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Voters: 'The DUP has lost touch with ordinary unionists'

BBC A sign protesting against the NI ProtocolBBC
Arlene Foster has been blamed by many for the Northern Ireland Protocol

"Grassroots opinions are being ignored and there is no community engagement on the ground."

As Arlene Foster's leadership of the Democratic Unionist Party hangs in the balance, unionist voters have spoken about what how party needs to change.

The chairwoman of the Ulster Bands Forum does not think new leadership would be enough.

Valerie Quinn from Coleraine in County Londonderry said she had always voted for the DUP.

She told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme she would be sad to see Mrs Foster go, but added that the DUP needed "root and branch reform, not just the change of person at the top".

"The biggest problem I can see with the DUP is that they have become 'big house unionists', exactly what they accused the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) of being so many years ago."

Valerie Quinn Valerie QuinnValerie Quinn
Valerie Quinn thinks the party needs "root and branch reform"

She believes the DUP allows too much power to be held by "people in grey suits, those advisors who were never elected. I believe that they control the party, not the leader".

"They've just lost touch with ordinary unionists and their policies reflect that.

"There are so many things where they have said one thing and then U-turned on it.

"Obviously that's not Arlene on her own, she's being advised by someone and I think she is being advised incorrectly."

Brian Dougherty Brian DoughertyBrian Dougherty
Brian Dougherty, who is a community worker in Londonderry, believes the DUP is "lacking direction"

Brian Dougherty, a community worker in unionist areas of Londonderry has also voted DUP in the past.

He said there was a "certain sense at the moment that the DUP is kind of lacking direction".

He added: "That growing disconnect between the leadership within the DUP and grassroot communities.

"Stuff that played out in recent weeks here in Londonderry and other parts of Northern Ireland in terms of localised violence."

Mr Dougherty said he was involved in carrying out research recently of unionist and loyalist households in the Derry City and Strabane District Council area.

He said about 300 households were asked for their opinions of political unionism and only 19% of respondents said they thought it was doing a good or a very good job.

He said: "It really does need a review where those grassroots peripheral communities get back in and feel like they have been listened to.

"There really is a point where from councillor level right up to MP level, they need to get back into unionist communities and start listening."