Breaking News - Edwin Poots is elected DUP leader

[Chippy_Tea]

Northern Ireland Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots has been elected leader of the Democratic Unionist Party.

He succeeds Arlene Foster, who steps down as party leader on 28 May and will then leave her role as NI first minister at the end of June.
Mr Poots beat MP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson to take the top post in the party.
It is the first time in the party's 50-year history that a leadership contest has taken place.
Mr Poots received 19 votes and Sir Jeffrey 17 votes.
He has said that he would like to remain as agriculture minister and would not take on the role of Northern Ireland first minister if elected party leader.

• Edwin Poots: Who is the new leader of the DUP?
• From firebrands to government - who are the DUP?

North Belfast MLA Paula Bradley has been elected as the party's new deputy leader, after incumbent Lord Dodds announced he would not bid for re-election.
She beat MP Gregory Campbell by 18 votes to 16.
Only three people have held the role of DUP leader since the party was established in 1971 - its founder the late Ian Paisley, followed by Peter Robinson and its current leader, Arlene Foster

A secret party ballot of party MPs and NI Assembly members was held on Friday.
Mr Poots said it was an immense honour to be selected for the top post and he was looking forward to a "positive relationship right across Northern Ireland with my party colleagues and indeed with people from other parties".
He said Northern Ireland people had shown "remarkable resilience".
"I stand here very proud to be taking up the mantle as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party and that brings with it a responsibility to all of unionism," he said.

Full article - Edwin Poots is elected DUP leader - BBC News

 

[stripeyjoe]

Who’d have thought that a man who thinks the world is only 10,000 years old could be leader of anything...

 

[samale]

This is bad news for Ireland as a whole. He was responsible for stepping down the staff at the ports because of the Brexit protocol. He has stopped attending north south meetings.
The DUP backed Brexit and it has back fired badly on them. Boris Johnson led them down the garden path and well and truly shafted them. They wanted a hard Brexit and to create a hard border in Ireland.
The last straw for Arlene Foster was she abstained on the vote on gay conversion therapy.
Crazy religious people should not be allowed to govern. That's on both sides

 

[RichardM]

The last straw for Arlene Foster was she abstained on the vote on gay conversation therapy.

 

[samale]

Sorted
Predictive text has a lot to answer for

 

[Donegal john]

Disaster for Northern Ireland’s progression.
how can anyone in this day and age hold such extreme views as this ?


Views

Poots is a young earth creationist and rejects the theory of evolution.[16] In an interview with BBC presenter William Crawley, when asked how old the Earth was, Poots replied: "My view on the earth is that it's a young earth. My view is 4,000 BC". Young earth creationism is accepted by the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, of which Poots is a member, and other conservative evangelicals in Northern Ireland.[17] In a 2012 Belfast Telegraph article, which discussed lobbying by the creationist bible group the Caleb Foundation, Poots reportedly stated that, while not a member of the group, "Some of my views coincide with the Caleb Foundation".[18]

Poots faced criticism for banning blood donations from gay people,[19] saying: "I think that people who engage in high-risk sexual behaviour in general should be excluded from giving blood".[20] In June 2012, Poots said he wanted to extend the ban to people who have sex "with somebody in Africa or sex with prostitutes", stating that, in his view, this was also high-risk sexual behaviour.[20]

In September 2013, as Health Minister for Northern Ireland, he fought the ruling that would bring laws around LGBT adoption in Northern Ireland into line with other parts of the United Kingdom.[21]

In January 2016, Poots was criticised by gender equality advocates, political commentators and other politicians for saying that the newly elected First Minister, Arlene Foster's, most important job was as a "wife, mother and daughter".[22][23][24][25] Poots defended himself saying his statement was "not sexist" and that he considered his most important job to be that of a "husband, father and son".[26][27]

In October 2020, he was criticised by members of Sinn Féin and the Alliance Party after saying coronavirus was more common in nationalist areas. He stated: "There is a difference between nationalist areas and unionist areas – and the difference is around six to one".[28] The Department of Health issued a statement confirming that "data on Covid infections is not collected according to religious or political affiliation".[28]

 

[cheeseyfeet]

Sounds like a forward thinking, progressive leader ...

