:00:00. > :00:00.tonight with another batch of rain moving in later tonight across parts
:00:00. > :00:00.of the South and East. With the cloud cover mild temperatures
:00:07. > :00:14.generally. Tomorrow something brighter. Not a great start however.
:00:15. > :00:18.Grey, lots of cloud. Pretty wet in places particularly for Central and
:00:19. > :00:22.Eastern areas. The persistence of that rain is likely to read to
:00:23. > :00:28.surface water and spray that things will lighten up, late morning into
:00:29. > :00:32.early afternoon. In the meantime that rain moves off to affect
:00:33. > :00:37.Scotland. For England and Wales it is a show at the picture. Cloudy to
:00:38. > :00:46.begin with. That's quite beating up to give spills of sunshine. Towards
:00:47. > :00:50.the West and other batch of cloud and rain moving in across the
:00:51. > :00:54.Republic of Ireland. After a drier and brighter start it will be a
:00:55. > :00:58.cloudier and wetter end to the day. This time the West sees the bulk of
:00:59. > :01:03.that rain moving in. A wet end to the day in the West after a wet
:01:04. > :01:06.start to the day in the East. Still miles. Surely conditions carry on
:01:07. > :01:11.through tomorrow night until the start of Saturday at least. Becomes
:01:12. > :01:12.cooler on Saturday night. Not looking too bad on Sunday.
:01:13. > :01:16.Our next BBC Newsline is at 6.25 in the morning
:01:17. > :01:20.You can also keep updated with News Online.
:01:21. > :01:47.Explore the speed of life with Radio 3's Free Thinking Festival.
:01:48. > :01:49.and whether the West has been doing the same to Russia.
:01:50. > :02:03.I'll be looking at whether Russia has been trying to subvert
:02:04. > :02:07.America and Britain over the last hundred years -
:02:08. > :02:11.and whether the West has been doing the same to Russia.
:02:12. > :02:14.Would you call this a perfect picture? No.
:02:15. > :02:18.It comes pretty close to it, but I couldn't find the exposure meter,
:02:19. > :02:48.and I had to rely on what I do is the brightness of the moon.
:02:49. > :02:51.The UK has just taken the first step in a two-year
:02:52. > :02:56.Is it destined to be an unstoppable force,
:02:57. > :02:59.in the words of the Prime Minister, or could it be on the
:03:00. > :03:24.Tonight, Alex Salmond tells us the case for a Scottish independence
:03:25. > :03:27.referendum is now strengthened and he says there's every reason
:03:28. > :03:36.for people here to fear where the UK could be heading.
:03:37. > :03:45.If I was an Antrim form farmer at the moment, I would be deeply
:03:46. > :03:47.worried about the direction of travel of the United Kingdom
:03:48. > :03:49.Government. So what will the next two years hold
:03:50. > :03:52.for the DUP and Sinn Fein? Nigel Dodds and John O'Dowd give
:03:53. > :03:55.us their Brexit predictions, as well as their view
:03:56. > :03:57.of the stalled Stormont talks. Will another few weeks
:03:58. > :04:07.of discussions make Our party founded Northern Ireland,
:04:08. > :04:12.it would be unthinkable they wouldn't be around for the centenary
:04:13. > :04:14.of our wee country. Many feel the party's now reached
:04:15. > :04:18.a fork in the road - so which route should
:04:19. > :04:21.its new leader take? And coming along for the ride,
:04:22. > :04:23.our commentators this week are Fionnuala O
:04:24. > :04:24.Connor and Alex Kane. Whatever your view on Brexit,
:04:25. > :04:28.the clock is ticking and in just under two years the UK will be set
:04:29. > :04:31.to leave the EU. So should there be a Scottish
:04:32. > :04:34.independence vote at the same time? The First Minister of Scotland,
:04:35. > :04:37.Nicola Sturgeon, certainly thinks so and tonight she's written
:04:38. > :04:40.formally to the Prime Minister asking for an independence
:04:41. > :04:43.referendum to be held in the next 18 Earlier this evening, I spoke
:04:44. > :04:47.to the former First Minister, Alex Salmond, and I began
:04:48. > :04:50.by asking him why the SNP wants that vote at such a critical stage
:04:51. > :05:02.in the Brexit process? I don't see what the problem is
:05:03. > :05:07.here. Every Parliament, including the Westminster Parliament, but
:05:08. > :05:11.every Parliament in the EU have been offered the opportunity to vote on
:05:12. > :05:21.the Britain/Brexit deal in 18 to two years time. Why shouldn't the
:05:22. > :05:26.Scottish people be offered the same? The Prime Minister I thought it was
:05:27. > :05:30.a significant event this week when Angus Robertson, the SNP leader in
:05:31. > :05:36.Westminster, challenged the Prime Minister on the views of Scotland
:05:37. > :05:42.and the Scottish nation. She said, oh, my goodness, Maidenhead, my
:05:43. > :05:46.constituency voted to remain in the United Kingdom, in the European
:05:47. > :05:54.Union, as if the thousand year of this triof Scotland as a -- history
:05:55. > :06:00.of Scotland as a European nation was comparable to the Maidenhead. The
:06:01. > :06:04.Prime Minister seems to have very little semblance of the importance
:06:05. > :06:07.of a collective view of the Scottish nation and doesn't seem to
:06:08. > :06:11.understand the difference between a country and an English constituency.
