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Jeffrey Donaldson has announced he will run for the leadership of the DUP.<\/p>\nJeffrey Donaldson has announced he will run for the leadership of the DUP.<\/p>\n
The longstanding Lagan Valley MP said he would promote a positive strategy and values if elected, with a focus on building a shared future for everyone in the North.<\/p>\n
The party\u2019s current Westminster leader also pledged meaningful reform within the DUP and said he would set clear policy directions on key challenges for unionism, such as Brexit\u2019s contentious Northern Ireland Protocol.<\/p>\n
His entry in the race to succeed the deposed Arlene Foster will mean the DUP is set for its first-ever leadership contest in its 50-year history.<\/p>\n
The North’s Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots announced his candidature last week.<\/p>\n
Mr Donaldson announced his leadership bid at fellow MP Gavin Robinson\u2019s constituency office in east Belfast on Monday morning, coinciding with the date viewed by many historians as the centenary of the creation of Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to thank Arlene Foster for her service to our party, people and country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe led with great courage, conviction and a big heart for Northern Ireland. I wish Arlene and her family well for the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday, Northern Ireland enters its second century.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am convinced that in this new century, Northern Ireland\u2019s best days are ahead of us.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to build a shared future for Northern Ireland where everyone, regardless of their background, has a part to play in showing the world what we are truly capable of.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth making our full contribution, and enjoying the benefits, of being part of the United Kingdom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Donaldson will be seen as the moderate candidate against the more hardline Mr Poots, who also represents the Lagan Valley constituency, as an Assembly member.<\/p>\n
Mrs Foster resigned last week after an internal revolt against her leadership.<\/p>\n
The move came in the form of a letter of no confidence signed by a majority of the party\u2019s senior elected representatives.<\/p>\n
Mr Poots, understood to have been one of the key figures behind the heave against her, announced his leadership bid within 24 hours of Mrs Foster\u2019s resignation statement.<\/p>\n
The outgoing DUP leader will step down from that role on May 28th, and as Northern Ireland First Minister at the end of June.<\/p>\n
A small electorate, comprising just the party\u2019s MLAs and MPs, will decide the leadership contest.<\/p>\n
Making his pitch for the job, Mr Donaldson added: \u201cOur next century will be built on the politics of persuasion.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis will need positive leadership, strategy and values. Strong. United. Focused.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis will also require party structures capable of communicating clearly and consistently to appeal to voters; capable of working with a strong and growing team built around real partnership between representatives in our local councils, the Assembly and at Westminster; and capable of overcoming those that seek to abolish Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will develop and swiftly implement an agreed program of meaningful reform and clear policy direction on key challenges like the protocol.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur task is to not only make the case for the Union but to strengthen that Union in the years ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur previous leaders have shown that when the DUP leads, Northern Ireland moves forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not only elected members of a political party, we are the custodians of the Union.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet us take our next steps forward. Forward to a new century.\u201d<\/p>\n