Arlene Foster warned DUP MLAs not to rebel – but weakened DUP leader now is not disciplining them

The sources said that Mrs Foster had told the meeting – which was only held to discuss the bill after pressure from MLAs who until that point had not been consulted – that she would not turn a blind eye to her authority being defied on the issue.

In response to a series of questions to the DUP, last night the party said in a brief statement that “we do not recognise as accurate and factual many of the elements you have set out” but declined to specifically address the questions.

Mrs Foster’s weakness has become apparent in that after Tuesday’s mass rebellion there has been no talk of disciplinary action.

Amid mounting questions within the DUP and around the Executive table as to why Mrs Foster pressed ahead with what she had presented as a technical and uncontroversial bill despite the scale of opposition within her party, the DUP leader did not personally address the crisis caused by her support for the rushing through of the Executive Committee (Functions) Bill.

However, last night Education Minister Peter Weir, one of Mrs Foster’s most loyal MLAs and an old friend, told BBC Newsline that “we’ve got to make sure these things are not blown out of proportion”.

He claimed the DUP was “united” and said that people “admire” the “strong leadership” which Mrs Foster had shown.

However, the News Letter has been told that extensive efforts were made by Mrs Foster and her key advisors – spad Emma Little-Pengelly and DUP chief executive Timothy Johnston – to convince internal sceptics who were unnerved by the criticisms of the bill from Mrs Foster’s former chief advisor, Richard Bullick.

On Monday, the party remained publicly united and voted in opposition to UUP MLA Doug Beattie’s amendments to restrict the bill’s remit to planning decisions, something which would have addressed internal DUP concerns that the bill was contrary to party policy.

However, sources have said that behind the scenes the DUP’s youngest MLA – 28-year-old Jonathan Buckley – challenged Mrs Foster on the bill during the group meeting that morning, leading to a forceful exchange of views.

Mr Buckley did not return phone calls or messages yesterday.

It is then understood that as internal opposition grew on Tuesday afternoon, Mr Johnston made a final unsuccessful attempt to persuade the growing number of unhappy MLAs to support the legislation. It is not clear whether those MLAs made Mr Johnston aware that his effort had been unsuccessful, but in any event by that stage it was too late to avert a final vote because the legislation had already been moved by DUP junior minister Gordon Lyons and the debate was under way in the Assembly chamber.

Mrs Foster did not even appear in the chamber for the debate or for the vote – something possible because MLAs can now vote by proxy in an attempt to reduce contact in Parliament Buildings as part of the effort to stop the transmission of coronavirus.

One DUP politician said: “Arlene lost some of her key loyalists [over this issue] which may prove to be her downfall.”

When asked why the group had rebelled by abstaining rather than voting against the legislation, the same DUP source said that some of the MLAs had wanted to vote against the bill while some had only wanted to abstain and that a decision was taken to work together to maximise the number of abstentions to make an unmistakable symbolic point.

The News Letter put to the DUP the claim that Mrs Foster had said there would be very serious consequences if MLAs did not support her bill and that Mr Johnston had attempted to persuade the rebels. We also asked if it was not a sign of her weakness that Mrs Foster is now suggesting that there was not really a proper whip in place at all, and asked if Mrs Foster was considering her position as leader.

In response, the party did not address each of the questions but said in a brief statement: “We do not recognise as accurate and factual many of the elements you have set out and are not in the business of giving a running commentary on internal business.

“The party remains focused on dealing with the real-life issues facing Northern Ireland at this time. That is what the people of Northern Ireland need and deserve. We will continue to give leadership and put their interests first.”

Mrs Foster saw 11 of her MLAs – including three party officers – rebel against the party whip on Tuesday night, unnerved by warnings from the first minister’s former spad Mr Bullick that the legislation undoes long-standing DUP policy designed to restrict the power of Sinn Fein ministers.

Another two MLAs did not vote at all, even though they could have voted by proxy by allowing the chief whip to vote on their behalf.

Despite the DUP abstentions, the legislation comfortably passed the legislature and – once Royal Assent has been granted – cannot be reversed without the other parties agreeing to assist the DUP in doing so.

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