Gavin Robinson says opponents prosper with divided unionism

The leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is expected to tell his annual conference “when unionism is divided, our opponents prosper”.

Gavin Robinson will acknowledge the Northern Ireland Assembly is “far from perfect”, but dismiss suggestions that people would be “better off with Starmer than with Stormont”.

The conference this weekend is his second both as DUP leader and since devolution was restored in 2024, following a two-year hiatus.

The DUP had been blocking the institutions in protest over post-Brexit trade rules, but ended its boycott after a deal with the UK government.

The DUP now shares power at Stormont with the Irish republican party Sinn Féin, the Alliance Party and the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP).

But it has come under pressure in recent elections from smaller rivals, including the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV).

In his speech on Saturday, Robinson is expected to renew his calls for greater co-operation between unionist parties.

The East Belfast MP will say that “no party or personality should ever trump our shared strategic aims”.

“Under my leadership, we will be strong, but we will not be selfish,” he will say in his speech.

Robinson will again express support for being part of Northern Ireland’s devolved government, saying “things happen” when DUP ministers hold office.

He is expected to say: “Those who argue we would be better off with Starmer than with Stormont cannot point to a single area, or a single policy, where it would be better without devolution.”

The DUP leader will also argue his party stands for “fairness” and “common sense”.

“For policies rooted in reality, not in radical ideology,” he will say.

The DUP was previously the largest party in Northern Ireland at Stormont, Westminster and in local councils.

But it has been overtaken in recent elections by Sinn Féin, with the party last year taking up the first minister post in the Northern Ireland Executive for the first time.

The DUP conference, which is being held outside Belfast, is the first since Michelle McIlveen became the party’s deputy leader.

By Gareth Gordon, BBC News NI political correspondent

What Reform UK is to Labour and the Conservatives, the TUV is to the DUP – though on a smaller scale.

Simplistic view? Maybe, but it’s been that way since its former MEP Jim Allister quit the party 18 years ago to form one of his own – and he hasn’t gone away, you know.

Evidence for this is Allister unseating Ian Paisley in the last Westminster election.

The case against is the fact that the TUV – partly because voters appear to find it transfer averse in PR elections – has never won more than one assembly seat.

Step forward the recent poll by LucidTalk which had the DUP down to 17% and the TUV snapping at its heels in third place on 13%, ahead of Alliance, the SDLP and the Ulster Unionists.

At least two of those other parties don’t have any need to fear losing votes to the TUV. The DUP does, whether that fear is justified or not.

And exaggerated claims to have got rid of the Irish Sea border still work against the DUP and work for the TUV.

There’s been a recent and noticeable increase in attacks on Sinn Féin since assembly members returned after the summer break.

Expect more of that at this weekend’s DUP conference.

Already the Alliance leader Naomi Long has claimed the DUP’s assembly election campaign for 2027 has begun.

In respect of the Ulster Unionists, they used to say: “You can’t out-DUP the DUP.”

A variation of that today may be a warning to the DUP: “You can’t out-TUV the TUV.”

Let’s see whether they heed it.