DUP leader pledges new approach in conference speech

The DUP leader Gavin Robinson has said it is “time to reflect” as he pledged a “new approach” to how the party does business.

He made the remarks at his first conference as leader, and the first since Sir Jeffrey Donaldson resigned as leader in March.

Sir Jeffrey quit after he was charged with historical sex offences - charges he denies.

Robinson, who replaced him, said he promised to “chart a path for a stronger tomorrow”.

Speaking to delegates in Belfast on Saturday, he said: “The last six months have been difficult and challenging.

"We don’t choose the challenges we face but we do choose how we approach them.”

Robinson was ratified as DUP leader in May, when the party was preparing to fight the general election.

He acknowledged the party’s loss of three seats in that election, and said the DUP would “work to re-engage with communities across Northern Ireland”.

He added: “I am determined that in the remaining months of 2024 you will see that with a new leader there will be a new approach, both internally and externally, as to how we do our business which will be people-centred and focused on getting outcomes that better the lives of all our people.

“With your support, I will continue to build and renew our party, our structures and our purpose.”

Sir Jeffrey resigned as leader on 29 March this year - Good Friday - just as Easter holidays were beginning in Northern Ireland.

He has since pleaded not guilty to the charges he faces, with a trial date fixed for next year.

In his speech, Robinson said: "If the message of Easter reminds us of anything, it’s that the darkness of Good Friday has passed; we won’t live in the shadows of yesterday but walk in the light of today and for the hope of tomorrow."

Robinson added that while the next assembly election is two and a half years away, the party "must use the season wisely".

"What we plant now, we must be ready to harvest, not for the DUP, but for Northern Ireland. The work has already started and will continue in the weeks ahead,” he added.

"The opportunity is great, but hope alone won’t secure it. Action is hope. There is no hope without action... and if we don't grasp this moment who will?"

The Belfast East MP also criticised those within unionism who have "thrived on attacking one another".

“Let me say very clearly, I am not interested. Our electorate is not interested .

"For our part I am not prepared to be part of a cycle of pro-union in-fighting between people who should be working together and who say they share the same goal."

He said the cost of division had been proven in recent council and assembly elections, but said there is still “the opportunity to reverse it”.

Robinson also said that work on improving post-Brexit trade arrangements for Northern Ireland continues.

He said the DUP would vote against the current arrangements in a vote scheduled in the assembly before the end of this year, and he urged all unionist parties to “join with us and do likewise”.

If autumn is a time for reflection and renewal, then sign the new DUP leader up.

The scandal that engulfed the party around Jeffrey Donaldson has mostly settled down, election wounds have been licked and Gavin Robinson now seems determined to shift out of recovery mode and into his own reset.

DUP members rallied round him when he unexpectedly became leader six months ago and it is clear they are rallying even harder now.

Detail on Robinson’s idea to change how the party carries out internal business was light, but expect that to be a hot topic any time he appears on the airwaves.

As for division between pro-union parties in future elections, Robinson repeated that he wants that to stop.

And interestingly the Orange Order had a stall at the conference this year with orange coloured pens, saying: “Unionist people want unionist co-operation”.

But the leader of unionism in Northern Ireland knows just like the job he has to rebuild and reset his party, that is very much easier said than done.