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A panicked DUP flounders as Northern Ireland embraces change

Northern Ireland has changed – and unionism has been left behind. But if the party can’t dominate, it won’t participate

By Susan McKay
A panicked DUP flounders as Northern Ireland embraces change
The Northern Ireland Assembly cannot function as Jeffrey Donaldson's DUP has refused to nominate a speaker | PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo
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What will a unionist never do? Bend the knee. What will he never give? An inch. When will he change? Never, never, never. What will he do when his back is against the wall? Fight. What will he say when asked to compromise? No surrender.

If these are the unionist stereotypes, DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson seems determined to conform to every one.

A week after a historic election that saw Sinn Féin outpoll the DUP and win the right to nominate Michelle O'Neill as first minister of Northern Ireland, and a surge of support for the Alliance Party, the DUP's reaction has been to shut the devolved administration down.

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Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0