DUP leader urges unionists to think long-term after Drumcree row

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 24 Oct, 00:28 · Archive

DUP leader Gavin Robinson has told unionists to think long-term and use the ballot box following tensions over the Drumcree Orange Order parade.

DUP leader Gavin Robinson has urged unionists to think long-term and use the ballot box following a bruising week for his party over the Drumcree Orange Order parade standoff.

Robinson said many are angered and disgusted at the actions of Sinn Féin and First Minister Michelle O'Neill for backing an allegedly illegal protest on the Garvaghy Road which prevented the Drumcree parade. In a letter to party members, he cautioned that collapsing the Assembly would likely strengthen Sinn Féin and said the DUP's future actions would be guided by hard-headed decisions designed to strengthen, not weaken, unionism.

The fallout from the Drumcree standoff saw Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart resign as a DUP party officer, though she remains a member. A legal challenge to the Secretary of State's decision to ban the parade from the Garvaghy Road is expected to be judged next week.

Meanwhile, Michelle O'Neill, Sinn Féin president Mary-Lou McDonald and other party members have attended voluntary police interviews in a probe into alleged breaches of the Parades Commission ruling to allow the parade along the Garvaghy Road for the first time in almost thirty years. Robinson said the outcome of that police investigation will be key, writing that justice must not only be done but seen to be done, and that no person can be immune from prosecution because of their politics or position.

Robinson described speaking with people at events across Northern Ireland in recent weeks, saying he heard from those angered and disgusted at the actions of Sinn Féin and the First Minister.

How it is being reported

• DUP leader says unionists angry over Drumcree fallout but must think 'long term'Mr Robinson said: “We win by thinking long-term and making all our voices heard at the ballot box.”Belfast Live · 24 Oct, 00:02
• Unionists angry over Drumcree fallout but must think ‘long-term’ – RobinsonBelfast Telegraph · 24 Oct, 00:01
• Unionists angry over Drumcree fallout but must think 'long term' – RobinsonDUP leader Gavin Robinson has urged unionism to think long term and make its voice heard at the ballot box following a bruising week for his party.News Letter · 23 Oct, 19:23

In this story: Gavin Robinson · Michelle O'Neill · Carla Lockhart · Mary-Lou McDonald · DUP · Sinn Féin · Northern Ireland · Drumcree

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem