:00:00. > :00:07.One week on from polling day, how will unionism deal
:00:08. > :00:10.And how should nationalism approach this shift in the political balance?
:00:11. > :00:42.So what are the lessons of the election for the main parties?
:00:43. > :00:48.I think what the DUP need to do is reach out with a generosity of
:00:49. > :00:50.spirit and a liberty of spirit, but also Sinn Fein need to rise to the
:00:51. > :00:51.task as well. We'll ask the DUP's
:00:52. > :00:53.Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and Ulster Unionist David Campbell
:00:54. > :00:56.is a renewed attempt to create Plus what does this election reveal
:00:57. > :00:59.about the re-animated nationalist vote - we'll hear
:01:00. > :01:01.from Sinn Fein's Mairtin O Mullieor We've given commentators a night off
:01:02. > :01:08.after a gruelling election but there's no stopping the tireless
:01:09. > :01:18.Mark Devenport. Unionist unity is once again
:01:19. > :01:20.on the agenda after an Assembly election which for the first time
:01:21. > :01:23.saw unionism's Stormont Now a former Ulster Unionist deputy
:01:24. > :01:28.leader has told this programme it's time for unionists to "unlock
:01:29. > :01:32.the doors" between the parties. But with a growing nationalist
:01:33. > :01:34.population, would one big unionist party be the answer,
:01:35. > :01:42.or is the solution for unionists -- This report from our
:01:43. > :01:43.Political Correspondent, Gareth Gordon, begins
:01:44. > :01:53.with the election verdict of the The Unionist majority in the
:01:54. > :02:04.Assembly has been ended. And the notion of a permanent or perpetual
:02:05. > :02:14.Unionist majority has been demolished.
:02:15. > :02:24.The tectonic plates of political landscape has shifted. I see this as
:02:25. > :02:27.a critical moment, which has parallels with 1912. But the man who
:02:28. > :02:33.wrote the history of Ulster says that for the union, it is not yet
:02:34. > :02:38.terminal. There was a border poll in a year, almost certainly people
:02:39. > :02:43.would vote to stay in the union. Partly because they know that the
:02:44. > :02:48.Irish Republic has not got a a year to put into the Northern Ireland
:02:49. > :02:52.economy, and partly because... Many people who were infuriated by Arlene
:02:53. > :02:59.Foster and voted for nationals parties quietly would be voting to
:03:00. > :03:02.stay in a United Kingdom, with all its benefits. Do you think that is
:03:03. > :03:06.what this was about? People on the Nationalist side being infuriated by
:03:07. > :03:11.Arlene Foster? Absolutely, of course they were.
:03:12. > :03:15.But Unionists are alarmed. There is even talk, again, of Unionist unity.
:03:16. > :03:22.It has really worked in the past. I would hope so, but I don't think it
:03:23. > :03:27.will. I would be voting in favour of the Prime Minister.
:03:28. > :03:34.CHEERING You're hiding away!
:03:35. > :03:42.During the election campaign, Arlene Foster went to market and met the
:03:43. > :03:47.warden. If she bent down, that would be gone. Her son was murdered in the
:03:48. > :03:52.Kingsmill massacre. Dennis's brother says that Unionists must work
:03:53. > :03:55.together. -- Kenneth's brother. I honestly believe that there should
:03:56. > :03:59.only be one Unionist party. There cannot be that much dreaming, it is
:04:00. > :04:02.mainly personalities. They should get together and get the majority
:04:03. > :04:09.back into Stormont. Do you think that would happen if they did get
:04:10. > :04:14.together? Without a doubt. I still believe there is thousands of people
:04:15. > :04:18.who did not bother voting. Why? You know, the DUP has been seeing this
:04:19. > :04:22.last ten years fought for us or else Sinn Fein will be deep house party,
:04:23. > :04:27.this time they cried wolf, they will cause an side. Up the street, one of
:04:28. > :04:31.the best-known Unionist casualties of this election is considering life
:04:32. > :04:39.after Stormont. Everybody in the house of unionism, I think, has no
:04:40. > :04:43.agency to open some of the connecting doors which have been
:04:44. > :04:47.locked between the various factions and the various interests within
:04:48. > :04:56.unionism for quote period. It is time to unlock those doors and to
:04:57. > :04:59.allow a deep conversation and a genuine assessment as to where we
:05:00. > :05:08.are. I don't think the union actually is in danger. I think in
:05:09. > :05:11.any referendum, a majority of the population will still thought to
:05:12. > :05:13.remain part of the United Kingdom. But I think we do need a
:05:14. > :05:18.conversation within unionism as to how best we move forward.
