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John

This week everyone was back to their desks after the Christmas break. I kicked off 2023 crisscrossing Northern Ireland and speaking with people across the unionist spectrum.

Some are members of other unionist parties. Some are members of no party and they have voted across the unionist family. All had one theme in common, whatever happened in the past, they have no desire to see the unionist parties needlessly fight with each other as we move forward.

They want to see the pro-union family spend more time exposing the folly of those who want to prise Northern Ireland out of the United Kingdom than engineering attacks against each other. They want to see all pro-union elected representatives working together to make Northern Ireland the best it can be.

Over the coming weeks, we will be announcing candidates for the Local Government elections. I am proud that those candidates will be drawn from every end of the unionist spectrum. I am particularly proud of the many young people stepping forward for the first time and placing their name on a ballot paper. They see the DUP as the future. They are passionate about Northern Ireland, they have ideas about how to improve their communities and they see the DUP as the best vehicle to affect change.

For anyone who has spent time canvassing, you will appreciate that pro-union voters differ greatly, so too must our candidate pool. You can knock two doors beside each other. Both will be pro-union and both can be poles apart on almost every other issue. Their love of Northern Ireland being part of the United Kingdom unites them. We must not allow a difference of emphasis to become a disagreement.

I am proud that over recent weeks the polls point to greater unity within the pro-union family than for some considerable time.

Next week we will meet the Secretary of State alongside other Party Leaders. As I said in my New Year Message, this can be a seismic year for Northern Ireland but we must grasp the issue of the Protocol. We will remind His Majesty’s Government that the Protocol must be replaced with arrangements that restore NI’s place in the UK. We need to see progress in Brussels & London rather than just talks about talks.

I will also be reminding people around that table that political progress in NI was hard won and is built on the support of unionists and nationalists. Not one unionist MLA supports the Protocol. The idea that one section of our people will dominate the other and ignore the concerns of unionists will never produce durable or balanced outcomes.

As we face into 2023 let’s remember that the hills ahead are no steeper than the mountains we have already climbed. Let’s stay the course and let’s get Northern Ireland back on track and build a better future for the next generation.

Thank you.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP

DUP Leader
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