DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson has warned Sinn Féin to “stop obsessing” about a border poll.
Speaking to his party's Assembly candidates last weekend he accused the party’s leadership of “pushing a radical all-Ireland agenda." The Northern Ireland parties go to the polls to elect a new Assembly on May 5.
“There are those who like to tell us it doesn’t matter who wins this election,” he said. “But they are wrong.
“Current polls suggest there could be a Sinn Féin Taoiseach in the Republic of Ireland and a Sinn Féin First Minister of Northern Ireland after the next round of elections.
“Anyone who thinks the prospect of Michelle O’Neill and Mary-Lou McDonald touring around London, Brussels and Washington pushing a radical all-Ireland agenda will be good for the Union, or help bring stability in Northern Ireland, is living in a fool’s paradise.
“Just look at this week. Whilst all of Washington and New York were hailing their Irish ancestry and focused on Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin were not promoting Londonderry as a place to invest, they were taking out half-page adverts in the New York Times and Washington Post claiming now was the time for a border poll.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I have a message for Mary-Lou and Michelle O’Neill and Nicola Sturgeon (First Minister of Scotland). Stop obsessing about a border poll and focus on what matters to people.”
Donaldson said they should focus their attention on schools, health and the growing cost of living crisis as well as “removing the shadow of the protocol from our politics”.
“That is why this election is so important. That is why the DUP is focused on winning the election. That is why Unionism must stand behind the DUP on May 5.”