:06:12. > :06:15.She made the point after that that she sees Scotland as a constituent
:06:16. > :06:21.part of the United Kingdom. And that is how she wants it to continue and
:06:22. > :06:26.feels that about Northern Ireland, and we will come on the that, as far
:06:27. > :06:33.as the Westminster Government, even that time scale of late 20, 20, that
:06:34. > :06:38.Nicola Sturgeon would want to see, the Westminster Government is not
:06:39. > :06:44.happy about that. David Mundell said he thinks in fact it could extend
:06:45. > :06:48.beyond that into a significant implementation time after Brexit has
:06:49. > :06:54.happened, to give people a real sense of what Brexit means for every
:06:55. > :06:59.corner of the UK. ? But what care what is David Mundell thinks? There
:07:00. > :07:02.are 59 members of Parliament from Scotland and there is one
:07:03. > :07:09.Conservative. His name is David Mundell. The reason he is Secretary
:07:10. > :07:12.for state for Scotland, he is the one lonely Conservative from
:07:13. > :07:18.Scotland. He has no authority or democratic mandate. He has the
:07:19. > :07:21.electoral mandate of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. There
:07:22. > :07:26.is no semblance of authority in his comments. But the Prime Minister and
:07:27. > :07:28.this is the interesting thing, I have known many British Prime
:07:29. > :07:33.Ministers and I have known their attitudes to Scotland and their
:07:34. > :07:42.attitudes to Northern Ireland, and this is the Prime Minister who is
:07:43. > :07:48.the -- has the least appreciation of Scottish nationality of any Prime
:07:49. > :07:53.Minister. Margaret Thatcher, the foremost opponent of Scottish
:07:54. > :07:58.devolution, never mind independence said, Scotland is an ancient nation
:07:59. > :08:02.with a right of self-determination and no English politician should
:08:03. > :08:07.stand in their way. Whether you like it or not, whether you like Theresa
:08:08. > :08:10.May or not, she is in line with the 53% of people who don't think that
:08:11. > :08:13.Scottish independence is a particularly good idea at the
:08:14. > :08:16.moment. I know that is no at hard and fast figure, she is in the
:08:17. > :08:22.majority view at the moment, you're in the minority. Well I think you
:08:23. > :08:28.mistake us. The people who regard Scotland as a nation go beyond the
:08:29. > :08:33.ranks of those who support the SNP or those who support independence.
