Well, there’s a surprise, the ‘Old Brigade’ has been rejected in the DUP leadership battle. The duo of Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and Gregory Campbell – two massive, hard hitting personalities within the ranks of the DUP and Unionism have essentially been rejected for what is being seen as a more modern…Deputy Leader. We certainly can’t say Edwin Poots is a more modern alternative to the past leaders of the DUP. He’s as old school as they come. A farmer of the Free Presbyterian faith, a church founded by the one and only, Ian Richard Kyle Paisley also known as Baron Bannside.
Oh, and he’s a young Earth creationist from the DUP’s hardline conservative Christian wing who believes the planet is 6,000 years old, completely ignoring science, something which may have proved fatal had he been in Arlene Foster’s position throughout the Covid pandemic. It is also something that could impede the party’s effort to court new voters, as while the DUP and indeed political Unionism as a whole seem to be stuck firmly in the years pre-Good Friday Agreement, the younger Unionist electorate is much more progressive and open- minded than the older generation ever was.
To be fair to both the rejected Leader and Deputy Leader – Jeffrey Donaldson and Gregory Campbell – they lost by only two votes each and it was, in the end, a close race. It got to that point because Edwin Poots became too confident, too comfortable that he was going to win, and while he did indeed win, JD got very close to the leadership. At this point, one can only imagine what the DUP might have looked like under the leadership of Sir Jeff. It looks distinctly like the old powerbase of the DUP in Westminster has been neutered with the DUP instead seeking to bring the base of power and leadership back to the North and the Executive.
One thing Mr. Poots has made very clear – he will not take office as First Minister, instead retaining his post as Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs. A post which holds sway over ports, border posts and the building thereof. Coincidence? I think not. The leader of the DUP, in charge of halting the building of border posts and halting checks and inspections at ports – that’s quite the powerful position to be in and no one in the DUP can remove him from said position. He is, after-all the leader of the DUP. That’s definitely a strong position if you’re in the business of rendering the NI Protocol unworkable, or opposing a border in the Irish Sea and setting yourself up to be the saviour of the Union if a certain, legal challenge against the NI Protocol succeeds.
Edwin Poots may not believe in science, but he is anything but stupid. He’s an incredibly intelligent man and has held almost all of the influential posts in the Executive including that of the Health Minister which Robin Swann currently holds. He’s expected to do more ‘listening’, though we all know that means listening to Unionists while supposedly working for everyone in the North. Something the DUP has a hard time realising is that you cannot work for everyone if you do not listen to everyone, no matter how much you claim to do so. Unionists do not work for everyone, but as Edwin Poots will not be First Minister of the Executive, he doesn’t have to listen to anyone other than his electorate and his Councillors, MLAs and MPs who are all Unionist.
One thing is certain. There are interesting times ahead. Quite honestly, no one knows what ideas and thoughts are bouncing around in Edwin Poots head but I’d hazard a guess there is a lot of radical thoughts and plans being formulated and no doubt more than one of them hinges on the fact he is the one and only…Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. An extremely influential post when someone is placing a border in the Irish Sea
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