:05:19. > :05:22.Geographically, at any rate, the headquarters of the Ulster Unionist
:05:23. > :05:29.Party are only a few hundred yards away from... The headquarters of the
:05:30. > :05:32.Democratic Unionist Party. With demographics changing, would uniting
:05:33. > :05:38.these two parties really be the answer to unionism's troubles? This
:05:39. > :05:42.man is a DUP founder member. He is also a former special adviser to
:05:43. > :05:48.Nigel Dodds, but he is not convinced by the calls for Unionist unity. In
:05:49. > :05:53.many ways, I felt in a state of shock, Unionists rallied to Unionist
:05:54. > :05:58.unity as a bit of a comfort blanket to make themselves feel better. But
:05:59. > :06:00.there is a large elephant in the room, and that is the massive
:06:01. > :06:04.mandate that Sinn Fein have received. So I think Unionist unity
:06:05. > :06:10.might have its merits, but it is not a panacea and while I would like to
:06:11. > :06:15.see Unionists coming together, it might be better done through a form
:06:16. > :06:19.of Unionist Council, as it was done in the 1970s and the one, or if you
:06:20. > :06:21.are going to one party, I think there is only one party that people
:06:22. > :06:27.can unite around and that is the DUP. Although he is regarded as a
:06:28. > :06:32.fundamentalist, Wallace Thompson raised eyebrows with a Facebook post
:06:33. > :06:37.this week in which he urged his party to compromise. What we as
:06:38. > :06:43.Unionists need to do is recognise that we are faced with a significant
:06:44. > :06:46.proportion of the people of Northern Ireland now voting, sadly from our
:06:47. > :06:52.point of view, for a Sinn Fein. We need to reach out from those
:06:53. > :06:55.folders. We need to reach out as best we can in the spirit, and I do
:06:56. > :06:59.not like a bird, rise because it is a dirty word but, as is part of
:07:00. > :07:05.life. It has to work both ways. -- I do not like the word compromise. The
:07:06. > :07:09.DUP need to reach it with the generosity of spirit, a liberty of
:07:10. > :07:15.spirit but Sinn Fein need to rise to the task as well. I am a Protestant,
:07:16. > :07:18.and Ulster man, a British citizen, but I am an Irish man and I think
:07:19. > :07:24.that breadth of perspective is what is needed. If unionism is
:07:25. > :07:33.reassessing, it must do so from a much weakened position.
:07:34. > :07:41.My guess from the DUP, and a former chair of the Ulster Unionist Party.
:07:42. > :07:44.Welcome, though. Jeffrey, first of. Senior figures have already admitted
:07:45. > :07:48.last Thursday's result was not a good one for unionism. You yourself
:07:49. > :07:51.there are lessons to be learned. Some are bigots have tried to
:07:52. > :07:59.suggest it was a good result, you do not believe that, do you? -- from
:08:00. > :08:02.other figures. We have to be honest from a starting point, don't we, and
:08:03. > :08:05.the reality is they were seen we should have one and did not and I
:08:06. > :08:17.think we need to ask yourself why that happened. The result of that
:08:18. > :08:22.was that it was just. Sinn Fein increased Thursday of the vote by 4%
:08:23. > :08:27.and we have to recognise that as well. Albeit on a higher turnout, if
:08:28. > :08:31.that remains to be seen if that can't be sustained, if it was a
:08:32. > :08:38.turnout comparable with, not far short of the 1998 vote. So I do not
:08:39. > :08:41.think it is all doom and gloom for unionism, far from it, but I do
:08:42. > :08:47.think that the results of this election compelled was, the Ulster
:08:48. > :08:50.Unionist Party and the Democratic Unionist Party, to do what Danny
:08:51. > :08:58.Kennedy has talked about, open those interconnecting doors, talk to each
:08:59. > :09:01.other and see the extent to which we can cooperate for the good of
:09:02. > :09:11.unionism. I want to come onto that for a
:09:12. > :09:16.moment or two. Your party leader, Arlene Foster,
:09:17. > :09:19.said the board went up and you're still the biggest party at Stormont.
