Lord Empey: DUP legacy will be the alienation of Northern Ireland at Westminster

​Instead of using that position to grow unionism and strengthen Northern Ireland's place within the Union, look at what has happened.

When they inherited the leadership of unionism from David Trimble in 2003, there was a clear majority for unionism amongst the electorate and a strong unionist majority at Stormont. Both have been squandered. Unionism is now a diminishing minority with the electorate.

Twenty years ago, NI was a full member of the UK with a clear path to remain there with the will of the people alone determining our constitutional future.

Now, after falling under the spell of Boris Johnson and foolishly endorsing a disastrous Brexit, NI has suffered the worst constitutional damage since partition in 1921.

While the DUP held the balance of power at Westminster in 2019, they allowed a border to be established in the Irish Sea as put forward by Johnson, even describing his proposals as a 'serious and sensible way forward’.

When they realised their mistake, they then embarked on a campaign against the proposals they had endorsed, culminating in 2022 by collapsing Stormont. They then came up with their seven tests, which have not been met, and embarked on a campaign around the country, alongside the TUV and others, to get the protocol scrapped.

Behind the scenes, they were negotiating with the government and produced the so-called ‘Donaldson deal’ which they used to restore Stormont. They said the sea border was gone and that they had made significant progress in talks with the publication of the Safeguarding the Union paper.

Gavin Robinson alongside Jeffrey Donaldson and Emma Little-Pengelly then sold this deal with vigour three months ago. Last night all that was abandoned as the DUP now admitted what we knew all along was the truth, that they failed to get rid of the border in the Irish Sea and the guarantees they said they got on the Union itself are meaningless.

One would need a neck of brass to face the electorate after such a complete U-turn and a total failure to grasp what they themselves negotiated.

After their deal with Theresa May in 2017, they alienated Scottish and Welsh MPs by using their position in Parliament to get more money, failing to realise that if you can be bought you can be sold. This was a big strategic mistake, and now the virtual collapse at their latest attempt at negotiating with London says to me that the DUP at Westminster is clapped out.

Mistakes and incompetence leave unionists in the most exposed position we have ever been in, and Gavin's latest wheeze, that they are going to remove EU law from NI, is incredible. They have no plan and only a record of failure.

It's time for other unionists to take the lead in London, repair the damage and rebuild trust. That is why the UUP is fielding candidates who will really bring about change, speak out for a positive UK-wide unionism and end the gravy train politics that has corrupted our body politic in recent years.