Newly honoured Dame Arlene Foster has revealed she is working on a “new movement” to advocate for Northern Ireland remaining a part of the United Kingdom.
The former DUP chief mentioned the initiative would “disrupt the narrative that a united Ireland is inevitable” and “look to the future in terms of our precious Union”.
She mentioned the motion was not a brand new political celebration and she or he would reveal extra about her plans later in the yr.
Read extra:Sinn Féin’s letter to the Queen for Platinum Jubilee ‘welcomed’ by Arlene Foster
The former First Minister was talking after receiving a damehood in the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee birthday honours record.
Dame Arlene, who was ousted as DUP chief final yr after an inside celebration revolt, mentioned she is “advocating on behalf of the Union now in a non-party political way”.
“I think it’s important that I reach right across the United Kingdom to do that,” she instructed BBC Radio Ulster.
“And I have been working on a new movement, which I will talk to you about later on in the year, which is seeking to advocate for the Union, seeking to disrupt the narrative that a united Ireland is inevitable, which of course it’s not – and seeking to look to the future in terms of our precious Union.
“It’s not a brand new celebration, it is a new motion – and one thing that I look ahead to talking about in the long run.”
Dame Arlene argued it is “economically, politically, socially, culturally, higher to be in the United Kingdom”.
She mentioned: “I think there’s much to do in terms of the Union. I haven’t gone away in terms of advocating for the Union.
“I’ll proceed to do this, hopefully on a UK stage, and to enable folks to know why the Union is one thing that may exist into the long run, is economically, politically, socially, culturally, higher to be in the United Kingdom.
“And I’ll continue to put a positive case for the Union wherever I am.”
Dame Arlene backed the DUP in May’s Assembly election campaign however confirmed she is not a celebration member.
The ballot noticed Sinn Féin overtake the DUP to develop into the biggest celebration at Stormont for the primary time.
Asked concerning the DUP’s election efficiency, Dame Arlene mentioned: “I thought given some of the predictions, that the DUP in terms of percentage polling, actually did quite well given everything that had happened.
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“I think that obviously some very good people were lost, but actually Sinn Féin did not increase the number of people that they had.”
She defended DUP chief Sir Jeffrey Donaldson blocking the restoration of Stormont over Brexit’s Northern Ireland Protocol, saying the Irish Sea buying and selling preparations are “causing huge damage at present”.
She added: “Sir Jeffrey made his strategy very clear in September of last year.
“He mentioned that if the Protocol was not handled he would have to take motion. Unfortunately he wasn’t listened to and due to this fact he has had to take motion.
“I hope very much that the institutions will be back up and running, as I think everybody does, very soon.
“But in order to do this we’ve to take care of the elephant in the room which is in fact the Protocol.”
Dame Arlene argued the boycott was different from when Sinn Féin collapsed power-sharing in 2017 over the RHI controversy and calls for Irish language legislation, which the DUP had strongly criticised at the time.
“Because in contrast to after we are coping with id and tradition and language, we are actually coping with the very fundamentals of the Belfast Agreement,” she said.
“And generally I hear to a few of the different events speaking concerning the ‘majority are in favour of the Protocol’, and the ‘majority’ are in favour of X, Y and Z. What ever occurred to power-sharing?
“What ever happened to having the consent of both sides of the community to move forward and have that effective power-sharing? That is what we should be concentrating on now.”
Read extra:Sinn Féin’s letter to the Queen for Platinum Jubilee ‘welcomed’ by Arlene Foster
Read extra:Arlene Foster ‘thrilled and delighted’ after being named a Dame in Birthday Honours
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