IN a weekend statement attempting to justify her decision to resign as a DUP party officer, the Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart again called on her colleague Emma Little-Pengelly to stand down as deputy first minister over the Drumcree issue, and made the extraordinary claim that she had “never seen unionism so united”.
Ms Lockhart must not have watched the much-discussed episode of The View on BBC1 last Thursday, when the leaders of the three main unionist parties clashed angrily with each other for almost half an hour in the course of a studio debate.
The bitterness of the exchanges was striking, with the senior representatives on completely different wavelengths, and much of the sharpest animosity being directed by Jim Allister of the TUV against Gavin Robinson of the DUP.
Ms Lockhart, despite her assertion that unionism was united, felt unable earlier the same day to express her basic confidence in the ability of Mr Robinson, who has been coming under prolonged pressure from fringe voices, to lead the party of which, at least for the time being, she remains an elected member.
She instead said “I have confidence that action is needed and wanted, and therefore I will continue to advocate for that,” and pointedly declined to rule out the possibility that she was ready to defect to the TUV.
Mr Allister has repeatedly been declaring his admiration for Ms Lockhart, whose position in the DUP is looking increasingly untenable, with further differences of opinion with party veteran Sammy Wilson emerging on Saturday.
She posed happily for pictures with Mr Allister at a loyalist rally in Portadown later the same day, and shared a stage with Orange leaders who have been openly critical of Mr Robinson.
Ms Lockhart is demanding that Ms Little-Pengelly should be immediately withdrawn from her post, which would mean that Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill could no longer serve as first minister, even though Mr Robinson has definitively made it clear that this is not going to happen.
All this flows from the Drumcree debacle, caused by a blatantly flawed ruling from the Parades Commission which, after weeks of unnecessary turmoil, the secretary of state Chris Bryant had no option other than eventually overturn.
Unionism has plainly been split down the middle as a result, despite the claims from Ms Lockhart, and the only unity created has been among the nationalists of all shades who have stood firmly with the residents of Garvaghy Road in Portadown.
The most constructive contribution which she could make at this stage would be to clarify which party, if any, in the disunited world of unionism actually has her allegiance.
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