LAST UPDATE | 30 Mar 2024

POWERSHARING IN NORTHERN Ireland is not at risk after the leadership turmoil within the DUP, Stormont’s First Minister has said.

Sinn Fein vice president Michelle O’Neill said she had approached the leaders of the three other parties in the ministerial executive in Belfast – the DUP, Alliance and Ulster Unionists – to ensure “cohesion” after Jeffrey Donaldson’s departure yesterday.

Donaldson has been replaced as DUP leader by East Belfast MP Gavin Robinson as interim leader but his election as permanent leader is not a foregone conclusion and it remains to be seen if other candidates, potentially more sceptical of the return of devolution, will emerge.

“I think everybody was shocked,” O’Neill said of yesterday’s developments.

“(It’s) a very challenging time, not least for those people that have come forward to the police.”

In an interview with Sky News, she added: “My priority is in terms of the local Executive and making sure that that continues to do its job.

“My priority in this period is to provide that leadership that the public rightly deserve and expect from their political leaders.

“I’ve spoken to the new interim leader of the DUP, Gavin Robinson. I’ve also spoken to my Executive colleagues, the political leaders around the Executive table, just in terms of the work that we have to do, that we need to prioritise cohesion and leadership through these times.”

Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland Emma Little-Pengelly has said she will work closely with Robinson.

O’Neill said all the party leaders shared the view that there is no threat to the powersharing institutions.

“The public here rightly deserve our newly formed Executive to continue to deliver for them for now and into the future,” the First Minister said.

“My priority is to make that powersharing work, my priority is to work with the other political leaders around the Executive table.”

Little-Pengelly said she was “deeply shocked and devastated” by the announcement from the DUP yesterday that Donaldson would be stepping down as party leader after he was charged with historical offences on Thursday.

While there are huge concerns over the direction of the party in the upcoming leadership contest, Little-Pengelly signalled that the party elections will not impact the work that has to be done in the North of Ireland.

In a statement, posted to her social media pages this afternoon, the Deputy First Minister said she will continue to work towards “tackling the big issues faced by Northern Ireland” with Robinson.

“I want to assure you that I am determined to do all I can to provide stability,” Little-Pengelly said. “There is so much to do,” she added.

MP Gavin Robinson (Left) took over as interim leader of the DUP yesterday after Jeffrey Donaldson resigned (right). Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Elsewhere, East Antrim MP for the DUP Sammy Wilson said the party has been plunged into “turmoil” by the shock resignation of Donaldson.

Concerns over the identity of the next leader will be at the forefront of the party members’ minds over the coming weeks, as the restoration of Stormont created a divide was created within the DUP.

Wilson had to quit his job as party whip when he publicly opposed the deal to restore Stormont over critiques that it did not go far enough to reverse the ‘Irish Sea Border’ clause of the Windsor Agreement between the UK and the European Union. 

Despite their different views on the deal however, Wilson gave his full support to Robinson and insisted the party should not be distracted by a leadership contest – suggesting there were more pressing matters for the party ahead.

“Our next focus has to be the general election,” he said.

Wilson told Cool FM that the next election will put unionism under a “huge threat” and he thinks the SDLP, Sinn Féin and the Alliance Party will benefit from it.

Sammy Wilson MP during the DUP's annual conference at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Belfast in October. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

He added the divisions in unionism could lead to Sinn Féin and the Labour Party to “push” for a Unity referendum in Northern Ireland.

“So we know how crucial this election is and, therefore, we’re going to focus now on Gavin getting our message across that: ‘Look, there’s a grave threat to the Union in this election, and we’ve got to get unionists settled and galvanised and around the party, the only unionist party that can really successfully steer a way through this election’.”

Wilson added: “We’re not going to start focusing now on a leadership election.

“The fact that we chose [Robinson] unanimously shows that there’s a confidence that he can take us through these difficult circumstances.

“And, of course, we’ll all rally behind him and give him whatever support he needs.”

Additional reporting by Press Association