![]() ![]() In the meantime the DUP becomes increasingly difficult to control. It is Donaldson's desire to avoid confrontation that leads some in the UK and EU to fear that he will continue to delay a decision, neither outright rejecting the Windsor deal for Northern Ireland nor declaring that the government has done enough for his party to return to Stormont. Those who know Donaldson well describe the MP for Lagan Valley as a "people pleaser" who "likes to be liked" and tries hard to avoid internal conflict. He may have already taken his party back into power sharing had it not been so hard to manage, with the "awkward squad" of DUP MPs like Sammy Wilson and Ian Paisley Jr pushing particularly hard lines on Brexit, according to Jon Tonge, professor of British and Irish politics at the University of Liverpool. However, there is a dawning realisation within the party that they have no other option but to soon resume powersharing, with senior party figures privately considering routes back to Stormont following the region's local elections on 18 May, as PoliticsHome reported on Tuesday.Ī party source said the topic was "the only show in town". Stormont has remained out of action ever since, with the DUP currently arguing that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Windsor framework recently negotiated for the region does not go far enough to address their concerns about Northern Ireland's place in the union, despite the deal broadly winning plaudits for the PM. The DUP's leader, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, insisted this week his party would not be "brow beaten" into returning to Stormont after they collapsed power sharing in the region early last year in protest against post-Brexit arrangements for the region negotiated by the UK and European Union. There is a growing feeling on both sides of the Irish Sea that an unavoidable moment of truth is fast approaching the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) as the party appears to be running out of road in its ongoing boycott of Northern Ireland's political institutions. ![]()
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