The embattled leader of the Democratic Unionists in Northern Ireland, Arlene Foster, will remain in her post despite her party losing 10 seats in Thursday’s election to the devolved assembly in Belfast, one of her MPs has said. Jeffrey Donaldson insisted that instead of seeking her resignation the focus should be “on Arlene and the party getting a government up and running again at Stormont”. Sinn Féin is now only one seat behind the DUP after a bruising and divisive election caused by Foster’s refusal to temporarily stand down as Northern Ireland’s first minister following a botched green energy scheme scandal which has the potential of costing taxpayers £500,000.
Gerry Adams, Sinn Féin’s president, said late on Saturday that the election result, which saw his party move up to 27 seats, showed “the notion of a perpetual unionist majority has been demolished” in Northern Ireland. Speaking earlier in West Belfast, Adams described Sinn Féin’s performance as a “watershed moment.”
The DUP remain the largest party in the new assembly, with Donaldson stressing that Foster would still be their nominee as first minister if and when a power-sharing government is restored. Donaldson said: “I am not aware of any election in the past where the leader of the largest party resigns because they have won the election.
“We need to learn the lesson and understand what people were saying in this election and what the key messages are. We have been given the responsibility as the main party to take the lead at Stormont and that is what we intend to do, so we are not going to get bogged down on what some people want to focus on, which is personalities.”
Full Article: Northern Ireland election: DUP’s Arlene Foster ‘to stay as first minister’ | Politics | The Guardian.