:08:34. > :08:36.The majority of people in Scotland, we are talking 90%, believe Scotland
:08:37. > :08:41.is a nation with the right of self-determination. That wasn't the
:08:42. > :08:47.result in the last referendum? Well, the last referendum in 2014 as I
:08:48. > :08:54.remember the social attitude survey in 2012 showed us at 23% and we
:08:55. > :08:59.ended up with 45%. Things have gone a long way since then. Nicola
:09:00. > :09:05.Sturgeon has the right to believe a referendum would rutting in a
:09:06. > :09:14.majority. -- result in a majority. Perhaps Nicola Sturgeon thinks the
:09:15. > :09:18.unionist kab ist ca could be in a minority. Are you hoping for a bad
:09:19. > :09:25.Brexit deal that will play into the SNP's hands and say the best option
:09:26. > :09:30.for us looking at a disastrous Brexit deal is to go it alone? No
:09:31. > :09:37.Nicola Sturgeon put forward what would have been a better perspective
:09:38. > :09:42.for negotiation to Theresa May. She put forward the idea, the UK should
:09:43. > :09:50.stay within the single market place, including Northern Ireland, that
:09:51. > :09:55.would have solved the borderish ewe a -- border issue and said have a
:09:56. > :10:01.different deal for Scotland in the same way as there must be a
:10:02. > :10:10.differentiated deal for Northern Ireland. The Prime Minister could
:10:11. > :10:13.accepted this, but instead chosen the path of confrontation. Theresa
:10:14. > :10:19.May talks about national unity, but Northern Ireland is in deadlock, the
:10:20. > :10:23.Welsh are alienated, the Scots are deciding on a referendum, the
:10:24. > :10:28.English are split down the middle and her Brexit MPs walk out of
:10:29. > :10:34.commons committees, because they don't like the truth of exiting the
:10:35. > :10:41.EU. That is the reality. You don't have to cross your fingers for a
:10:42. > :10:47.difficult Brexit deal. The brif edge is loom -- cliff edge is looming and
:10:48. > :10:53.Theresa May is in the driving seat and does haven't any idea how the
:10:54. > :10:58.steer the vehicle. Does the discussion about Irish unity in your
:10:59. > :11:02.view help or hinder the SNP's aspirations for independence? You
:11:03. > :11:06.know, when I was First Minister of Scotland, the leader of the SNP,
:11:07. > :11:11.what I tried to do was help the process of peace in Northern
:11:12. > :11:18.Ireland. As a friend of Ireland, argued strongly for that process and
:11:19. > :11:21.responded to the invitations of Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness to do
:11:22. > :11:26.what I could to help that. That is still my attitude. I want to see the
:11:27. > :11:33.parties in Northern Ireland come together and find their own place
:11:34. > :11:38.within this firment. Not just to secure the constitution future. If I
:11:39. > :11:45.was an Antrim farmer at the present moment, I would be deeply worried
:11:46. > :11:52.about the direction of travel of the United Kingdom Government. In many
:11:53. > :11:56.conversations, as a young MP, with big Ian and talking about our
:11:57. > :12:01.respective interests in the agricultural industry in the
:12:02. > :12:05.north-east of Scotland or in Antrim, we found many things in common. What
:12:06. > :12:11.I found was a great practicality of trying to do our best for the people
:12:12. > :12:15.who we represented. And these people right now when they see a United
:12:16. > :12:21.Kingdom Government that seems to be pay nothing attention to the
:12:22. > :12:25.economic realities which face our communities, we need to have
:12:26. > :12:28.Northern Irish politics acting together to secure your place within
:12:29. > :12:32.this changing environment and anything I can do, as I have done
:12:33. > :12:39.before, to help that, I would be willing to do. You had common ground
:12:40. > :12:42.with Ian Paisley, who was a unionist through and through and you're not,
:12:43. > :12:47.you're quite the opposite. I want to ask you, if you think discussions
:12:48. > :12:51.around the future of Northern Ireland and its constitutional
:12:52. > :12:56.status help your case, that notion that where other people in another
:12:57. > :13:02.country that may or may not have a poll on its status r discussing
:13:03. > :13:07.their future outside is UK, does that mitigate the fear factor in
:13:08. > :13:10.Scotland? When big Ian was first minister in Northern Ireland and
:13:11. > :13:18.another unionist said to him, why are you having conversations with
:13:19. > :13:22.this SNP person First Minister Scotland from Scotland? I remember
:13:23. > :13:29.the words he spoke at First Minister's questions in Stormont, he
:13:30. > :13:38.said, Mr Salmond speaks about her Majesty the Queen, I like what Mr
:13:39. > :13:41.Salmond says about her Majesty of the Queen in his interpretation of
:13:42. > :13:45.how the United Kingdom was. What Ian Paisley and what Martin McGuinness
:13:46. > :13:48.had was the ability to transcend their previous positions to build a
:13:49. > :13:52.better future for the people in Northern Ireland. And that challenge
:13:53. > :13:57.is still there for politicians in Northern Ireland. But also for
:13:58. > :14:02.politicians in London. Because these things are of enormous importance to
:14:03. > :14:05.find the constitutional structure which will allow peace and
:14:06. > :14:10.prosperity for people in Northern Ireland.
:14:11. > :14:14.And listening to that are the deputy leader of the DUP, Nigel Dodds,
:14:15. > :14:32.Alex Salmond said if you're an an an Antrim farmer you should be worried.
:14:33. > :14:36.If I was a farmer in Ayrshire or a businessman in Glasgow I would be
:14:37. > :14:39.more worried of Scottish Government and Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon
:14:40. > :14:42.want to take in terms of United Kingdom than I would be in Northern
:14:43. > :14:46.Ireland. Because just listening to Alex Salmond and I know Alex Salmond
:14:47. > :14:54.well and he is a bit of a cheeky chappy. You like him? He is a
:14:55. > :14:59.personable guy and he referred to Ian Paisley and I remember Ian
:15:00. > :15:05.speaking warmly of Alex Salmond, because he is a Doughty fighter for
:15:06. > :15:10.his cause and represents his cause and the people he represents well.
