A number of councillors have left the party […]

The EU’s ambassador to the UK has accused new DUP leader Edwin Poots of making comments about the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol that lack “adherence to reality”. Joao Vale de Almeida was asked about Poots saying that the agreement was “demonstrable harm to every individual in Northern Ireland” and is having a “devastating impact”. The […]

First minister Arlene Foster has accused the EU of having a “tin ear” to concerns about the Northern Ireland Protocol. Foster was speaking after European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the protocol needs to be implemented. A new raft of checks on goods at the ports of Belfast and Larne under the terms […]

A zero tariff, zero quota trade deal between the UK and Australia would damage Northern Ireland’s beef and sheep trade, the new DUP leader has warned. Edwin Poots said the prospect of such an agreement posed a “high level of risk” to farmers across the UK. Poots outlined his concerns in a letter to UK […]

Arlene Foster is set to meet prime minister Boris Johnson for the last time as Northern Ireland’s first minister later. The outgoing DUP leader announced her resignation last month following an internal revolt within her party. Edwin Poots was narrowly elected to be her successor over Jeffrey Donaldson last week. Poots is expected to appoint […]

Incoming DUP leader Edwin Poots has held talks with the Northern Ireland secretary in Belfast. Poots had requested the face-to-face meeting with Brandon Lewis to discuss Brexit’s contentious Northern Ireland Protocol and a series of other issues. The Lagan Valley MLA has said removing the Protocol, which governs Irish Sea trade, will be his main […]

The incoming DUP leader has said getting rid of the Northern Ireland Protocol will be his top priority in the coming months. Edwin Poots said he is planning a showdown with Boris Johnson and Taoiseach Michael Martin within his first 90 days in office to try and resolve the post-Brexit trade arrangements. Stormont’s current agriculture […]

Edwin Poots has been elected as the new leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), party chair Lord Morrow has announced. The results follow the party’s first ever leadership contest. The 36 members of the party’s electoral college, made up of its MPs and Stormont Assembly members, were eligible to vote in the race between Sir […]

The first leadership vote in the history of the DUP will take place on Friday afternoon. The 36 members of the party’s electoral college, made up of its MPs and Stormont Assembly members, will be able to cast their votes for either Jeffrey Donaldson and Edwin Poots between 12pm and 4pm in east Belfast. Ahead […]

A legal challenge by unionists to the Northern Ireland Protocol is set to begin. The judicial review is being taken in the name of unionists from across the UK, including DUP leader Arlene Foster, UUP leader Steve Aiken, TUV leader Jim Allister and Belfast Agreement architect Lord Trimble. It will be heard by Mr Justice […]

As Northern Ireland passes a low-key landmark, Irish author and journalist MATT COOPER sees signs that the 100-year-old country is moving away from the tribal scars of its past, even if that complicates its future One hundred years on from the political partition of the island of Ireland and a Northern Irish identity seemingly is taking hold at last among […]

Amid the turmoil in the DUP is a deeper question for unionists… should they retrench into hard-line ‘Ulster Says No’ politics or seek a recalibration? Wet flags flapping against telegraph poles under dark skies amid tentative post-lockdown re-openings of retail sectors on a stormy Bank Holiday Monday in Northern Ireland seemed an appropriate backdrop to yet […]

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, a Westminster MP, is one of two candidates to announce a bid to replace Arlene Foster as DUP leader. The longstanding Lagan Valley MP said he would promote a positive strategy and values if elected, with a focus on building a shared future for everyone in Northern Ireland. The party’s current Westminster leader […]

Arlene Foster has said none of her DUP colleagues who moved to oust her have contacted her to explain why. The outgoing DUP leader and Stormont first minister said politics is “brutal” and she has endured a “turbulent” week, but she insisted she is “at peace” with her decision to leave the local political scene […]

