UUP considers DUP invitation to unionist co-operation talks

The Ulster Unionist Party has said it will consider an invitation from DUP leader Gavin Robinson to take part in talks on unionist co-operation.

Mr Robinson told DUP members in an email he had invited UUP leader-elect Jon Burrows to discuss areas of co-operation.

The invitation came a day after the former senior police officer emerged as the sole contender to succeed Mike Nesbitt as UUP leader.

In the past, some parties have agreed to step aside in specific constituencies in a bid to maximise the unionist vote and secure seats.

Under that approach, the UUP’s Tom Elliott won the Fermanagh and South Tyrone Westminster seat in 2015, narrowly defeating the Sinn Fein candidate.

Sinn Fein has the most MLAs in the Assembly, entitling the party to nominate a first minister, while the DUP nominated the deputy first minister.

The republican party also secured the highest number of votes of any of the Northern Ireland parties at the 2024 Westminster election, securing seven seats, ahead of the DUP’s five.

On Saturday, a UUP spokesperson said its new leadership team will consider any request to meet, “judged against what is best for Northern Ireland and its people”.

“We remain committed to advancing the interests of the Union through constructive dialogue that benefits all,” they said.

They said the party has over the years “engaged in previous talks on unionist co-operation with our unionist colleagues, repeatedly in good faith”, adding: “We know all too well when others are engaging in good faith or when self-preservation is on their mind”.

“We are also mindful that decisions taken over the last 20 years by some within unionist leadership have failed to deliver for the Union but rather have championed the largest of strategic mistakes. That history informs our desire to offer the electorate a clear choice,”
they said.

In his email to DUP party members, Mr Robinson referred to what he called Sinn Fein’s “fervent desire to bring about the removal of Northern Ireland from the UK”.

“As leader of the largest unionist party, I am determined to make every effort to ensure that unionism does not squander the narrow window of opportunity that exists to prepare for the future,” he said.

“I support and want to reflect the desire across the grassroots of unionism to see unionist representatives and their political parties working together to promote the Union, to stand up for all those who want to get on with their lives and who want to see our country prosper.”

Mr Robinson said unionism’s collective voice and clout “will be stronger” if it works together, and he cautioned against a divided movement.

“The truth is that if unionism has more seats, it will have more power to get things done,” he said.

“The opposite is also true: a divided and fractious unionism without co-operation will cost seats and our collective influence will diminish.

“I stand ready to act in the widest interests of the pro-Union cause and to work across the unionist spectrum.

“I have written to the incoming leader of the Ulster Unionist Party setting out our position and inviting him to meet.

“I look forward to working with Jon Burrows to see how our parties could co-operate and work towards building greater support for the union and to test how we might best strengthen pro-union co-operation leading to the election of more pro-union members at local government, Assembly and Westminster elections.”

Mr Robinson said after a meeting with Jim Allister, the TUV leader knows “we stand ready to co-operate to maximise unionist representation”.

“It is the job of all of us to be building support for the Union and making the case for it. We must do that at home as well as nationally and internationally,” he said.

“The truth is that Sinn Fein is not interested in working with the UK Government or the rest of us who at our core want to do what is best for Northern Ireland.

“They find every excuse to be themselves alone, to duck difficult decisions and to follow an all-Ireland anti-United Kingdom agenda.

“Whilst Sinn Fein have little to show for their unity campaign, that does not take away from their fervent desire to bring about the removal of Northern Ireland from the UK and our ultimate destruction as one of the four nations bound together in the Union.

“By working co-operatively, unionism can impact and thwart their objectives whilst bringing about real benefit to the everyday realities of everyone in Northern Ireland.”

However a TUV spokesperson said there have been no one-to-one meetings with leader Jim Allister or representatives of the party.

“We would welcome the DUP and the UUP back to this ground of unity, but it must be unity based on principled, unambiguous opposition to the (Northern Ireland) Protocol’s implementation as it currently stands, and on a clear articulation that protecting the union requires rejecting its operational impact,” they said.

“We will continue to press for an approach that unites unionism around defending the integrity of the Union, the UK internal market, and the democratic will of unionist communities.”

Earlier this month, Mr Burrows spoke of his desire to grow the UUP and said while he was not opposed to unionist co-operation, he was not in favour of being part of any unionist merger.

“I’m a unionist who is strong in unionism. I’ve proven that. But I’m here to work with everyone to deliver for the people of Northern Ireland,” he said.

“Yes, there’s times for co-operation, but I haven’t joined the Ulster Unionist Party and I’m not seeking to lead it to merge it into a larger party.

“I want the Ulster Unionist Party to once again be the biggest party in Northern Ireland. That’s my ambition.

“And the people of Northern Ireland need an Ulster Unionist Party with reasonableness and decency and integrity and that is rooted in finding solutions to the everyday problems that Stormont has failed to deliver on.”