'People are proud of Northern Ireland' and want to remain in UK, leader tells DUP members

Following a week when numerous media outlets hosted discussions on the prospect of a border poll, the DUP has rallied party members with the message that people are “proud of Northern Ireland”.
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In his weekly email to members, leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said that while nationalists have “rowed in behind Sinn Fein,” a “steady flow of unionists” have been drawn to the DUP recently.

Sir Jeffrey said those backing his party “know that Sinn Fein want to take Northern Ireland in the wrong direction despite the overwhelming majority living here being proud of Northern Ireland and wanting the place they call home to be prosperous within the United Kingdom”.He said: “Whilst nationalists have rowed in behind Sinn Fein, more and more unionists are coming on board with the DUP and seeking to play their part in keeping Northern Ireland moving in the right direction.

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"I am in the business of building unionism not dividing and weakening unionism.”

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP.DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP.
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP.

Earlier this week, former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams and former Alliance leader John Alderdice angered unionists with their comments around calls for Irish unity referendums.

Mr Adams said it was important that unionists are involved in shaping a new 32-county state, while Lord Alderdice claimed the “unionist majority is gone for good,” and that a form of joint authority is increasingly likely.

DUP peer Nigel Dodds hit back at Lord Alderdice, accusing him of “sowing the seeds of great disharmony and instability”.

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“It’s sad to see John Alderdice and others... antagonise unionism so blatantly,” Lord Dodds said.

Former DUP leader Arlene Foster was also outspoken this week in playing down the calls for a border poll.

She said most of the mainstream media are “interpreting the local council elections to mean there's going to be a border poll,” and added: “But that's not what the local election results tell us at all.“If you look at the figures in terms of those who'd be clearly in favour of a united Ireland that's not the case, and there isn't the evidence for a border poll, but yet they take absolutely everything and use it in that respect.”