Chris Heaton-Harris and Northern Ireland Office had a 'concerted campaign' against DUP in run up to election, claims MP

​​The Secretary of State and Northern Ireland Office were engaged in a concerted campaign in the run up to the election to turn people away from the DUP, an MP has claimed.
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By Philip Bradfield
Published 23rd May 2023, 19:06 BST
Updated 24th May 2023, 11:39 BST

Upper Bann DUP MP Carla Lockhart said that in the weeks leading up to last week's election, there were "almost daily" stories from Chris Heaton-Harris and his office designed to put pressure on the DUP.

She was speaking after her party held fast their 122 council seats, despite widespread criticism for refusing to re-enter Stormont. It is boycotting the Executive in protest against the Windsor Framework, which it believes undermines the union.

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"The stories about budgetary pressures on Northern Ireland were very blatant in this regard, even though it is clear that putting ministers back into place would not resolve the financial shortfall from Westminster," she told the News Letter.

The DUP has accused the Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris of a concerted campaign against it in the weeks before the local council election.The DUP has accused the Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris of a concerted campaign against it in the weeks before the local council election.
The DUP has accused the Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris of a concerted campaign against it in the weeks before the local council election.

"The timing was very deliberate in terms of the forthcoming council elections. He was effectively punishing the DUP and trying to undermine our position."

When invited to comment, Mr Heaton-Harris and the NIO declined to challenge her claims or make any comment.

She added: "For weeks now there has been a concerted, overtly political campaign to turn people away from the DUP by the Secretary of State and Northern Ireland Office.

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“For many weeks, the Government ensured a daily drip feed of negative stories designed to undermine the Democratic Unionist Party with the electorate. The sole purpose of this was to weaken our hand in negotiations with the Government in relation to outstanding community concerns in relation to the NI Protocol and Windsor Framework.

"These partisan tactics failed. Despite all the predictions, DUP support stood firm, with our seat count remaining constant from the 2019 total. Unionist voters coalesced around the DUP position of wanting to finish the job of securing our position within the UK."

"Now is the time for the Northern Ireland Office to stop the game playing, and to stop the dithering, and get down to the business of serious solutions that address unionist concerns,” she added.

"This can be done quickly – the Government know well what is required. The DUP stand ready to re-enter an Executive when the Government takes these necessary steps. Ongoing delay to the restoration of Stormont is on Chris Heaton-Harris and Rishi Sunak. The ball is at their feet.”

The election saw only Sinn Fein, Alliance and the TUV gain seats - 39, 14 and three respectively. The UUP and SDLP lost 21 and 20.

Related topics:DUPChris Heaton-HarrisCarla LockhartGovernment