Introduction
The DUP Party Conference will take place tomorrow at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in South Belfast.
The conference comes just a week after a Party Executive Meeting, in which Donaldson told journalists that there was no dissent in the party.
The party conference takes place 20 months into the DUP boycott of the Stormont institutions, in protest at post-Brexit trade rules brought into place in Northern Ireland.
The DUP is the second largest party in Northern Ireland and remains the largest unionist party.
What’s the context?
The DUP have refused to take their seats at Stormont since February 2022, amid the fall out over the Windsor Framework. The party have set out seven tests which the Framework must meet before they return to Stormont.
Just last week, the DUP Executive met in Lurgan where Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP updated his party members on the progress of his negotiations with the UK government surrounding the post-Brexit trading arrangements implemented in Northern Ireland.
This is Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP’s second party-conference as leader, having ousted Edwin Poots in the summer of 2021.
The DUP are under increasing pressure from many of the other Northern Irish parties and the UK Government to return to power sharing. On the other side, they are under severe pressure from hardline players such as the TUV to maintain their boycott of power sharing, until the seven tests on the Windsor Framework are met.
What’s the agenda?
A panel discussion on legacy issues chaired by Emma Little-Pengelly MLA will take place at 3pm today.
A pre-conference dinner will take place at 8pm tonight, also at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.
On Saturday, former BBC Political Editor Mark Davenport will chair two panels, firstly, ‘The DUP at Westminster’ at 9.45am and later ‘Restoring Fairness in Policing’ at 11.55am.
DUP Deputy Leader, Gavin Robinson MP, will make his speech at 11.15am.
The Leader’s speech from the RT Honourable Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP will take place at 12.25pm.
Following lunch, three breakout sessions will be held at 1.45pm. The breakout sessions will focus on ‘Charlotte’s Law,’ ‘Toward a More Prosperous Future for Northern Ireland,’ and ‘Health: Investing for the Future.’