:09:20. > :09:27.In the context of what you have just said, is she being dishonest? Not at
:09:28. > :09:35.all. With respect, both apply in this sense. I heard commentators
:09:36. > :09:39.talk about the DUP losing the election. I think Arlene is
:09:40. > :09:44.absolutely right to point out the fact that the DUP, despite the very
:09:45. > :09:51.difficult circumstances, remain the largest party.
:09:52. > :09:54.You lost ten seats. Narrowly. The reduction in the number of seats in
:09:55. > :10:00.the event, we would have lost at least half of those seats anyway.
:10:01. > :10:04.Yes, but the gap last time was 36,000, it is now 1200. They are
:10:05. > :10:11.snapping at your heels. And I said that, Mark, on your programme after
:10:12. > :10:14.and I thank the electorate for and I thank the electorate for
:10:15. > :10:22.sticking with us. We did increase our thought, but the reality is that
:10:23. > :10:26.unionism combined needs to examine the results of this election, and
:10:27. > :10:31.ask why did we not win more seats? We had the votes to do it. Take
:10:32. > :10:35.South Belfast as one but one example. We had enough votes for two
:10:36. > :10:39.quarters in south Belfast, across the Unionist family. We only won a
:10:40. > :10:44.single feed and that constituency. You know why that was, because DUP
:10:45. > :10:47.voters did not transfer to the Ulster Unionist Party did, and if
:10:48. > :10:50.they had done that the first MLA in south Belfast would be Michael
:10:51. > :10:55.Henderson of the Ulster Unionist Party, not clear belly of the Green
:10:56. > :11:00.party. It is your voters who lost to that seed! That is a fact. It worked
:11:01. > :11:07.both ways, with respect. That as an example of the DUP not actually
:11:08. > :11:10.backing up Unionist unity, or the idea of one sense of unionism by
:11:11. > :11:15.transferring within unionism. They are the ones who did not do it! But
:11:16. > :11:19.Mark, voters vote as water as well. We advise them, and it is very
:11:20. > :11:23.clear, we advise our borders to transfer to other Unionist
:11:24. > :11:26.candidates. That was clear. They did not take your advice in south
:11:27. > :11:31.Belfast. They did to some extent, but not the extent we didn't do. In
:11:32. > :11:35.an honest way, I am saying to you we need to examine why this has
:11:36. > :11:38.happened. Edmund Burke has been the good of all the fault of the Ulster
:11:39. > :11:43.Unionist Party because they did not transfer to the DUP in Lagan Valley.
:11:44. > :11:48.That is only half of the story, that is my point. And, Mark, I have not
:11:49. > :11:52.come on here, with respect, to try to put words in my mouth. I have not
:11:53. > :11:55.said anything by way of criticism of the Ulster Unionist Party. I have
:11:56. > :12:01.said that unionism, collectively, needs to examine why we did not win
:12:02. > :12:04.as many seats as we did and I am that applies across the board.
:12:05. > :12:07.I am not trying to put words in your mouth, I just think that the words
:12:08. > :12:14.coming out of your mouth and not necessarily the ones coming out of
:12:15. > :12:17.Arlene Foster's or Edwin Poots... I think people respond to specific
:12:18. > :12:22.questions asked of them. I was absolutely right to point out that
:12:23. > :12:25.actually the DUP still emerged as the largest party, albeit by a
:12:26. > :12:29.narrow margin. But we all accept, and I can tell you, in the internal
:12:30. > :12:33.discussions we have had this week within the DUP, we recognise that
:12:34. > :12:39.unionism needs to do better in terms of winning seats at Stormont.
:12:40. > :12:43.OK, let me bring David Campbell on. How bad a result you think it was
:12:44. > :12:47.for the overarching Unionist family? I think it was an appalling result,
:12:48. > :12:55.but it is a result that we can now work with and build on and I am one
:12:56. > :13:00.with Geoffrey in terms of encouraging cooperation. I do not
:13:01. > :13:06.understand the logic of a unionist water, for example in Lagan Valley,
:13:07. > :13:10.voting for a national candidate with a higher preference than another
:13:11. > :13:14.Unionist candidate. It justifies... You understand the logic of a DUP
:13:15. > :13:18.voter in south Belfast not transferring onto another Unionist?
