DUP leader says no shift towards Irish unity despite Sinn Fein's electoral success

The Democratic Unionist Party leader Gavin Robinson says there is no evidence of a significant shift towards Irish unity.

Speaking to Sky News ahead of the DUP's annual conference, Mr Robinson denied having his head in the sand on the issue.

His comments came as Scotland's former first minister Nicola Sturgeon predicted Irish unity and Scottish independence would both happen.

But Mr Robinson says Sinn Fein's electoral success, having become Northern Ireland's largest party at Stormont and Westminster, has been misread as evidence of constitutional change.

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While most nationalists now vote Sinn Fein, he claimed the total number voting for nationalist parties had not changed since 1998.

He said: "There is an opportunity to re-set the narrative, because it is wrong to conclude that there has been a large-scale change of constitution.

"The total vote of those voting for nationalist parties has not changed one bit today and still rests… 39% or 40%, so no large-scale change."

The East Belfast MP urged the Labour government to recognise "as previous Labour governments did" the sensitivities in Northern Ireland.

He said: "There is a sense that this place needs to be carefully nurtured…

"There are nuances that, to the uninitiated, may seem odd, but if you don't get them right, things can go wrong, so there's a steep learning curve for this government."

Mr Robinson was thrust into the leadership of the DUP when his predecessor Sir Jeffrey Donaldson resigned suddenly in March.

Donaldson had been charged with historical sexual offences. He has since pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.

Mr Robinson said many had commented that he appeared "visibly shocked" in a Sky News interview when Donaldson resigned.

"More importantly, sometimes it takes a shock to recognise what's important and colleagues are pulling together, drawing together," he added.

Having lost three seats in the general election, Mr Robinson, the first leader of Unionism under the age of 40, appears focused on rebuilding.

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Lee Reynolds, a former adviser to Arlene Foster when she was DUP leader, says the party needs to rebrand to restore fortunes.

Writing in The Critic, ahead of the party conference, Mr Reynolds also pointed out that the unionist voting bloc remained larger than the nationalist one.

But he said the DUP had become a "negative brand", should consider changing its name and curbing the influence of backroom figures to restore trust.