There’s something to be said for a female member of the DUP, let alone the Deputy leader who is willing to stick her head above the parapet in an attempt to make the DUP seem like a more modern and more middle of the road kind of party. After all, this very type of move was the final nail in the coffin for Arlene Foster’s tenure as DUP leader and First Minister of the Executive. Arlene feels so out of place in the DUP that she stated she would leave the party altogether when she stands down as First Minister at the end of June.
Paula Bradley made a brave attempt at this recently when she urged the party to reconsider its block on others bringing a paper to the Executive in a bid to get abortion services rolled out in the North. That takes some ‘balls’ to do something like that, especially in the ultra-Conservative DUP, whether you agree with abortion ot not. As expected, it was met with anger not only within the DUP but also within their voting base within Loyalism (Those supporters remaining). Paula Bradley’s manoeuvre within the DUP went down so poorly with members and supporters alike, that she was forced into a screeching political handbrake turn almost immediately and looking at the treatment of Arlene Foster in the past month, she may actually have been fighting for her political career and her position within the DUP if she hadn’t made that ‘U turn’.
Indeed, this mindset is within the very same party whose current leader, Edwin Poots said of Arlene Foster when she was selected as leader, “Her most important job has been, and will remain, that of a wife, mother and daughter.” While that may have been true of any mother, wife, daughter in any home life, Edwin Poots was met with criticism for undermining Arlene Foster as a politician and made her nothing but a woman in the home. Many saw his words as warning Arlene that her place was in the kitchen ‘with her feet under the sink’ rather than as leader of the DUP.
Is it a strange turn of events and somewhat telling that the very same man is now leader of the DUP? I would rule nothing out when it comes to the DUP and Edwin Poots. After all, it is widely accepted now that Edwin Poots was at the very root of the ousting of Arlene Foster as leader of the DUP. The DUP will find it very hard to garner the vote of the youth with a mindset so ingrained within the party that it views women as nothing more than baby makers and home bodies and should not stick their heads above the parapets for fear the party may seem in any way…pro-female.
Edwin Poots didn’t get away lightly either. After the basis of his election as leader of the DUP being on consolidating Unionism and later, defeating the NI Protocol and not taking part in North-South Ministerial meetings – Edwin went to Dublin to meet Micheal Martin. This was obviously met with consternation within Unionism. Jim Allister, the DUP’s main critic, has accused Edwin Poots of a “shameless rollover” after he pledged that his party would take part in the next North-South ministerial meeting in a fortnight. It seems Jim Allister quite literally views Ireland and indeed the EU as an enemy even though the North voted to ‘Remain’ in the EU. An old colonial mindset some might say.
It says a lot about some within Unionism who seem to believe no one has a right to call this place their own but British Unionists. Edwin Poots appears on the radio and on TV telling the world that he speaks for “the people of Northern Ireland”, and many are extremely unhappy about that and rightly so. The majority of people in the North have felt little of the empty shelves and shortages of products which Edwin speaks of. The way Edwin speaks one would think the stores in the North were running out of essential foods but I know for a fact they’re not. One has to wonder what made Edwin Poots ‘U turn’ so abruptly and so severely on his own plan to circumvent the North-South Ministerial meetings. Would it be because he feels, if he doesn’t take part in the meetings he may well be breaking the law? Let’s remember here, these meetings are enshrined in the Good Friday Agreement, they are scheduled to make sure this country of Ireland can work in a somewhat harmonious way. They are scheduled to make sure both Governments know what is going on in the other part of Ireland and so they can cooperate on important issues…you know, like the NI Protocol.
Unionism will not be happy with this meeting between Micheal Martin and Edwin Poots nor will they be happy that Edwin Poots will attend the North-South Ministerial meetings. However, what it does show is Edwin Poots is willing to meet Micheal Martin but was adverse to Simon Coveney and Leo Varadkar because they did their job for their country. They tried to help the North and the UK through the MEPs and whether Unionism likes to admit it or not. Edwin Poots does not speak for “Northern Ireland”, he speaks for the DUP and its voters. He is not the First Minister of the Northern Executive, but Paul Givan is and he has been very quiet, he was there in Dublin though.
Interesting times ahead, for our country. All we can really do at this stage is keep our ears to the ground because Unionism is still ‘all over the place’ and I’d say due to Edwin’s recent moves the DUP will still be losing votes.
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