:13:19. > :13:23.Speak about the two examples are virtually identical. Do you accept
:13:24. > :13:26.the situation that happened in Lagan Valley may be because your party
:13:27. > :13:31.leader, Mike Nesbitt, encouraged people a couple of weeks before the
:13:32. > :13:36.election to transfer, as they saw fit. Not necessarily driver Unionist
:13:37. > :13:40.but to the middle ground, to the SDLP? In part, yes. Although,
:13:41. > :13:43.ironically, in the manner and South Tyrone, it worked in favour of
:13:44. > :13:52.Ulster Unionist Party retaining a seat. Due to transfer is from the
:13:53. > :13:56.SDLP. But your principle is correct. And our canvassers and candidates
:13:57. > :14:00.would identify a definite shift in the attitude to voting for the
:14:01. > :14:05.party. So, is the answer then, in your view, that the two main
:14:06. > :14:10.Unionist parties need to find some better way, as you would see it, of
:14:11. > :14:15.working together in future? Yes, my proposition would be cooperation,
:14:16. > :14:21.rather than looking at some form of complete unity or merger. So not one
:14:22. > :14:25.you party? No, I think both parties are elements of the voting
:14:26. > :14:32.electorate that the other partys cannot attract at the moment. We
:14:33. > :14:35.should not also forget the significant Loyalist Unionist vote,
:14:36. > :14:39.which simply does not come out at all, and we have to reach out to
:14:40. > :14:43.that and we should be including the DUP in future discussions as well.
:14:44. > :14:47.Even though it has the connections that it has? Well, it has
:14:48. > :14:53.connections which are committed to peace and moving Northern Ireland
:14:54. > :14:59.forward peacefully. Therefore I do not see a problem with working with
:15:00. > :15:04.them. I do work with them on a daily basis, as you know, through my work
:15:05. > :15:07.with the Loyalist Council. But one of the big sectors of the Unionist
:15:08. > :15:12.population that is not coming out to vote for any Unionist party is
:15:13. > :15:22.largely the Unionist Loyalist working class. Due to a similar
:15:23. > :15:26.view, Jeffrey Donaldson, that there needs to be a closer relationship
:15:27. > :15:29.between the two Unionist parties, but not some kind of unity because
:15:30. > :15:39.arguably the some of the parts would be less because there is no evidence
:15:40. > :15:42.that the two parties would work well together and one may gravitate
:15:43. > :15:47.towards the Alliance party rather than being consumed by the DUP? I
:15:48. > :15:50.think David is absolutely right about the starting point on this
:15:51. > :15:55.journey. I think we do need to look at closer co-operation. He is right.
:15:56. > :15:59.I don't think it would be viable at this stage simply overnight to merge
:16:00. > :16:07.the two parties together. However, I do think that in the longer term, it
:16:08. > :16:10.may well be that word this -- where this relationship evolves is to have
:16:11. > :16:15.a broader Unionist movement and I think that we have to look at how we
:16:16. > :16:20.can bring more Unionists out to vote. One of the things that turns
:16:21. > :16:24.Unionist voters off is what they perceive to be, and rightly so,
:16:25. > :16:30.internal bickering within unionism, and I am sure that came out very
:16:31. > :16:35.much in this election and impacted on transfers, costing unionism
:16:36. > :16:39.seats. So where in the past we have cooperated, for example, in the
:16:40. > :16:43.general election, we returned more Unionist seats as a result of that
:16:44. > :16:47.cooperation, so I think cooperation between the two parties is a good
:16:48. > :16:51.starting point. Can you explain to people who might be slightly baffled
:16:52. > :16:55.about this why it is so important for unionism to regain that majority
:16:56. > :16:59.at Stormont, White is so important for unionism to be in the driving
:17:00. > :17:03.seat as you might see at politics here and why Unionist unity is so
:17:04. > :17:06.important because for a lot of people watching, they will say they
:17:07. > :17:09.do not want to go back to the politics of orange and green, they
:17:10. > :17:14.want to look forward to a more progressive and modern kind of
:17:15. > :17:18.politics Northern Ireland? Well, power-sharing is the way forward.
