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Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Arlene Foster will say there is \u201cno place for sectarianism\u201d against the community when she attends an Orange Order parade in Scotland.<\/p>\nDemocratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Arlene Foster will say there is \u201cno place for sectarianism\u201d against the community when she attends an Orange Order parade in Scotland.<\/p>\n
The Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland has confirmed the politician had accepted an invite to the parade in Cowdenbeath, Fife, later this month.<\/p>\n
A spokesman for the DUP said today that she will stress the need to build a shared society.<\/p>\n
She is also planning to hold other meetings while in Scotland.<\/p>\n
The spokesman said: \u201cMrs Foster has accepted an invitation from the Scottish Orange Order to speak at an event later this month.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe will deliver the same message in Scotland as in Northern Ireland.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the event, Mrs Foster will say: \u201cWe need a United Kingdom where people feel at home and where they feel comfortable living and working regardless of their background.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no place in 2018 for sectarianism or prejudice against any section of our community \u2013 that includes the Orange Order.\u201d<\/p>\n
She will also promote the idea of a United Kingdom \u201cwhere people feel valued will endure\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople will be reluctant to leave the Union in such a circumstance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMrs Foster is planning to have other meetings when in Scotland\u201d a DUP spokesman added.<\/p>\n
The Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland executive officer Robert McLean said he believed it is the first time she has attended one of the Boyne celebration parades in Scotland.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cShe\u2019s been invited to be the guest speaker. The main speech would be by Arlene Foster.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that attendance by Northern Ireland politicians at Scottish parades was not unusual and former First Minister and DUP leader Peter Robinson had done so in the past.<\/p>\n
My advice to her would be to channel her energy into getting Stormont back up and running<\/p>\n
Ms Foster was Northern Ireland\u2019s First Minister until the collapse of the powersharing agreement at Stormont last year.<\/p>\n
The parade on June 30 is one of the biggest in Scotland and involves lodges from Fife, Edinburgh, the Lothians and elsewhere in the central belt.<\/p>\n
Labour and the Liberal Democrats in Scotland said Ms Foster\u2019s time would be better spent in Northern Ireland, where there is no devolved government in place following its collapse more than a year ago.<\/p>\n
Labour MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath Lesley Laird said: \u201cMy advice to her would be to channel her energy into getting Stormont back up and running.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie said: \u201cWith the Northern Ireland Assembly suspended, I would have thought that Arlene Foster\u2019s time would be better spent reaching across the political divide at home rather than marching on the streets of a small town in Fife.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick Harvie, Scottish Greens\u2019 co-convener, said: \u201cIf Arlene Foster does come across the Irish Sea she\u2019d be better off discussing how to avoid a hard Brexit or learning about the importance of equal marriage or women\u2019s access to free, safe and legal abortion, rather than taking part in yet another sectarian march.\u201d<\/p>\n