Arlene Foster s term punctuated by pandemic and Brexit
Updated / Wednesday, 28 Apr 2021
18:31 Be in no doubt, these are better days . These were the words of Arlene Foster as she addressed her DUP colleagues for the first time as leader in 2015. Better days than we d ever have imagined possible or dared to dream about back in the deepest darkest days of the Troubles , she continued.
The former solicitor has represented her constituency of Fermanagh and South Tyrone as an MLA since 2003.
She became leader of the DUP in 2015, succeeding Peter Robinson and achieved a number of firsts ; becoming the first female leader of the party, and the first female First Minister of Northern Ireland.
In her resignation statement, Arlene Foster spoke of the highs and lows of her tenure as DUP leader.
Dotted throughout the 903-word statement, Mrs Foster reflected on her time leading the party over the turbulent five-and-a-half years.
One of her standout moments was the party’s success in the 2016 Assembly election, when voters were asked to support “Arlene’s candidates”.
Her supporters turned out in their numbers and despite predictions of losing seats, the DUP held on to 38 MLAs.
Mrs Foster cited this achievement and the party’s best ever Westminster election result in 2017 as among her high points.
She said that while the focus is on her today, she recognised it would pass.
Her five years at the helm of the DUP witnessed some striking highs and lows.
She has been ousted as Stormont First Minister in a row over a botched green energy scheme; led her party through three torturous years of on-off negotiations with Sinn Fein to restore powersharing; and – only a month after devolution finally returned – found herself navigating a fragile coalition through a global pandemic.
But neither her handling of the Covid-19 emergency, the 36-month Stormont vacuum nor the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) furore are the reasons she faced internal revolt.
Instead it is Brexit’s Irish Sea border that has ultimately sealed her fate.
In her resignation statement, Arlene Foster spoke of the highs and lows of her tenure as DUP leader.
Dotted throughout the 903-word statement, Mrs Foster reflected on her time leading the party over the turbulent five-and-a-half years.
One of her standout moments was the party’s success in the 2016 Assembly election, when voters were asked to support “Arlene’s candidates”.
Her supporters turned out in their numbers and despite predictions of losing seats, the DUP held on to 38 MLAs.
Mrs Foster cited this achievement and the party’s best ever Westminster election result in 2017 as among her high points.
She said that while the focus is on her today, she recognised it would pass.
In her resignation statement, Arlene Foster spoke of the highs and lows of her tenure as DUP leader.
Dotted throughout the 903-word statement, Mrs Foster reflected on her time leading the party over the turbulent five-and-a-half years.
One of her standout moments was the party’s success in the 2016 Assembly election, when voters were asked to support “Arlene’s candidates”.
Her supporters turned out in their numbers and despite predictions of losing seats, the DUP held on to 38 MLAs.
Mrs Foster cited this achievement and the party’s best ever Westminster election result in 2017 as among her high points.
She said that while the focus is on her today, she recognised it would pass.