Letter: DUP leadership must make their case to the grassroots about a vision for the future

Most unionists appreciate the need for unity and co-operation, especially in Westminster elections, however that unity cannot come at the expense of accountability or suppressing any legitimate difference of opinion.

People cannot be reasonably expected to look the other way if claims made by the DUP hierarchy are demonstrably false.

That is a real problem for the DUP and frequent bickering with other unionists, elected or otherwise, will not make it go away.

What is needed is a bit more humility on all sides.

The DUP are not traitors, and they are certainly still unionists, but the deal evidently falls short of their electoral promises.

Pretending otherwise, like ludicrously claiming that the Irish Sea border is gone, only adds insult to injury.

At the same time, unionism must also recognise that a campaign based around deposing the only realistic prospect of unionist representation in certain constituencies at the next general election, will only damage unionism further in the longer-term and embolden its opponents.

Amidst all the megaphone diplomacy, unionists ought to ask themselves where exactly do we go from here?

What is the strategy to undo this constitutional injustice?

Questions no unionist party has been able to answer with confidence or clarity.

In the meantime, the DUP leadership ought to accept they oversold the deal, publish a clear strategy about how they are going to push for more progress, and genuinely make their case to the grassroots about a vision for the future.

Most of which should have happened before racing back into Stormont.

Moore Holmes, Belfast