The protocol needs to dealt with before we go back into Stormont, says DUP

The DUP say they will resist pressure from London, Dublin and Washington to nominate a deputy first minister and enter a new Executive this week.
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One of the party’s new MLAs confirmed that they will not join another devolved administration until there are radical changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol.

North Belfast DUP Assembly man Phillip Brett said: “London, Dublin and Washington often talk about mandates having to be respected so it is about time they respected the mandate our voters gave us. They told us they want the Protocol dealt with before we go back into any Executive. The DUP will not and cannot go into the Executive until the issue is resolved whether London, Dublin or Washington like it or not.”

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Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis will today meet the five main party leaders to encourage them to form an Executive.

DUP's Diane Forsythe with party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and supporters at the Titanic Exhibition Centre election count in Belfast on Saturday. Photo: Liam McBurney/PA WireDUP's Diane Forsythe with party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and supporters at the Titanic Exhibition Centre election count in Belfast on Saturday. Photo: Liam McBurney/PA Wire
DUP's Diane Forsythe with party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and supporters at the Titanic Exhibition Centre election count in Belfast on Saturday. Photo: Liam McBurney/PA Wire

Yesterday Mr Lewis, Taoiseach Micheal Martin and the US State Department urged all the parties in Northern Ireland to form a new power-sharing coalition.

Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald said that “collectively we have an obligation to get government up and running”.

The Secretary of State meanwhile appeared to rule out a border poll for the foreseeable future despite Mrs McDonald’s demand on RTE television at the weekend for an Irish unity referendum within five years.

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At the weekend on BBC television Mr Lewis said: “Sinn Fein haven’t gained seats, we haven’t seen the growth in the nationalist vote and indeed the unionist vote is still larger and the number of seats by unionist parties is still larger.”

Secretary of State Brandon Lewis has urged the DUP to nominate a deputy first ministerSecretary of State Brandon Lewis has urged the DUP to nominate a deputy first minister
Secretary of State Brandon Lewis has urged the DUP to nominate a deputy first minister

Mr Brett said: “The last devolved government came about as a result of the ‘New Decade, New Approach’ document which among other things explicitly guaranteed Northern Ireland’s place inside the UK internal market. That was the basis of the last Executive being re-formed and it is up to the UK Government to adhere to that deal. The DUP will not and cannot go into the Executive until the issue of the Protocol is resolved whether London, Dublin or Washington like it or not.”

On Mary Lou McDonald’s demand on RTE on Saturday evening for a border poll within five years, Mr Brett said: “This proves the DUP was right all along when it said the first thing Sinn Fein would do if they came first in this election was to demand a border poll.”

The News Letter understands meanwhile that while the Queen’s Speech tomorrow will contain a reference to the importance of protecting the Belfast Agreement there will be no detailed or specific proposals to deal with the Protocol, which all unionist parties oppose because they say it has created a border in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

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The US State Department said yesterday that all the Northern Ireland parties should “take the necessary steps to re-establish a power sharing Executive.”

DUP's Gregory Campbell MP (left) with party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson at the Stormont election count in Magherafelt  on Saturday.  The DUP said it had received a mandate from their voters not to go into a new devolved administration until the protocol was dealt with. Photo: Liam McBurney/PA WireDUP's Gregory Campbell MP (left) with party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson at the Stormont election count in Magherafelt  on Saturday.  The DUP said it had received a mandate from their voters not to go into a new devolved administration until the protocol was dealt with. Photo: Liam McBurney/PA Wire
DUP's Gregory Campbell MP (left) with party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson at the Stormont election count in Magherafelt on Saturday. The DUP said it had received a mandate from their voters not to go into a new devolved administration until the protocol was dealt with. Photo: Liam McBurney/PA Wire

Taoisaech Micheal Martin said it was “incumbent” on all elected representatives to deliver on their mandate by nominating a first and deputy first minister.

Michelle O’Neill, Sinn Fein’s deputy leader, said her party’s victory “ushers in a new era”.

Sinn Fein entered the Stormont election a little over 1,000 first preference votes behind the DUP and emerged around 66,000 ahead of its unionist rivals.

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With more than 250,000 first preference votes, Sinn Fein’s vote share was up more than one point to 29 per cent but the party ended the election with the same number of seats it started with – 27.

The DUP vote share dropped by 6.7 to 21.3 percent. Its 184,000 first preference votes were down by around 40,000 on 2017.

It dropped three seats from the 28 it won in 2017, ending the election with 25 (it entered the election with 27 after Alex Easton quit the party last year).

The other main winner of the election was the Alliance Party, which continued its hot streak of recent successes. Its 13.5% vote share is up by about 4.5 on 2017.

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The cross-community party will return to the Assembly with 17 seats, more than doubling its tally of eight from five years ago.

It was a very different story for the SDLP and UUP. The SDLP slumped from the third largest party to the fifth, with its 9.1 percent vote share representing a near three-point drop on 2017.

Five years ago, it won 12 seats – this time the party only secured eight.

The UUP entered the election in an optimistic mood, hoping recently installed leader Doug Beattie would produce a bounce at the polls.

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That did not materialise, with its vote share falling 1.7 to 11.2%. However, it only dropped one seat, ending the election with nine.

Jim Allister’s TUV had a successful election, more than doubling its first preference vote share to 7.6%.

However, there will be significant frustration for the party too, as that increase in votes was not translated into any additional seats.

The TUV will continue to be represented by a sole voice at Stormont through leader Mr Allister, who retained his North Antrim seat.

The Green Party’s vote share dropped 0.4 to 1.9% and it lost both its MLAs to the Alliance surge.