Page 10 - I Protocol News Today

The Conservatives want Northern Ireland out of the UK, a veteran unionist politician has said amid concerns over post-Brexit trading arrangements.

Above a photo of Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the Belfast Telegraph’s front page headline yesterday was stark: “We’re in no hurry”.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has been told the restoration of Stormont “can’t come quickly enough” by teachers who have been left waiting three years for a resolution to an ongoing pay dispute.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has said his party isn’t “fixated with timelines” and won’t be “calendar led” in its talks with the Government to reach a deal to restore Stormont.

Twenty years ago today, the DUP became the top dog in unionism. It won 30 seats to the UUP’s 27 in the Assembly election, making it Northern Ireland’s largest party.

Northern Ireland has always been a place apart. Indeed, from the original Home Rule Crisis in the mid-1880s what we now understand as ‘Ulster’ unionism has always favoured the best-of-both-worlds solution.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has doubled down on the DUP’s stance after former leader Peter Robinson said unionists must realise the party will not get everything it wants in negotiations with the government.

Former Belfast councillor Jolene Bunting has been given a two-year conditional discharge for taking part in a series of unlawful parades opposing the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Claire Hanna has told DUP opponents of restoring devolution it’s time to end their “macho man contest” as she welcomed Peter Robinson’s intervention on a possible deal.

Peter Robinson’s intervention as the DUP leadership appears to inch closer to a deal to restore devolution wasn’t accidental.