DUP deputy leader says party must ‘stretch’ to reach deal

Restoring the Northern Executive and Assembly "inevitably means taking difficult decisions", the DUP's deputy leader Nigel Dodds told delegates at the party's annual conference in Belfast on Saturday.

The North Belfast MP also warned in his speech that if powersharing primarily with Sinn Féin is to be restored then the DUP must “stretch” itself.

Mr Dodds said that some people might say that “Sinn Féin has nothing to show for the last 29 years except electoral gains they cannot translate into power or influence”.

“Such an analysis would suggest we sit back in our present situation and that we do not need to stretch to make progress. That would be a mistake,” he added.

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“Of course there is no pressure on us to do a deal and any agreement will have to be politically balanced but it is in Northern Ireland’s long-term interests to have a functioning Executive,” said Mr Dodds.

“That doesn’t mean we rush into a deal that is not right and it doesn’t mean we need to do a deal overnight but our goal should be to see Stormont up and running again,” he added.

“That will inevitably mean taking difficult decisions but I believe that this party has always shown that the deals we have made in the past have been to Northern Ireland’s long-term advantage,” he said.

Commanding support

Mr Dodds said that the DUP “as the only meaningful unionist party left” must “take decisions not just for the next few months but for the next few decades”.

"It means we need to take decisions which can command the support not just of our core DUP vote but support right across unionism and right across Northern Ireland. "

Mr Dodds said the DUP must take a “longer and broader view than ever before” because of its “privileged” and “unique” position within unionism.

“We need to be alive to changes in demography and shifts in society and to make sure we are able to meet the challenges that lie ahead,” he said.

“Sinn Féin brought down the institutions at Stormont not because republicanism was winning, but because the Assembly hadn’t become the conveyor belt to a united Ireland they had promised their people,” he said.

“Even now they are afraid to return to the Assembly to make their case and to fight their corner without the outcome of key issues being pre-cooked in advance. They are the ones who are running from the political battlefield pleading for others to help them out.”

He added: “None of us want to see direct rule introduced but we are fast approaching the moment when it will be the lesser of two evils.”

‘Spending flexibility’

Mr Dodds referring to how the DUP’s 10 MPs are propping up the Theresa May-led British Conservative government welcomed the attendance of British first secretary Damien Green at the party’s conference dinner on Friday night and of Tory chief whip Julian Smith at the conference on Saturday.

Of the Tory funding promised to ensure the DUP’s support, Mr Dodds said “we will make sure the £1 billion worth of new money and the £500 million in increased spending flexibility are invested in the Northern Ireland economy”.

Concerning the deal he said “we will honour our side of the bargain and we expect the Conservative party will too”.

“This is not money for the DUP. It is money for investment in the future and for public services in Northern Ireland,” he added.

As for Brexit, Mr Dodds reflected a general theme of conference speakers. “If the EU wants to insist on border checks on the island of Ireland that is a matter for them. There will be no internal UK border in the Irish Sea.”

Meanwhile, Democratic Unionist Party leader Arlene Foster intends to address supporters at the conference on Saturday.

Mrs Foster is sure of a rousing reception when she takes to the stage in Belfast on Saturday afternoon to reflect on a rollercoaster year for her and her party.

Despite the likely triumphant mood at the La Mon hotel on the outskirts of the city, the conference comes at a time of major challenges for the DUP at home and further afield.

No resolution

The powersharing crisis triggered by the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme appears as far from resolution as ever, with Northern Ireland having been without a properly functioning powersharing administration since January when Mrs Foster was forced from her role as First Minister by the late Martin McGuinness’s decision to quit as deputy first minister.

Significant issues still stand in the way of a deal between the DUP and Sinn Féin that would mean them returning as coalition partners in a devolved Executive. A return to Westminster direct rule looks a more likely prospect at present.

The impasse has left Northern Ireland without a voice in Brexit negotiations at a time when crucial decisions about the future of the Border are due to be made.

Relations between the DUP and Irish Government have deteriorated in recent months as the former has responded angrily to Dublin's insistence that Northern Ireland should continue to comply with an EU customs framework when the rest of the UK exits the single market and customs union.