Robinson defends devolution as he warns against consequences of direct rule

DUP leader Gavin Robinson delivered a robust defence of devolution as he told his party conference that Westminster rule would effectively mean “de facto Dublin rule from London”.

The East Belfast MP used his conference speech to argue that unionists in Northern Ireland were much better off with local ministers in charge, as he suggested that direct rule would not only result in more liberal policies being imposed on the region but would also see the Irish government handed more of a role in affairs north of the border.

While Mr Robinson did not refer to unionist rivals Traditional Unionist Voice by name, much of his address countered the TUV’s long-standing criticism of the DUP for participating in mandatory coalition government alongside Sinn Fein.

Last year, the DUP ended the two-year boycott of devolution it had maintained in protest against Brexit’s so-called Irish Sea border.

Mr Robinson said his party was still determined to force the removal of economic barriers between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, but he said maintaining the boycott was not in the best interests of people in the region.

“Our choice was not between perfection or betrayal, it was between progress or paralysis,” he said.

“We chose to return to Stormont to deliver for our people, to keep unionism strong where it matters most, in a position of leadership, where we can effect change.”

Mr Robinson insisted his party had delivered for voters since it lifted its veto on devolved powersharing.

In his speech to several hundred delegates at the La Mon Hotel in east Belfast, the DUP leader acknowledged the Assembly is “far from perfect” and he criticised Sinn Fein’s record in the departments overseen by the republican party.

He added: “But friends, let me say this plainly, those who argue we would be better off with Starmer than with Stormont cannot point to a single area where policy would be better because of a Labour government.”

Some of the loudest applause from the audience came when Mr Robinson called on the UK Government to clamp down on illegal immigration and when he spoke in defence of a “common sense” approach on the gender debate that unequivocally backed the approach that a “boy is a boy and a girl is a girl”.

Mr Robinson also reiterated his criticism of the London government for handing its Irish counterparts what he has described as “dual control” of legacy policy in Northern Ireland.

That came after Friday’s publication of a joint UK/Irish framework on new mechanisms to address the legacy of the Troubles.

The DUP leader attacked the Dublin government’s track record on legacy issues, accusing it of continually failing to investigate its own role in the conflict.

Mr Robinson also voiced support for what he described as Israel’s “just war in Gaza” as he again criticised the Irish government, accusing it of wanting to be “pen pals with Hamas”.

The long-standing MP once again voiced concern at some of the commentary in the current Irish presidential race, particularly the scrutiny of Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys and her husband’s links with the Orange Order.

Mr Robinson said his party would not “let Dublin off the hook for their institutional intolerance of Protestant culture and heritage”.

“The Irish Republic is a country where candidates for their highest office are vilified because of their religion and their family’s connection to the Orange institution,” he added.

On the constitutional debate over Northern Ireland’s future, Mr Robinson dismissed Sinn Fein’s claim that a border poll will be held by 2030.

“We can be confident that (Sinn Fein Stormont First Minister) Michelle O’Neill’s prediction of a border poll by 2030 will melt away faster than her credibility as the self-proclaimed ‘First Minister for all’,” he said.

The audience cheered when he insisted that he saw “no circumstances” in which a united Ireland would be achieved in his lifetime.

In a call on other unionist parties for more co-operation ahead of the 2027 Assembly election, he warned: “When unionism is divided, our opponents prosper.”

Mr Robinson said unionists “cannot be complacent” and must be proactive in making the case for preserving the Union.

That objective, he argued – as he touched again on the central theme of his address – is best served within the devolved structures at Stormont.

“Colleagues, as we look ahead, unionism must recognise the choice that lies before us,” he said.

“Do we embrace devolution, shaping our own future here in Northern Ireland, with local ministers accountable to local people?

“Or will we resign ourselves to de facto Dublin rule from London with decisions made by those who don’t walk in our shoes?

“Do we build a society rooted in common sense, in fairness and in opportunity, or do we allow our future to be dictated by the radical, woke ideology of those who sneer at our values, dismiss our traditions, and who undermine the very foundations of our Union?

“That’s the choice colleagues – that’s the crossroads.

“And that is why this party and what we stand for matters today more than ever before.”

Ahead of the speech, several members of the high-profile evangelical Christian Burke family from Co Mayo staged a small demonstration outside the venue, questioning DUP policy positions on some LGBT issues.

They left after police officers advised them it was private property.