:17:19. > :17:22.Unionism is not looking for a return to majority rule at Stormont. That
:17:23. > :17:28.is absolutely clear. We understand that as well as building a consensus
:17:29. > :17:32.within unionism, we have also got to build a consensus across the
:17:33. > :17:37.political divide. However, I believe passionately in the union. I am a
:17:38. > :17:40.union is because I believe that Northern Ireland is better off as
:17:41. > :17:45.part of the United Kingdom. And therefore, every Unionist seat that
:17:46. > :17:48.is one strengthens the union. Yes, but Arlene Foster in her piece in
:17:49. > :17:51.the Belfast Telegraph this week talks specifically about the need
:17:52. > :17:57.for unionism to be the dominant force. In terms of preserving the
:17:58. > :18:00.union, yes. But our Stormont system has built into it checks and
:18:01. > :18:09.balances that prevents anyone dominating anyone else. And
:18:10. > :18:13.therefore, it is not... Arlene Foster is quite right to say that we
:18:14. > :18:16.want unionism to be predominant in the sense that we want the
:18:17. > :18:19.constitutional argument for the United Kingdom to be the one that
:18:20. > :18:23.enjoys the majority support in Northern Ireland. I believe it still
:18:24. > :18:27.does. Would it be the end of the world of nationalism was the
:18:28. > :18:31.dominant force in Northern Ireland? Well, then we would end up with
:18:32. > :18:37.Northern Ireland leaving the United Kingdom. Not necessarily. The rules
:18:38. > :18:40.are pretty clear, Mark. The rules say that if that scenario were to
:18:41. > :18:45.happen we would have a vote. You are probably right and I am confident
:18:46. > :18:49.that we would win. But psychologically these things are
:18:50. > :18:55.important. And you heard Gerry Adams on your about destroying the
:18:56. > :19:01.Unionist majority. He has talked about, well, I will not use the
:19:02. > :19:03.crude terms that he has spoken about when he used foul language to
:19:04. > :19:09.describe how he would break unionism. I would not repeat that
:19:10. > :19:15.but I will simply say this. A strong unionism is a good partner to build
:19:16. > :19:18.a stronger political consensus. And I would say to Sinn Fein in
:19:19. > :19:22.particular that if you want the peace process to move forward, and I
:19:23. > :19:25.hope we all do, and if you hope to build a stable Northern Ireland,
:19:26. > :19:31.then you need a strong partner to do that. And can it be led by Arlene
:19:32. > :19:37.Foster after the result she has just delivered? She has a good
:19:38. > :19:44.confidence? -- she has little confidence? Yes, she does. And in
:19:45. > :19:48.our parliamentary group, that is absolutely clear. She continues to
:19:49. > :19:52.enjoy strong support. And do you think that Ulster Unionists would be
:19:53. > :19:55.happy with the prospect, David Campbell, of Arlene Foster broadly
:19:56. > :20:00.leading the Unionist family after presiding over what you have
:20:01. > :20:05.described as an appalling election result for unionism? Well, she was
:20:06. > :20:12.ill advised not to stand beside in January, but we are where we are
:20:13. > :20:15.now. Should you stand aside now? No, Magic of the Unionist electorate in
:20:16. > :20:24.general is she would be appalled if she conceded to this outrageous the
:20:25. > :20:30.band -- demand. There is not a contradiction there? No, I think if
:20:31. > :20:33.she had done it in January we would have avoided this but we have a
:20:34. > :20:38.situation that the enquiry judge today could be at least six or seven
:20:39. > :20:41.months before a report. OK. You should be the new leader of the
:20:42. > :20:45.Ulster Unionist Party, because we now know that that is definitely
:20:46. > :20:48.going to change? Well, I would hope that the party would take time to
:20:49. > :20:53.reflect and to consult internally before it crashes into that. Well,
:20:54. > :20:56.it is supposed to be happening on April the 8th. Well, I would hope
:20:57. > :21:04.that that is revisited. So you would like to see a much longer period?
:21:05. > :21:11.Yes. And who would you support? Tom Elliott. He has ruled himself out. I
:21:12. > :21:19.would like to see the party encourage him. Even though he has
:21:20. > :21:23.said he does not want the job. In terms of increased cooperation, Tom
:21:24. > :21:26.has a personal vested interest in cooperation. He should not have
:21:27. > :21:32.resigned or retired prematurely, in my view, five years ago and I would
:21:33. > :21:36.like to see him come back and complete the mandate that he got so
:21:37. > :21:39.convincingly five years ago. Interesting idea. We will see if we
:21:40. > :21:40.can persuade him to change his mind. That is the future of unionism
:21:41. > :22:27.sorted. I just think it is an amazing day
:22:28. > :22:30.and we are delighted. Thank you very much to the electorate who have come
:22:31. > :22:37.out in such numbers. The boat has increased. I think it was a good day
:22:38. > :22:40.for the SDLP and a very difficult atmosphere. The only one to afford
:22:41. > :22:45.every single Assembly elections since the Good Friday Agreement and
:22:46. > :22:49.to have won a seat. I can tell you formally, officially, you are an
:22:50. > :22:59.MLA. You have been returned. In this particular election, people using
:23:00. > :23:19.the phrase, sustain the flame, did not seem totally appropriate.