:15:11. > :15:16.Here is the thing, he is very confident of his future success in
:15:17. > :15:20.any fort coming referendum. I remember him telling me before the
:15:21. > :15:28.last referendum he was certain they would win that. The reality is that
:15:29. > :15:34.the Euan piano union -- European Union, the pretext for this
:15:35. > :15:38.referendum,ive you have got to remember the single market of United
:15:39. > :15:42.Kingdom is worth four times more in terms of economy of Scotland than
:15:43. > :15:46.the European Union. Why would somebody want to leave the United
:15:47. > :15:51.Kingdom single market in order to reapply at some point down the line
:15:52. > :15:55.to get into a European market where you would have to have the Euro,
:15:56. > :15:59.which is on its last legs and have a situation where the market is worth
:16:00. > :16:04.less to the economy. Alex Salmond, this SNP have always liked to debate
:16:05. > :16:13.and discuss the constitutional issue, especially when the SNP in
:16:14. > :16:17.Scotland, Ruth Davidson much more popular than Nicola Sturgeon and it
:16:18. > :16:25.serves their case to be talking of constitutional issues.
:16:26. > :16:34.John O'Dowd, what do you make of that reported illogical position of
:16:35. > :16:40.Alex Salmond? Might understanding is Scotland seeking to go independent
:16:41. > :16:43.they are not going to break trading links with Britain or anywhere else
:16:44. > :16:47.and they want to continue trading relationships because England and
:16:48. > :16:52.Wales benefit from the trading relationship with Scotland as much
:16:53. > :16:56.as Scotland benefits. Even if we are to have an independent nation here
:16:57. > :16:59.we want to trade with our neighbours as well. This idea that we will
:17:00. > :17:06.break away into isolationism is not true. That is the argument that
:17:07. > :17:09.people who support Brexit make. They see it speaks perfect sense to me
:17:10. > :17:13.the EU because the EU will always want to trade with us, you have just
:17:14. > :17:18.made their case. There is a legal basis of which you are a member of
:17:19. > :17:22.the EU which gives you rights and protections, which we will, in my
:17:23. > :17:26.opinion, lose one specs it is fulfilled. The European Union and
:17:27. > :17:30.its make-up and its background is part of the peace accord here and we
:17:31. > :17:36.need to hold onto and build onto as well. And in terms of trading, the
:17:37. > :17:40.single European market, Theresa May has already said we are leaving
:17:41. > :17:45.that, we are going to leave that behind, we are going to leave behind
:17:46. > :17:49.the union. They want to re-establish trading relationships with the
:17:50. > :17:55.European Union, bottles trading relations are going to be, nobody
:17:56. > :18:01.knows? Nigel Dodds, are you happy that the all Ireland conversation is
:18:02. > :18:04.no part of the mainstream, not just a Sinn Fein demand, it is being
:18:05. > :18:08.discussed by other parties in Northern Ireland, it is being
:18:09. > :18:12.mentioned in letters written by British Government ministers, it is
:18:13. > :18:15.part of the Scottish debate as well? We support the fact that on the
:18:16. > :18:19.fifth principle of the letter that the Prime Minister sent to Brussels,
:18:20. > :18:23.we were keen that this should happen, that the situation of
:18:24. > :18:26.Northern Ireland, the Common Travel Area, the relationship with the
:18:27. > :18:30.Irish Republic, should all be included, because we want the
:18:31. > :18:34.frictionless border, tariff free trade if we can get that, we want to
:18:35. > :18:39.see the Irish Republic doing well. It is not an anybody's interest, in
:18:40. > :18:43.the EU, Irish Republic are any rare, that anybody should do badly out of
:18:44. > :18:46.this, it is about retaining control are getting back control over our
:18:47. > :18:52.laws, borders and money and that the same time repatriating up to the UK,
:18:53. > :18:55.and Parliament, and the devolved regions, which we were discussing
:18:56. > :18:59.and parliament this morning. But at the same time does not create
:19:00. > :19:02.barriers where the do not need to be barriers. But are you not worried
:19:03. > :19:08.about the discussion know about Irish unity? Danny Kinahan asked the
:19:09. > :19:12.Prime Minister in the Commons yesterday she would support the
:19:13. > :19:16.union during any order Paul, she said she would, but the fact she
:19:17. > :19:22.asked that question, suggest you could be rumbled? No, the question
:19:23. > :19:26.of a border ball in Northern Ireland has been ruled out. Before Christmas
:19:27. > :19:32.the Prime Minister made it clear that there would not be a border
