Arlene, Edwin, her replacement and his replacement as leader of the DUP

pixelburp · 02-06-2021 9:04am

Kewreeuss wrote: »

I kind of feel sorry for Poots, flailing around, still trying to find someone else to blame, while winding up his supporters.

That's the problem with all this though. Winding up a community already on a hair trigger towards civil disobedience at best, and terrorism at worst, is a dangerous and disgraceful tactic in lieu of being truthful, or leading towards moderation. Ripping up a protocol agreed by the UK, out of paranoia it might push NI further from the bosom of London primacy, would be inane if it wasn't tipping the province back towards violence. Truly the DUP would rather rule in hell than serve in heaven.

FrancieBrady · 02-06-2021 12:06pm

Seems fairly certain now there is a serious split in the DUP. We live in interesting times.
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ohnonotgmail · 02-06-2021 12:16pm

Provisional DUP

breezy1985 · 02-06-2021 12:31pm

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

Provisional DUP

When it splits all the way down to Republican DUP is when the fun will really start

BonnieSituation · 02-06-2021 12:45pm

FrancieBrady wrote: »

Seems fairly certain now there is a serious split in the DUP. We live in interesting times.

It doesn't half get your motor running

josip · 02-06-2021 12:57pm

Brian wouldn't exactly be unbiased on this.

While he presents some mouth watering scenarios, events may transpire in other directions which keeps the DUP relevant.

jimmycrackcorm · 02-06-2021 1:08pm

I wonder if Arlene will give up politics altogether, go independent or rejoin the UUP. I could see the latter as without the hardcore DUP interference she could add strength to the UUP. Her willingness to do things like attending a GAA match could actually appeal to moderate unionists who view reaching out to nationalists as the best hope of consolidating the NI status quo.

Also, it would be a nice slap in the face of the DUP to remind them of the saying: hell hath no fury like a woman scorned if she did go. I doubt being an independent would be enough to get her elected again given facing SF vs unionist choices in the next election, so if she does want to get elected, I think UUP is her only realistic choice.

Fionn1952 · 02-06-2021 1:57pm

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

I wonder if Arlene will give up politics altogether, go independent or rejoin the UUP. I could see the latter as without the hardcore DUP interference she could add strength to the UUP. Her willingness to do things like attending a GAA match could actually appeal to moderate unionists who view reaching out to nationalists as the best hope of consolidating the NI status quo.

Also, it would be a nice slap in the face of the DUP to remind them of the saying: hell hath no fury like a woman scorned if she did go. I doubt being an independent would be enough to get her elected again given facing SF vs unionist choices in the next election, so if she does want to get elected, I think UUP is her only realistic choice.

Given that she left the UUP to join the DUP in opposition to their support of the GFA and because the UUP weren't right wing enough for her, the idea of Arlene Foster as a moderate is massively exaggerated and seems to have significantly ramped up in recent days, perhaps out of some misplaced sense of sympathy for the nature of her ousting from the DUP leadership.

Compared to the ultra hardline Poots brigade within the DUP, she appears moderate....compared to the likes of Doug Beattie, she's a very Conservative firebrand type.

Years of rhetoric around feeding crocodiles and opposition to anything that could be perceived as soft on the Nationalist community will ensure that even the most moderate Nationalists wouldn't perceive her as the outstretched hand reaching out you seem to think would attract voters, and indeed the actual moderate Unionist image Beattie is crafting around what looks to be a re-energised UUP would be totally undermined by having her or Jeffrey Donaldson back on board.

jimmycrackcorm · 02-06-2021 2:11pm

No one in the 80's/90's could have ever imagined Ian Paisley sitting in Stormont alongside Martin McGuinness and affectionately become known as the chuckle brothers. So former hardliners can and do change.

I do think the view that she is a conservative firebrand type has largely been driven by necessary appeasement to those core types in the DUP. The fact that they wanted her out just reflects that she isn't. Even now she is calling on Poots to implement the ILA, which definitely doesn't strike me as a firebrand type of action.