 

[johnny108]

“Young Earth creationist” who rejects evolution?

that honestly sounds like an American level of ignorance.
(I can say this, because I am one)

 

[johncrobinson]

These idiots can believe whatever nonsense they want. !! It doesn't bother me.

What does bother me is when they are given extraordinary influence in UK governance.
Such as when they were propping up Teresa Mays government.

 

[Braufather]

They are basically a Christian Taliban. God help us.

 

[Donegal john]

These idiots can believe whatever nonsense they want. !! It doesn't bother me.

What does bother me is when they are given extraordinary influence in UK governance.
Such as when they were propping up Teresa Mays government.

Believing what you want is one thing. Being in a position of power and believing it and enforcing it on people that don’t share the same views and also using what you believe to block any move forward for a country that has spent too long in the past is another thing altogether.

 

[HSD]

It’s the ordinary people who lose out in the end, they have been systematically let down by all the politicians and parties and both the governments in Dublin and London over the years, they deserve better.

 

[Braufather]

It’s not Dublin or London to blame. They didn’t vote for the DUP or Sinn Fein.

 

[HSD]

It’s not Dublin or London to blame. They didn’t vote for the DUP or Sinn Fein.

I didn’t say they did, just let down by them.

 

[Braufather]

I didn’t say they did, just let down by them.

I disagree, I think the problems lie closer to home.

 

[samale]

I disagree, I think the problems lie closer to home.

In what sense

 

[Brianbrewed]

It’s not Dublin or London to blame. They didn’t vote for the DUP or Sinn Fein.

The state of Northern Ireland was created by the British Gov after the Irish War of Independence. It was then virtually ignored even though Northern Ireland became a de-facto sectarian state with Catholics were withheld their civil rights by the Protestant majority. Generations of misguided policy from London only acerbated this.

Dublin virtually abandoned the Irish Catholic population in the six counties and sometimes their policies were no better than London's.

The only reason there was a peace process was montly due to the work of John Hume & the work of the Irish/American lobby.

 

[Braufather]

In what sense

The politics of division. The DUP and Sinn Fein feed off each other. They both use the other as the bogey man to rouse their core base. The DUPs policies don’t do anything for the deprived loyalist communities but they get support there by ramping up the anti Irish rhetoric. Sinn Fein on The other hand, whilst at least fighting to improve deprived communities also have policies that make Corbyn look like a centrist. The good Friday agreement was delivered with the UUP and the SDLP at the helm. Unfortunately they don’t get a lot in these days.

Power is shared between Christian fundamentalist Uber British nationalists and neo Marxist Uber Irish nationalists. And its the good people over here that keep on voting them back in.

 

[samale]

The politics of division. The DUP and Sinn Fein feed off each other. They both use the other as the bogey man to rouse their core base. The DUPs policies don’t do anything for the deprived loyalist communities but they get support there by ramping up the anti Irish rhetoric. Sinn Fein on The other hand, whilst at least fighting to improve deprived communities also have policies that make Corbyn look like a centrist. The good Friday agreement was delivered with the UUP and the SDLP at the helm. Unfortunately they don’t get a lot in these days.

Power is shared between Christian fundamentalist Uber British nationalists and neo Marxist Uber Irish nationalists. And its the good people over here that keep on voting them back in.

I agree with some of what you say. It would be nice for the two major parties to try and share or agree on some middle ground.
For me the next big change would be for the assembly to get rid of the petition of concern.
With no party having a majority it would allow everyone to live in some sort of democracy. It would drive the country forward and bring about a more liberal and tolerant society.

 

[Braufather]

That’s the problem with power sharing, although both Parties are equal, it means there is no formal opposition. Definitely need a way to bring the other parties in.