:19:33. > :19:39.poll because the conditions under which it is being cold for do not
:19:40. > :19:44.allow for it. Those who are calling for a border poll are acting against
:19:45. > :19:47.what is said in the Belfast Agreement, therefore that is a
:19:48. > :19:53.conundrum. Why did Danny Kinahan raiser to the Commons? That is a
:19:54. > :19:56.matter for him. It was made clear by Theresa May and the Secretary of
:19:57. > :20:03.State and others that there is no order poll on the horizon. It is not
:20:04. > :20:07.going to happen? British Prime Minister stood at the dispatch box
:20:08. > :20:11.in Westminster and said many things would not happen which later
:20:12. > :20:16.happened. There will be a border poll in the future. We wanted sooner
:20:17. > :20:21.rather than later. Even when you listen to Alex Salmond's comments,
:20:22. > :20:28.two years before the referendum in Scotland, some of the same surveys
:20:29. > :20:33.used to not back our demand, were sitting at 23% in Scotland, when the
:20:34. > :20:37.poll took place, it was around 45%, let us have the border poll, let us
:20:38. > :20:41.have the debate and the engagement and let the people have their say.
:20:42. > :20:48.Even if it is distinctly probable that you will lose that poll? Let
:20:49. > :20:52.the people have the debate, let us debate the issues in a rational and
:20:53. > :20:56.reasonable manner, have all the information on the table, and then I
:20:57. > :21:00.loathe people to have their say. The Scottish example is a good one. 23%
:21:01. > :21:11.in opinion polls, when the actual poll took place 45, 40 6%. Alex
:21:12. > :21:16.Salmond, talking sweetly and reasonably, he says, have this once
:21:17. > :21:22.in a generation referendum. That'll be it. Here he is... And most
:21:23. > :21:26.circumstances changed. At the time he did not see that. The SNP
:21:27. > :21:32.subsequently put that into the manifesto but he did not make that
:21:33. > :21:37.point at the time. To get on to this cycle whereby you have one border
:21:38. > :21:41.poll after another. The reality is the circumstances under which it
:21:42. > :21:44.should be set out are in the Belfast Agreement and it would be contrary
:21:45. > :21:48.to the terms of the Belfast Agreement which John and I supported
:21:49. > :21:55.for this to be called. The reality is that is not going to be one. In
:21:56. > :21:59.terms of the economic 's and all the rest of it, what is the point of
:22:00. > :22:03.saying that you did is to be part of the single market of Europe and then
:22:04. > :22:08.wanting to divorce from the United Kingdom, which Northern Ireland is
:22:09. > :22:14.utterly dependent on. ?10 billion per year coming from the Treasury. I
:22:15. > :22:16.want John O'Dowd to come back on that quickly. There is no
:22:17. > :22:22.contradiction with what Sinn Fein are saying about the border poll and
:22:23. > :22:25.what was said in the Good Friday Agreement. In relation to the
:22:26. > :22:32.economic question, there is one of the issues which need to be
:22:33. > :22:35.thoroughly issued -- debated in relation to a border poll because
:22:36. > :22:39.some of the assertions about how much intervention comes from Britain
:22:40. > :22:47.to hear can be and will be taken apart and sensible debate. I want to
:22:48. > :22:51.move on to the talks, talks between parties, Government representatives,
:22:52. > :22:54.accusations from the SDLP this is a shambolic process, is the time upon
:22:55. > :22:58.us where we need an independent cheer to try and move this install
:22:59. > :23:05.process forward? Whether or not there is an independent chair, there
:23:06. > :23:09.should have been more structure in previous discussions with other
:23:10. > :23:13.parties. There were plenary sessions, it was not as that locked
:23:14. > :23:22.doors. Sinn Fein did not agree to those. We were happy to have them, I
:23:23. > :23:25.hope going forward we can have that. James Brokenshire was wanting to
:23:26. > :23:30.encourage them. He was happy to have them. I wanted to be more assertive
:23:31. > :23:33.in the talks. Was he not assertive enough? He needs to be more
:23:34. > :23:38.assertive in the talks. Some people said he was out of his depth, is
:23:39. > :23:46.that fair? I do not agree with that. There were people who came to the
:23:47. > :23:48.talks who had different agendas, obviously, but there were some
:23:49. > :23:51.people who only regarded their own agenda and were not interested in
:23:52. > :23:57.Listing two other people, battles the problem. I did not Sinn Fein
:23:58. > :24:02.want plenary discussions? To a plenary discussion you need to have
:24:03. > :24:06.matters to bring to the table, meaningful papers bots to the table.
