Support for the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), primary backers of an unpopular Brexit in Northern Ireland, is falling. According to Politico, LucidTalk for the Belfast Telegraph conducted a poll. The poll put the moderate Ulster Unionist Party ahead of the DUP for the first time since 2003. The poll also put Irish nationalist Sinn Féin in the lead. This shows the more significant popularity of republicans in comparison with unionists. This means the fall of Democratic Unionist Party.
Three Democratic Unionist Party leaders
DUP has had four leaders. According to the BBC, the party had the same leader for the first 36 years of its life. However, it had three leaders in just over a month. According to Sky News, Sir Jeffrey became the party’s third leader in two months. After internal revolts against Arlene Foster and her short-term successor Edwin Poots, he became the leader.
Brief History of DUP
According to Britannica, Ian Paisley founded the DUP and led it from 1971 to 2008. The party traditionally competes for votes among Northern Ireland’s unionist Protestant community with the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). The DUP contested its first election in 1973, winning approximately 4 per cent of the vote in local council elections. It also won 11 per cent in elections for the new Northern Ireland Assembly.
The DUP received its most significant share of the vote (nearly 34 per cent) in 1984. As a result of the election, Paisley became a member of the European Parliament. The party’s support gradually declined from its high point of nearly 27 per cent in local council elections in 1981. In 1997 it won about 14 per cent of the vote in parliamentary elections and 16 per cent in local elections.
Cooperation among three Unionist Parties
According to the BBC, in an interview with the Belfast Telegraph, Sir Jeffrey talked about his respect for Ulster Unionists leader Doug Beattie and TUV leader Jim Allister. He believed they could “work together” to broaden unionism’s appeal. The Ulster Unionists rejected the call by the DUP leader for unionists to work together to fight the Stormont election. DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said unionism “cannot afford” for Sinn Féin to become the largest party. Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie said he would not be joining any pact.
As the Financial Times says, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the new leader of Northern Ireland’s DUP, strives to heal DUP wounds. The wounds pose a potent threat to DUP’s status as the region’s most potent political force. The 58-year-old is expected to ease internal divisions by sharing the DUP’s prized ministerial positions in Northern Ireland’s government. When he was named DUP leader, Donaldson aimed to unite the party to press the UK government to overhaul post-Brexit trading rules between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Irish Sea protocol and the unionist parties
According to the EURACTIVE,the four main unionist parties in Northern Ireland have allied to oppose the Irish protocol. The EU and the UK agreed on this protocol to maintain a smooth flow of goods on the island. The DUP, the UUP, the Traditional Unionist Voice, and the Progressive Unionist party made a joint statement. They issued the joint statement on Tuesday, 28 September. They said their unchangeable position is to reject the protocol. They want to replace the protocol with arrangements that respect Northern Ireland’s position as a part of the UK.
Similarly, the Guardian says that four rival unionist parties in Northern Ireland have allied to fight the Brexit protocol. The Sky News states that Sir Jeffrey Donaldson made a statement in his first major speech in the post. He said that Northern Ireland Protocol represents the greatest threat to the economical integrity of the UK. According to the EURACTIVE, the protocol effectively cuts Northern Ireland out of the UK’s single market. Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised that businesses trading to and from Northern Ireland would not face additional paperwork. However, the reality has seen significant supply chain delays and empty shelves in shops. This can contribute to the fall of Democratic Unionist Party as a pro-Brexit party.
Fall of Democratic Unionist Party
According to the times, up to one-third of the current DUP’s MLAs will not stand in next year’s Stormont elections. A leading figure said this would pressure DUP to hold all its seats. He added that the retirement of such a large number could cause a problem. It opens up the view of “new blood, new faces” for the party in the next Stormont assembly. The DUP has 26 MLAs in the devolved parliament, making it the largest party.
As Politico says, support for the DUP, primary supporters of an unpopular Brexit in Northern Ireland, keeps falling. A poll put the DUP in fourth place behind two other unionist parties. For two decades, the DUP was the top party in Northern Ireland. Its appeal hasn’t decreased these depths since the mid-1970s when Northern Ireland was in a state of civil war.
Fall of Democratic Unionist Party echoes the party’s internal disorder over how Brexit has turned out for Northern Ireland. The post-Brexit trade protocol has kept Northern Ireland within the EU single market for goods. This is a strange outcome that is to the dismay of many unionists. The protocol makes it easier for local businesses to trade with the Republic of Ireland than with the rest of the UK.
What people of Northern Ireland want
According to the financial times, Northern Ireland’s DUP leader threatened to pull out of the region’s power-sharing executive. He threatened to do this unless they cancelled the Brexit deal for the province. Donaldson gave no timeframe for pulling out of Stormont. The region’s largest unionist party (DUP) wants to remain part of the UK. It performed poorly in the opinion polls.
In contrast, the polls put Irish nationalist Sinn Féin in the lead.
The power-sharing executive at Stormont is a critical element of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. It ended decades of violence in Northern Ireland. Donaldson said, “I don’t want Stormont to collapse, but . . . I’m prepared to go to the country to seek a fresh mandate,” Donaldson also announced he would pull his party out of north-south liaison bodies with Dublin set up under the 1998 peace deal. He warned that violence could erupt again.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald called Donaldson’s move “reckless, irresponsible and a short-sighted election stunt”. She added that the DUP was “clearly in panic mode” and did not speak for most people.
Concluding remark
The poll shows that most people in Northern Ireland have an anti-Brexit stance. If they have the chance, they may even vote for independence from Britain. The poll results seem to show that the people of Northern Ireland like to decide about their interests and future. This may be the reason for the fall of Democratic Unionist Party. A referendum can show whether they prefer to stay with the UK or leave it.
