DUP in disarray

Ulster Unionist Party deputy leader Danny Kennedy has said that "if the DUP position on Policing and Justice in general and the Full Time Reserve in particular becomes any more confused then Peter Robinson will have to issue a route map and fog lamp to his members".

"Willie McCrea says that doing away with the FTR would amount to "failing the test of community confidence (therefore) there cannot be devolution of policing and justice. One follows on-they are interlinked."

"Jeffrey Donaldson says "to proceed with the disbandment of the FTR, against the fact that we have a very high security threat at the moment, means that public confidence is damaged. Until this matter is resolved, it is difficult to see how policing and justice can proceed when public confidence has been undermined."

"Peter Robinson says "our opinion is that the FTR should be retained." But Mr. Robinson will not go as far as some of his colleagues and make retention of the FTR a deal-breaker. Why is that, I wonder?

"Gregory Campbell says that "there is a problem with describing any single issue as a deal-breaker." Oddly enough, Gregory never seemed to have that problem in the past!

"The real problem for the DUP is that, in return for being allowed to convene the Executive after five months of not meeting, Martin McGuinness tied Peter Robinson down to an agreement to devolve policing and justice.

"Worse than that, he tied him down to agree to devolve it to a puppet minister (who wouldn't be a unionist) and to a department over which Sinn Fein would have joint control and a mutual veto.

"But a few months later the DUP lost over 40% of its vote at the European election and panic set in among their elected representatives and grassroots members (those who hadn't quietly left the party anyway, or defected to the TUV!).

"And that panic is spreading. Senior DUP figures are giving off-the-record briefings to journalists and admitting that the FTR decision has damaged unionist confidence."

Speaking about the DUP mantra of unionist confidence, the Newry and Armagh MLA said: "Not very long ago Peter Robinson used to boast about confidence having been restored to unionists. And he also used to say that 'unionist confidence' would be a key factor in determining the devolution of policing and justice. But that 'unionist confidence' has now been replaced with 'community confidence' and 'public confidence.'

"Maybe that change of phrasing has something to do with the fact that the DUP no longer speaks for the majority of unionists - having lost almost half of its vote under Mr. Robinson's brief time as leader!

"Finally, the DUP talks of financial packages and confidence-building measures. But when are we ever going to be told what the powers of any new minister will be? It's very worrying that the details of those powers are still being kept under wraps - or is that because Martin McGuinness hasn't yet told Peter what the powers will be"