:24:07. > :24:14.I will give you an example. The paper brought forward included an
:24:15. > :24:21.element of the Ulster Scots. That said to us that the DUP were not
:24:22. > :24:24.serious about resolving and implementing the issue. Maybe they
:24:25. > :24:28.were very serious because they said they would never support and Irish
:24:29. > :24:34.act but they were trying to break the deadlock. Imagine the response
:24:35. > :24:37.of James Brokenshire. What it out of his depth? He was carrying out to
:24:38. > :24:40.the letter that instructions of the British Government, do not give an
:24:41. > :24:44.inch. They were not giving an inch in relation to legacy, where they
:24:45. > :24:47.are still refusing to permit the funding called for by the lord chief
:24:48. > :24:52.justice and are refusing to deal with security. He was carrying out
:24:53. > :24:59.instructions. He is part of the problem. These talks can be resolved
:25:00. > :25:03.quickly but it is on the basis of implementing previous agreements.
:25:04. > :25:08.Nigel Dodds, James Brokenshire says there are a short few weeks to sort
:25:09. > :25:12.this matter out. For the benefit of people watching this and who have
:25:13. > :25:16.not got a clue what is happening, what is happening? Sinn Fein
:25:17. > :25:20.waterway from the executive that was set up, for the reasons they have
:25:21. > :25:23.set out, that is their entitlement. The Government collapsed. We could
:25:24. > :25:27.have a big Government backed up and running on Monday. We were there to
:25:28. > :25:40.do it, other parties were there, Sinn Fein refused to do it. When we
:25:41. > :25:41.talk about health, education, community and voluntary sector
:25:42. > :25:44.funding, that is extremely important, that should be the number
:25:45. > :25:46.one priority. Parties could have done that. In terms of going for
:25:47. > :25:49.but, John talks about this is not about new agreements, it is wet and
:25:50. > :25:52.commenting off and, what they have put on the table are new demands,
:25:53. > :25:56.you read lines. DUP is repaired to go into governments tomorrow without
:25:57. > :26:00.any preconditions. John O'Dowd? I have never seen the public as
:26:01. > :26:03.engaged in politics as they currently are so it is not fair to
:26:04. > :26:12.see people have not got a clue what is going on. Since the RHI scandal
:26:13. > :26:16.engagement has increased. These talks can be resolved in a matter of
:26:17. > :26:19.days. But we cannot renegotiate agreements already made, we cannot
:26:20. > :26:27.compromise on compromises we have already made and the DUP knows that
:26:28. > :26:32.well. You have two and promote the agreements. You are putting new
:26:33. > :26:38.demands on the table. This is not about implementation. Are you
:26:39. > :26:43.prepared to comment the previous agreements? We will come and all the
:26:44. > :26:46.agreements that we have signed up to and will implement them that what
:26:47. > :26:56.you are doing is putting new demands. We need to bring this to an
:26:57. > :27:00.end. I was not suggesting that people have not got a clue what is
:27:01. > :27:03.going on, I was seeing people do not know what is happening because they
:27:04. > :27:05.are not being told, but maybe they have a better idea after this
:27:06. > :27:08.conversation. Thank you. In just over a week Robin Swann
:27:09. > :27:11.will become the latest leader hoping to restore the fortunes
:27:12. > :27:14.of the Ulster Unionist party. It follows a bruising Assembly
:27:15. > :27:17.election when it lost six seats to slide further down the Stormont
:27:18. > :27:24.pecking order behind the SDLP. One of those who lost her seat has
:27:25. > :27:27.told this programme it would be unthinkable if the party wasn't
:27:28. > :27:30.around for the centenary of Northern Ireland
:27:31. > :27:31.in four years' time. But with others urging
:27:32. > :27:33.merger with the DUP could Here's our political
:27:34. > :27:45.correspondent Gareth Gordon. The uncompromising stand. The
:27:46. > :27:51.fingers pointing to heaven. Lord Carson towers over Stormont to this
:27:52. > :27:55.day. The party he leads does not. For decades Government made one
:27:56. > :28:03.thing around here, the Ulster Unionist Party, but no more.
:28:04. > :28:09.The trappings of that time are all that are left. If Carson was around
:28:10. > :28:14.no, he would not recognise the party he once led.