Fionn1952 · 02-06-2021 2:21pm

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

No one in the 80's/90's could have ever imagined Ian Paisley sitting in Stormont alongside Martin McGuinness and affectionately become known as the chuckle brothers. So former hardliners can and do change.

I do think the view that she is a conservative firebrand type has largely been driven by necessary appeasement to those core types in the DUP. The fact that they wanted her out just reflects that she isn't. Even now she is calling on Poots to implement the ILA, which definitely doesn't strike me as a firebrand type of action.

The straw that broke the camel's back for Arlene was her abstention on the bill on gay conversion therapy.....I don't think, 'actually opposes gay conversion therapy' sets the bar too high to be considered a moderate, even in the context of NI politics.

It is a great disservice to actual moderate Unionists to try and paint someone like Arlene as a moderate. In any party bar DUP/TUV, she would be one of (if not the most) Conservative firebrand type there. The view that she is a Conservative Firebrand type massively predates her appointment as leader of the DUP, going back to her time with the UUP (where even then she was one of the most Conservative types within the UUP).

From then, she's gone on to demonstrate ever increasing conservatism.....and absolutely nothing to suggest otherwise bar perhaps a parting blow at Edwin Poots who helped give her the boot?

For me, I'd want to see a bit more than a few days of the, 'New Her' before I'll treat it as a genuine softening of her cough.

03-06-2021 10:46pm

As long as likes of Poots gets voted in, it’s a sign of a very fragile NI- I think he’s a disgusting individual, that will bring only division to NI.

If the majority of NI Unionists don’t like him, they need to say so now.

FrancieBrady · 07-06-2021 9:58am

Here come the resignations.

https://www.rte.ie/news/regional/2021/0607/1226427-dup-councillors-resign/

Anyone hear the allegations made?

https://twitter.com/BBCGarethG/status/1401800234162864128

07-06-2021 10:07am

Poots is probably happy for the female councillors to resign, they might stay in the home and spend more time producing good Protestant stock.

BonnieSituation · 07-06-2021 10:59am

FrancieBrady wrote: »

Here come the resignations.

https://www.rte.ie/news/regional/2021/0607/1226427-dup-councillors-resign/

Anyone hear the allegations made?

https://twitter.com/BBCGarethG/status/1401800234162864128

It'll be on here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000wrgw

You can get the BBC Sounds App (which is a delight I might add) and find it there pretty handy as well.

BBC kindly let us have access to their radio output down here.

Edit: Starts at 1h36min in if you're interested.

NIMAN · 07-06-2021 12:44pm

The DUP losing the types of members it actually needs more of.

Hopefully it will implode.

BonnieSituation · 07-06-2021 2:47pm

NIMAN wrote: »

The DUP losing the types of members it actually needs more of.

Hopefully it will implode.

It's madness.

He's the literal embodiment of your South Down Unionist, so he is.

Hopefully they continue to implode. You wait for this day to come... :0

FrancieBrady · 07-06-2021 9:02pm

Sounds like a mess.

https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/politics/dup-in-chaos-as-councillors-and-members-quit-denouncing-edwin-poots-as-they-go-3264235

O'Neill · 08-06-2021 2:07pm

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-57399375

Paul Givan officially now named new First Minister

08-06-2021 2:12pm

O'Neill wrote: »

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-57399375

Paul Givan officially now named new First Minister Proxy

FYP

New acronym OFMPDFM

RandomViewer · 08-06-2021 6:10pm

O'Neill wrote: »

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-57399375

Paul Givan officially now named new First Minister

Bit of the Paul Berry about him?

08-06-2021 6:18pm

O'Neill wrote: »

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-57399375

Paul Givan officially now named new First Minister

NIMAN · 08-06-2021 6:37pm

Out for a night of culture.....

Esel · 08-06-2021 8:20pm

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Wields a mean firebrand! Is he one as well, I wonder?

Strazdas · 08-06-2021 8:27pm

Interesting to hear that Poots is disliked by ordinary DUP voters. Seems he was put in there by the hardliners, knowing full well that the unionist public wouldn't like him.