Arlene Foster has resigned as Northern Ireland first minister and leader of the DUP following an internal revolt. Foster will step down as party leader on May 28 and first minister at the end of June, paving the way for a leadership contest to replace her as Northern Ireland’s next head of state. “It has been the […]

Arlene Foster’s future as DUP leader continues to hang in the balance after party colleagues mounted a heave against Stormont’s first minister. It is understood a significant number of DUP politicians have signed a letter of no confidence in Foster that was circulated among party MLAs, MPs and peers. If those numbers are confirmed and […]

Arlene Foster has played down suggestions her leadership of the DUP is under threat. Stormont’s first minister was responding to reports of internal unrest within the party. The Belfast News Letter has reported that several DUP constituency associations have written letters expressing concern at her decision to abstain on a recent Assembly vote on a […]

Four ponies detained at Belfast Port for almost five weeks due to errors in post-Brexit paperwork have been released to their new owners. Their arrival at the family farm near Ballygowan, Co Down, came after a judge ordered their release this week. The animals, which had been bought from a seller in Wales, had been […]

The DUP leader has said it is “simply not the case” that her party is boycotting north-south political meetings in protest at the Northern Ireland Protocol. Arlene Foster’s comments came as other executive parties held a series of meetings on Monday to discuss two DUP no-shows at sectoral meetings of the North South Ministerial Council […]

Brandon Lewis is flying to Belfast to hold emergency talks with the main political parties as well as faith and community leaders in an attempt to quell a spate of violence. PA reports that the Northern Ireland secretary will meet with first minister Arlene Foster, from the DUP, and deputy first minister Michelle O’Neill, from Sinn […]

A class action has been launched against the government’s post-Brexit Irish Sea trading arrangements, with a DUP MP named as one of those behind the fight. The claim form lodged with the High Court this week names Ballymena haulage company Blair International and North Antrim politician Ian Paisley as the initial claimants. The action, which […]

US president Joe Biden and vice president Kamala Harris have been invited to Northern Ireland when public health conditions allow. The invitation was extended during a virtual meeting with Stormont first minister Arlene Foster and deputy first minister Michelle O’Neill on St Patrick’s Day. During the meeting, the president and vice president expressed their strong […]

Boris Johnson has held “frank” conversations with the DUP on the Northern Ireland Protocol as he visited the region. Extra checks on goods passing through its ports from the rest of the UK following Brexit have angered unionists. The prime minister toured a mass vaccination centre in Arlene Foster’s Co Fermanagh constituency. He was joined by […]

The European Commission expects permanent post-Brexit border control posts to be ready in Northern Ireland by the middle of this year. Commission spokesman Daniel Ferrie said the UK had obligations to meet under the Northern Ireland Protocol, which governs the trade in goods from the rest of the UK. Irish Sea checks required under the […]

Ireland’s premier insisted the Northern Ireland Protocol offers many benefits and opportunities for the region as he stressed the importance of its full implementation. Taoiseach Micheal Martin welcomed efforts by the UK and EU to find ways to resolve some of the trading problems created by the protocol since it came into force at the […]

DUP leader Arlene Foster and senior party MPs are launching legal action challenging the post-Brexit agreement surrounding the Northern Ireland Protocol. They will be joining other unionists from across the UK in judicial review proceedings unless alternative trade arrangements are put in place which secure their consent. DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds, the party’s Westminster […]

A DUP minister has said she would not oppose an EU/UK deal on agri-food movement similar to the one the bloc has with Switzerland. Stormont economy minister Diane Dodds she would not be against anything that offered “short-term relief” from recent Irish Sea trade disruption. However, Dodds expressed doubt about whether the UK government would […]

A senior Tory MP has ridiculed Boris Johnson’s plans for a 25-mile undersea tunnel connecting Scotland and Northern Ireland – calling for ministers to focus on the issues surrounding the Brexit deal instead. The tunnel – dubbed the ‘Boris Burrow’ – could cost £10 billion to create and was seen as a compromise to a […]