:28:15. > :28:20.In the Assembly election there bought me happy slightly up over all
:28:21. > :28:26.but mere ten MLAs survived. Victims perhaps of the decision to introduce
:28:27. > :28:30.five seat constituencies and the fight between the DUP and Sinn Fein
:28:31. > :28:34.to see which party would be the biggest. For one of a high-profile
:28:35. > :28:42.casualties that means spending more time on the family farm with her
:28:43. > :28:51.husband. What do you think? She is pondering
:28:52. > :28:56.her future and that of her party. People are telling me there needs to
:28:57. > :28:59.be more Unionist cooperation but our party founded Northern Ireland. As
:29:00. > :29:02.we approach the centenary of Northern Ireland it is important
:29:03. > :29:06.that people have the choice at the ballot box and it is important that
:29:07. > :29:11.we are here, the Ulster Unionist Party going forward. We founded
:29:12. > :29:13.Northern Ireland, it would be unthinkable to think that the Ulster
:29:14. > :29:18.Unionist Party would not be alone for the centenary of our country.
:29:19. > :29:25.Whether it will rot will soon be the business of this man. When Mike
:29:26. > :29:31.Nesbitt and he was standing down. Next week he will become the latest
:29:32. > :29:38.leader who will try to break store the fortunes. Nobody else has put
:29:39. > :29:42.themselves forward. Robin will present itself to the membership
:29:43. > :29:46.next Saturday, they will have to endorse, people will be able to
:29:47. > :29:50.challenge them, Robin has the support of every elected MLA, the
:29:51. > :30:04.MPs, and a broad range of members across the party, I have no doubt
:30:05. > :30:10.that,. That this man believes there should have been a contest that
:30:11. > :30:19.would have allowed a debate. Closer unity with DUP, are you then in
:30:20. > :30:25.opposition? How do you keep on? Can you keep people within the party? If
:30:26. > :30:30.you do opposition have you the strength in depth to deliver a
:30:31. > :30:49.meaningful opposition if you are dying to ten MLAs? As chair of the
:30:50. > :30:53.Stormont committee -- if you are down to ten MLAs.
:30:54. > :30:59.No he sometimes seems confused about what it is. What he needs to
:31:00. > :31:06.understand is this vision of Unionist unity happening quickly
:31:07. > :31:14.will not happen. If he seeks to listen to that guidance, the are
:31:15. > :31:19.thousands of Unionists who will not fought for it. I will not fought for
:31:20. > :31:26.it and are aplenty lately. Seen here addressing a fringe
:31:27. > :31:29.meeting, once worked for the Ulster Unionist Party, and no worries about
:31:30. > :31:33.its future. We are not talking about the reader that needs to steady the
:31:34. > :31:37.ship, we are talking about the reader that needs to turn it around
:31:38. > :31:45.and needs to get startling results quite quickly. That has been made
:31:46. > :31:50.more difficult by the DUP's cynical reduction of the size of the
:31:51. > :31:54.Assembly by reducing the number of Assembly members per constituency
:31:55. > :31:57.rather than reducing the number of constituencies, that was designed to
:31:58. > :32:01.reduce the size of the smaller parties, and in the end, as it
:32:02. > :32:07.happens, that hits the DUP harder than anyone else.
:32:08. > :32:18.Joanne Dobbson blamed Mike Nesbitt for her defeat. Now she blames
:32:19. > :32:28.Arlene Foster. If the First Minister stood asaid, side we wouldn't have
:32:29. > :32:33.shed the seats. It wasn't necessary if she had stood aside. But they are
:32:34. > :32:36.in that position and with another election possible, Robin Swann may
:32:37. > :32:39.not have long to decide what to do about it.
:32:40. > :32:43.Now let's see what our commentators this week think of all that -
:32:44. > :32:56.What did you make of Alex Salmond's contribution first? Well, I was
:32:57. > :33:01.struck watching him talking with Nigel Dodds and John O'Dowd, I was
:33:02. > :33:09.struck by the sudden realisation that the DUP is the only party to
:33:10. > :33:14.wholly back Theresa May from the various bits of UK who has no doubts
:33:15. > :33:20.at all about what she is doing. They have no doubts, no reservations
:33:21. > :33:24.about the way she is handling it. Whereas in her own party, in
:33:25. > :33:29.Scotland, in Wales and there are many doubts and a lot of opposition.
