Unionist parties need to 'set aside egos' says DUP leader

Unionist politicians need to "set aside their individual egos" to focus on Northern Ireland, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has said.

The DUP has faced pressure from some within the party and unionist rivals over its response to the Drumcree parading dispute, with Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart quitting the party.

Speaking before Lockhart's announcement, Gavin Robinson said "division costs".

He also renewed his party's calls for cooperation between unionist parties at Stormont.

It follows unionist anger over Sinn Féin's involvement in protests which prevented a contentious Orange Order march in Portadown, County Armagh, from passing along the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road.

First Minister Michelle O'Neill and other senior Sinn Féin figures have been interviewed by police investigating the unnotified demonstrations, with unionists accusing the party of acting unlawfully.

Last week the DUP, which shares power with Sinn Féin in Northern Ireland's devolved government, announced it would block official engagements involving O'Neill in response to the fall-out.

The Sinn Féin vice-president has defended her involvement in the protests, saying it was the "right thing to do".

Speaking in the Stormont assembly chamber on Monday, O'Neill described the DUP's move as "supremacist".

She said the DUP has been unable to "comprehend a nationalist first minister" and was "desperately trying to turn back the clock".

"You can play every petty political game and stunt that you wish, but you cannot and you will not thwart the democratic will of the people," she added.

On Saturday the DUP's Jonathan Buckley, a member of the legislative assembly (MLA) for Upper Bann, said he had written to unionist leaders urging them to "come together for immediate, formal talks".

Speaking at Stormont, Robinson said unionism needed greater cooperation to "push back against the arrogance of Sinn Fein and Michelle O'Neill".

"But it needs to cooperate, and division costs," the DUP leader told reporters.

"The opportunity for unionism is there - it's real. It only needs people to set aside their individual egos to recognise what's important.

"And what's important for me, the Democratic Unionist Party and the people of Northern Ireland, is Northern Ireland and its place within this United Kingdom."

Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader Jon Burrows said he would "work cooperatively" with other unionists but called for "less megaphone diplomacy".

"This has to be about the best interests of the people of Northern Ireland and unionism, and not the interests of any one party or individual," he said.

Burrows said increasing the unionist vote would be "positive" but he added: "I am concerned that the motivation sometimes for talks is self-interest, and that's certainly not what I'm interested in."

Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) leader Jim Allister - who has urged the DUP to force O'Neill from office by withdrawing their deputy first minister - questioned the party's call for talks.

He said Buckley's role as "director of elections" for the DUP meant his "primary function is to maximise the return of DUP MLAs".

Allister said while his party wanted to "maximise" the unionist vote "we're not in the business of saving the skin of a party who wants to keep Michelle O'Neill in office".

Lockhart's departure follows an open letter to colleagues last week in which she said removing O'Neill from office was the "only one credible option".

Stormont parties are expected to hold further talks with Secretary of State Sir Chris Bryant at Hillsborough Castle on Thursday over the continuing budget deadlock.

No budget has been agreed by the power-sharing executive seven months into the financial year, with Stormont parties pressing the UK government for more funding.

Bryant has offered a financial package worth about £1.5bn over the next three years.

But executive parties have said it does not go far enough to allow them to set a budget.

Speaking at Stormont on Monday, SDLP leader Claire Hanna said there was "more to life than DUP soap operas".

She added: "I think most people are frustrated by weeks and weeks of turning over again and again what Carla or what Jonny said or did next, while confidence is ebbing away from this place and while people out there are trying to get on and build decent lives."

Alliance Party leader Naomi Long said the public wanted "progress not drama".

"We are being distracted, we are being deflected, and a lot of it is about the internal machinations of individual parties and has got nothing to do with the people of Northern Ireland," she said.

She expressed concern that if a budget was not agreed the four-party executive would lose the additional funding that has been offered.

After the DUP said it will not participate in joint engagements with O'Neill and Little-Pengelly O'Neill then confirmed her invitation to attend Remembrance Sunday has now been "blocked".

She accused her unionist partners in government of "short-sightedness", but the DUP has said the Sinn Féin vice-president's "arrogance will have consequences".

Two years ago, O'Neill became the first senior Sinn Féin figure to take part in an official Remembrance Sunday ceremony, laying a laurel wreath at the Cenotaph at Belfast City Hall.

Several Sinn Féin politicians have laid wreaths in previous years, but she was the first to stay for the main Remembrance Sunday ceremony.

O'Neill was asked by reporters if she would be attending Remembrance Sunday in a personal capacity if not as first minister.

The Sinn Féin deputy leader said the "invitation to Sunday was into the office of first and deputy first minister" and said it had been "blocked by the DUP".