:23:20. > :23:31.Joining the art Mairtin O'Muilleoir. Do you regret leaving? There is a
:23:32. > :23:36.saying that nothing seems to change day-to-day but then when you look
:23:37. > :23:40.back everything has changed. Someone said this was a polarising election
:23:41. > :23:48.on Thursday. If you analyse it, it was a coming together of people. We
:23:49. > :23:53.have this progressive alliance. It was the Greens who moved to the side
:23:54. > :24:01.of equality and justice and the Alliance party are very strong on
:24:02. > :24:05.marriage equality. Plus the SDLP. And do we leave out those who
:24:06. > :24:10.believe in discrimination? Yes, we do. But there is a golden bridge.
:24:11. > :24:13.Those who want to stand up and I heard a very dismal view of what the
:24:14. > :24:23.future holds for our people from my dear friend Jeffrey there. I do not
:24:24. > :24:26.think it is a very -- and it is a bright future if we can all agree.
:24:27. > :24:29.But those people who support the DUP, they have to be included. You
:24:30. > :24:33.have talked about equality and respect and all the rest of it
:24:34. > :24:40.during the election campaign. The DUP has a huge mandate. You just did
:24:41. > :24:43.not include them. No, I said it was a great day for the bright side of
:24:44. > :24:48.the road people. But those who do not believe in equality... Of
:24:49. > :24:53.course, I believe in an inclusive community. The first thing I did as
:24:54. > :25:00.finance minister... So you do not want to bolster the fading fortunes
:25:01. > :25:04.of the DUP? Some voters transferred to the SDLP. Let me explain. What is
:25:05. > :25:07.happening in this society is different than what Geoffrey and
:25:08. > :25:11.David talked about. People are making choices based on the idea of
:25:12. > :25:14.real partnership and a real fresh start, back to the Good Friday
:25:15. > :25:19.Agreement principles of parity. And when you make those choices then you
:25:20. > :25:23.do move away from discrimination. Whether you like it or not, they do
:25:24. > :25:26.not agree with you on those issues. They may agree with you on some
:25:27. > :25:38.issues and they may be your partners in Government if Stormont gets back
:25:39. > :25:42.up and running again. It has been said that it looks like your vision
:25:43. > :25:49.of a new Belfast includes everyone except the fading DUP. I would like
:25:50. > :25:53.Belfast and Dublin for everyone. Is that not the point? I respect more
:25:54. > :26:00.steeply and I agree with him. I wasn't the City Council in 1997. For
:26:01. > :26:08.400 years, it was a Government for one side of her people. In the years
:26:09. > :26:14.since 1997, I think people who live in Belfast will include -- will
:26:15. > :26:18.agree that we have a better city because of inclusion. But the DUP
:26:19. > :26:26.still has a place at the table? In my table, everyone eats at the same
:26:27. > :26:29.table but in the version of the DUP, some people eat in the kitchen and I
:26:30. > :26:35.am wholly against that. We are all at the front of the bus together. I
:26:36. > :26:37.think they would disagree. Let me ask Danny Morrison, who has been
:26:38. > :26:43.involved with Sinn Fein for many years and is now a commentator. He
:26:44. > :26:47.says and he said this on social media. I have noticed some
:26:48. > :26:50.triumphalism from some Republican supporters. I draw the line at
:26:51. > :26:56.hurting Unionist friends. Should you not take that on board? I do. We
:26:57. > :27:01.should be joyful. It is a left for her spirits after a period when they