:33:30. > :33:34.And of course it is because she has this narrow majority and they are,
:33:35. > :33:39.they see themselves as her knights in shining armour. It hasn't always
:33:40. > :33:43.been true that the DUP have been fond of English or British Prime
:33:44. > :33:51.Ministers. They have had lots of reservations in the past. Alex
:33:52. > :33:57.Salmond in robust form tonight, Nige l Dodds called him a Chipi chappy,
:33:58. > :34:02.what is the -- cheeky chappy, what is the linkage between that debate
:34:03. > :34:07.and the border poll in Northern Ireland. Where Alex Salmond is
:34:08. > :34:11.right, no one has any idea what deal will look like in 18 months. We
:34:12. > :34:14.don't know if it is a good or bad deal. But we know, particularly in
:34:15. > :34:20.Scotland and Northern Ireland we have a lot of people who are
:34:21. > :34:26.unsettled by this movement from the European Union. If there isn't a
:34:27. > :34:31.good deal it will play to the SNP and into the small unionist and
:34:32. > :34:33.nationalist who may be assumed to support the union and keep Northern
:34:34. > :34:37.Ireland in the United Kingdom may not be so keen to keep it in a
:34:38. > :34:42.United Kingdom that is not in the EU. That is a problem the DUP and
:34:43. > :34:46.unionism needs to get to grips with. What do you think of idea that the
:34:47. > :34:50.SNP wants a bad deal, the worse the deal that Theresa May gets the
:34:51. > :34:53.better it is, the easier it is to make the case for Scottish
:34:54. > :35:00.independence? Well there is probably some of that, it would be amazing if
:35:01. > :35:09.there wasn't. I think it is a dangerous argument to pursue. There
:35:10. > :35:14.is, the risk is too, no one knows where we will end up, the United
:35:15. > :35:21.Kingdom or the rest of Ireland. The Irish Government is as perturbed as
:35:22. > :35:26.people in Scotland and England. Let's talk about talks, did we get
:35:27. > :35:30.any indication, clarification of where we are and where we are going
:35:31. > :35:34.as far as this short window of opportunity is concerned at
:35:35. > :35:41.Stormont? I have no idea, Sinn Fein said we are not talking, the talks
:35:42. > :35:49.process is over. Michelle O'Neil said we are still talking to the
:35:50. > :35:53.Parliament, are -- parties. Or are they talking because they want to
:35:54. > :35:57.force an election? It seems clear listening to what John said to
:35:58. > :36:02.Nigel, they're not talking about an agreement. I don't see when they
:36:03. > :36:06.will kick start it again. Do you think Sinn Fein does want another
:36:07. > :36:09.election? I don't think they positively want it, but I don't
:36:10. > :36:17.think they're afraid of it. But really what nay want is something, I
:36:18. > :36:23.don't think they can have, they want implementations of agreements they
:36:24. > :36:29.believe DUP signed up, but no nobody with make them fulfil them. And they
:36:30. > :36:36.say they did not sign up to that, it was to be brought in by a British
:36:37. > :36:42.Government and neither a British or Irish government can asheave --
:36:43. > :36:47.achieve that. You can see the head of steam, where MLAs are being paid
:36:48. > :36:52.for doing a job that many think they're not doing and they're going
:36:53. > :36:57.to get a pay increase on Saturday which is April Fool's day. They kept
:36:58. > :37:03.the offices open and kept people paid, because they were terrified of
:37:04. > :37:05.the people leaving, they can't keep doing that. It would be obscene.
:37:06. > :37:08.Thank you both very much. That's it from The View
:37:09. > :37:10.for this week. Join me for Sunday Politics
:37:11. > :37:12.at 11.35 here on BBC One - and at the end of another week
:37:13. > :37:15.when a deadline passed without a deal, we just happened
:37:16. > :37:18.to notice that everyone was talking, but just not
:37:19. > :37:34.saying anything new. # I'm only human after all! # Don't
:37:35. > :37:39.put your blame on me! There had to be a spirit of compromise. We came
:37:40. > :37:43.at the negotiation with the right attitude, the DUP didn't. But if
:37:44. > :37:50.people come at it with the right attitude. # Some people got the real
:37:51. > :37:54.problem! There had to be an independent chair, there is no
:37:55. > :37:59.independent chair, chaired by an independent chair... Furious,
:38:00. > :38:04.they're furious which can't seem to get it together, chaired by an
:38:05. > :38:08.independent chair. There is no appetite for any alternative. We
:38:09. > :38:13.have a short window of opportunity, I don't think there is any appetite.
:38:14. > :38:24.There are a short few weeks. Time is short.
:38:25. > :38:28.I want to feel every raw emotion that I can.