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In his first DUP conference as party leader, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson is expected to give a bullish defence of his uncompromising stance on the NI Protocol, as well as calling for a broad coalition to move Northern Ireland forward.

Addressing the party faithful at the Crowne Plaza hotel in south Belfast today, Sir Jeffrey will send a message to London, Dublin and the European Union that the continued existence of the controversial post-Brexit trading arrangements are a major obstacle to political progress.

The gathering is the first DUP conference since October 2019, when the then party leader Arlene Foster demanded “honesty” from Boris Johnson over the protocol.

In a speech to DUP members at the previous year’s conference as prime minister, Mr Johnson gave an assurance that the UK Government would not permit an economic border to be erected in the Irish Sea.

Mr Donaldson has had a challenging 16 months at the helm.

The fallout from the 2021 leadership contest left the party in what many commentators described as “two camps” with clearly visible fault lines.

However, the party has been able to put on a more united front in recent months, with recent opinion polls suggesting strong support among unionists for the Stormont boycott.

The official theme of this year’s conference is ‘moving forward together’ – described as not only unionism moving forward together, but the entire Northern Ireland community having a common purpose.

During the course of his address, it is understood Mr Donaldson, who was elected MLA for Lagan Valley in May this year, will say: “In support of that Union, I want us to build a better Northern Ireland, not just for those who share our unionism, but for all our people. I want to build the broadest coalition of support for that vision from right across the community.

“A coalition which includes those of us whose support for the Union is based on a cultural, social and historic affinity with Great Britain and those whose support is grounded more in reason and realism of what is in the best interests for them and their families.

“For me unionism should have no barriers to entry beyond a belief that Northern Ireland is best served as a part of the UK.”

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson's 'united front' call in first conference address as DUP leader