:27:02. > :27:09.believed that we were not getting the fault in our side. We stood
:27:10. > :27:22.against DUP arrogance and we do not want to rip -- replicate that. Are
:27:23. > :27:26.we going to get back to the principles of real partnership and
:27:27. > :27:30.power-sharing? For me, I would be saying to everyone, listen, it was
:27:31. > :27:35.an important victory not only for shin pain but also for more per
:27:36. > :27:41.parties who are progressive. How do you think nationalism needs to
:27:42. > :27:45.respond? And the fact that there are those within the Unionist community
:27:46. > :27:48.who feel the need to circle the wagons? Well, I think the way that
:27:49. > :27:52.we respond is not the way that the DUP has responded over the last ten
:27:53. > :27:56.years. I think we need to look at the issue of equality and being open
:27:57. > :27:59.and acceptable. I think Unionist have to realise that they have
:28:00. > :28:04.nothing to fear in the setup that we have. We have a Government. We have
:28:05. > :28:08.a Good Friday Agreement and other agreements since. We have a Stormont
:28:09. > :28:13.executive that is set up anyway that is exclusive. We may not. That is
:28:14. > :28:16.the point. Yes, but if everybody works together and I think there are
:28:17. > :28:22.positive moves to progress that. Are there at the moment? Even beyond the
:28:23. > :28:28.parties, the people have given a mandate for Stormont. Sinn Fein now
:28:29. > :28:31.have make the decision. The people of spoken and said that they want to
:28:32. > :28:36.see a Stormont executive. They have elected people in and said that they
:28:37. > :28:39.wanted to have a Stormont executive so it is important that we play is
:28:40. > :28:44.that there because there are many issues that we have to. We have
:28:45. > :28:50.health and education and Brexit and many things that we must respond to
:28:51. > :28:52.and Unionists have nothing to fear with this nationalist majority.
:28:53. > :28:56.Maybe they are concerned whenever they hear Gerry Adam saying that
:28:57. > :29:03.last week's vote was clearly a vote for Irish unity. Was it? Well, it
:29:04. > :29:07.was certainly a watershed vote. Certainly my vote was for Irish
:29:08. > :29:13.unity. Did you say that on the doorsteps? Michelle O'Neill said at
:29:14. > :29:16.every point that it was about respect and integrity and I did not
:29:17. > :29:23.hear anybody from Sinn Fein saying it was a book for Irish unity. I
:29:24. > :29:27.think any motherboards -- anyone that fought for our party or the
:29:28. > :29:40.SDLP is voting for Irish unity. So people were voting for Sinn Fein
:29:41. > :29:45.burst about Irish unity and only subsequently about RHI and... I did
:29:46. > :29:50.not say that. I think it was a referendum on RHI, to call time on
:29:51. > :29:55.the arrogance of the DUP, a referendum on not tolerating the
:29:56. > :30:00.smear of corruption in a party which is at the heart of government.
:30:01. > :30:06.Alleged corruption. But also it was very certainly people saying, for
:30:07. > :30:09.the Sinn Fein vote, we agree with you that, especially I suppose
:30:10. > :30:15.because of Brexit, because this has bought a united Ireland front and
:30:16. > :30:19.centre,... Do you want to the devolved institutions running again
:30:20. > :30:22.as soon as possible? Absolutely. The DUP and British Government are to
:30:23. > :30:28.make the move is to deliver that. That was the message, not only are
:30:29. > :30:31.vote but the thought that Alliance got and ourselves, it was the end of
:30:32. > :30:36.the British government, time to step up and telling the DUP to step up.
:30:37. > :30:39.This disdain towards the Nationalist electorate, this disdain towards
:30:40. > :30:44.minorities, towards gay and lesbian people, unacceptable. I have not
:30:45. > :30:46.heard anything yet, but I really do want to see the British government
:30:47. > :30:51.say that they will honour the agreement that we signed, which need
:30:52. > :30:53.to be implemented. Do you believe that the devolved institutions will
:30:54. > :30:57.be back up and running sooner rather than later? I think they will. I
:30:58. > :31:01.think there is a well under half of all other parties to deliver the
:31:02. > :31:04.institutions. And how you want to be made government? We'll be SDLP
:31:05. > :31:08.wanted to dig its position in the Executive? We would like to. We
:31:09. > :31:10.stood on the manifesto to be part of a government that is part of the
:31:11. > :31:14.negotiations over the next couple of weeks, we will do what we can to try
:31:15. > :31:17.to secure the best deal and then we will make our decision. All right,
:31:18. > :31:18.OK. Joining me tonight to reflect
:31:19. > :31:21.on what we've been hearing on the programme is our
:31:22. > :31:28.Political Editor, Mark Devenport. He has not had a day off in about
:31:29. > :31:31.six months! Let's talk about what we heard first of all in the
:31:32. > :31:36.conversation about Unionist unity. Did you think there is a real will
:31:37. > :31:39.veer to the things change any significant way? Well, you had to
:31:40. > :31:43.make Unionists singing of a very similar hymn sheet inasmuch as both
:31:44. > :31:47.of them felt that in principle unity was a good idea, both of them felt
:31:48. > :31:51.that maybe they should move slowly towards that through some kind of
:31:52. > :31:56.Unionist movement or greater cooperation, rather than seeking one
:31:57. > :32:00.big merger of the party. The fact is, there are lots of different
:32:01. > :32:03.strains of unionism. It is not necessarily the constitutional
:32:04. > :32:07.question which will make any kind of move towards Unionist unity
:32:08. > :32:12.difficult, it is the differing attitudes towards social, moral
:32:13. > :32:16.questions. What kind of a UK people would like to live in, and that is
:32:17. > :32:21.going to be difficult thing, to try to create a big house unionism that
:32:22. > :32:24.can accommodate all those different strains. Two things about union 's
:32:25. > :32:28.leadership. A very interesting to hear David Campbell say he would
:32:29. > :32:31.like Tom Elliott to come back as a leader, even though Mr Elliott has
:32:32. > :32:34.ruled that out. I wonder if you believe that Arlene Foster both
:32:35. > :32:39.lacked leadership is now, or that issues about that, are bidding of
:32:40. > :32:43.the days pass or is that still an issue behind the scenes within the
:32:44. > :32:47.DUP? I still think it is a bit of an issue within the DUP, although I
:32:48. > :32:49.think some of an issue within the DUP, although I think, that original
:32:50. > :32:53.server, on the eve of the election we had the former DUP MLA predicting
:32:54. > :32:57.that Arlene Foster would be gone by Monday, that manifestly has not
:32:58. > :33:03.happened. She has come out and fronted up. But under the surface,
:33:04. > :33:07.there are still concerns about her model of leadership and also the
:33:08. > :33:10.talks have this big unanswered question, if you like, the elephant
:33:11. > :33:15.in the room is Will she ultimately say, yes, I will step back for the
:33:16. > :33:19.duration of the inquiry? Which is a long time to step back and even
:33:20. > :33:24.David Campbell was saying that he did not think that was doable. Tom
:33:25. > :33:29.Elliott, is that seriously a runner? Well, he has ruled himself out of
:33:30. > :33:33.course. He has come to the forefront as chief negotiator of the party and
:33:34. > :33:37.as David Campbell said he has got a stake in Unionist unity but if this
:33:38. > :33:42.thing does take off, the question is, he will be loose on the margins
:33:43. > :33:48.who may be closer towards the Alliance Party? Just a final thought
:33:49. > :33:52.about the debate within nationalism. At the moment Sinn Fein is a very
:33:53. > :33:55.strong position and was this was -- was disabled against everything we
:33:56. > :33:58.saw in relation to the RHI was a vote of her constitutional
:33:59. > :34:02.significance? Gerry Adams talking tonight about it being able for
:34:03. > :34:05.Irish unity. From question whether the board that was put together was
:34:06. > :34:07.purely in relation to that. It seems to be in relation to a whole mixture
:34:08. > :34:08.of things. That's it from The View for this
:34:09. > :34:12.week, but I'll be back with Sunday Politics at 11.35
:34:13. > :34:14.here on BBC1. We leave you tonight with a younger
:34:15. > :34:17.person's take on the election posters that have adorned -
:34:18. > :34:20.or deformed - our streets for weeks now - and who knows, they may be
:34:21. > :34:23.needed again quite soon?! This is courtesy of Shane Todd,
:34:24. > :34:34.aka 11-year-old Dean Davidson. My name is deemed Davidson. He looks
:34:35. > :34:40.like he has been grounded for ages or something. She looks like the
:34:41. > :34:45.dinner ladies in my skill. I seen him on the news, he was like
:34:46. > :34:52.Spiderman. I think he goes to my skill!
:34:53. > :34:55.He is not even properly looking at the camera. You have to look at the
:34:56. > :35:02.camera. That is nice, that.
:35:03. > :35:03.I like her. Do you want her to be your girlfriend?