DUP Annual Conference 2017 Democratic Unionist Party Conference

Hello and welcome to The Conference.

Whether you're watching

on BBC Two Northern Ireland

or on the Parliament Channel,

we're very pleased you

could join us today.

Hundreds of DUP delegates have once

again descended on the La Mon Hotel

just outside Belfast and it seems

this year they've been joined

by countless journalists as press

interest in the party has risen

after its confidence-and-supply

deal with the Tories.

Right now the room is bracing

itself for the arrival

of the party leader,

Arlene Foster, who has had

quite a year at the helm.

She will be closing the conference

with her speech shortly which we'll

bring you live and in full.

Mrs Foster's deputy, Nigel Dodds,

has already addressed the party

faithful and we'll hear a little

of what he had to say

later in the programme.

I'll also be talking

to our Political Editor,

Mark Devenport, who is there for us.

But first I'm joined in the studio

by Professor Rick Wilford

from Queen's University.

Rick, it's been a roller-coaster

year for Arlene Foster.

What's the challenge

facing her today?

Massive challenge. A year ago we had

devolution, now we don't. This is a

party that over the years has moved

from the wings to centre stage. So I

think she has got to pitch her

speech not just at a par rockical or

local level, but address the

national platform because the party

is in a strategic position at

Westminster. So we don't want too

much introversion, she has been

rather extrovert as well in looking

at what she thinks the DUP maybe

able to do, not just for Northern

Ireland, but also as it were for the

wider United Kingdom.

She has got a

lot of issues, I suppose, she will

want to touch on in the speech, not

least the attempts to breathe new

life into devolution at Stormont and

that doesn't seem to be going very

well at the moment. She has the

challenge of Brexit. She has got the

continuing relationship with the

Conservative Party in Westminster

and the difficult relationship

obviously with both Sinn Fein and

the Republic of Ireland government?

Indeed. On the latter, it became in

relation to the Irish Government,

that relationship has become, I

think, slightly more prickly over

the last few days and of course, we

don't yet know, we won't know until

Tuesday whether there is going to be

a general election in the south and

that could signal a significant

change if and when that does happen.

I suspect myself that actually they

might avoid an election before the

Christmas. She has a lot of balls to

juggle. Theresa May, earlier in the

week, talked about encouraging Sinn

Fein and the DUP to rejoin talks

next week. Now, we've heard nothing

concrete about that. Maybe she will

have something to say during the

course of heifer speech this

afternoon so we will get some

indication of whether there is some

fresh life as it were being breathed

into what to date has been faltering

talks.

Let's bring in our political editor,

Mark Devenport who is at the

conference venue. Mark, a big day, a

big challenge?

Yes, it has been a

topsy-turvy year for Arlene Foster.

She will no doubt be accentuating

the good and playing down the bad.

They had a difficult Assembly

election in March when unionism lost

its majority at Stormont. They had a

better time in June when they got

the extraordinary position holding

the balance of power at Westminster.

I think whilst she will say, look,

it is good to have this influence

over issues like Brexit, it is good

to have influence over the

Conservatives, the DUP are still a

part of devolution and they believe

they can't complete their job unless

they get Stormont back up and

running.

Do you think that we'll

hear particular insights from Arlene

Foster today on issues like the

Brexit challenge, like the attempts

to restore devolution at Stormont?

Do you think we will get specifics?

Well, I'm not sure that it will be

that specific. She won't be giving

too much away. We know and I expect

her to say that the con stintant DUP

line has been there should be no

internal borders within the UK when

it comes to Brexit. That's been

praeted already by the Dodds, Diane,

the MEP and Nigel the deputy leader

and I expect Arlene Foster to follow

that line as well. In relation to

the talks, I think, she will be

saying that she wants to get

Stormont back up and running as I

say, and maybe going into a little

bit more detail about the Irish

language, without completely giving

away what kind of compromise

proposals they have been working on

with Sinn Fein to allow for

legislation that would cover the

Irish language.

Mark, thank you very

much indeed. Arlene Foster has

appeared on stage. Just a moment

earlier perhaps than we had

expected. She takes the applause of

party delegates. She is about to

give a critical speech from her

prospective as leader of the party.

Lots of challenges in her in-tray.

You can see the warmth of the

welcome. No great surprise that the

party faithful are there and waving

lots of Union Flags and Ulster

flags, Northern Ireland flags, and

very haven't seen her up to now. A

curtsy from Arlene Foster. Anyway,

let's hear what she has to say.

APPLAUSE

Thank you. Thank you, colleagues.

Thank you.

APPLAUSE

Mr Chairman, colleagues, members, my

friends, thank you, thank you so

much for that warm welcome. I am

deeply honoured to stand before you

today as the leader of this great

party.

APPLAUSE

A party that leads unionism, a party

that is the voice of Northern

Ireland and a party that is proudly

at the centre of the politics of our

United Kingdom. I counted an honour

to be your leader as we embark on a

new phase of the history of our

party. The conference takes place

against the backdrop in an

unprecedented interest in the

Democratic Unionist Party from

across the United Kingdom and I want

to welcome and thank our many

friends and allies who have joined

with us during our weekend events,

but most of all, I want to express

my deep appreciation to you, our

members, for your support over the

last 12 months.

Because the Democratic Unionist

Party is not like other political

parties. What marks us out is the

dedication, the loyalty, and

faithfulness of you, our members.

So, today, from the bottom of my

heart, I say thank you. If the last

year has proved anything, it is that

we live in an uncertain world. We've

been through a lot together over

this past 12 months. When last, we

gathered, no one could have fore

seen in four months' time we would

be fighting an Assembly election and

it was a tough election. We lost

good and faithful public servants

and I want to pay tribute to and say

thank you to Maurice, Nelson,

Brenda, Adrian and Philip.

APPLAUSE

Now, that election was a wake-up

call for unionists. We warned that

republicans were cynically seeking

to exploit the election as an

opportunity to close the gap on

unionism. Many didn't believe our

warnings. They said we were

scaremongering. However, Sinn Fein

came within one seat and 1200 votes

of becoming Northern Ireland's

largest party. Now, thankfully the

unionist electorate didn't have to

wait years for an opportunity to

register support for our precious

union. The snap general election

provided such a platform within just

three months. And I want to thank

the nearly 300,000 people who

rallied to our banner in June.

APPLAUSE

Not only did their votes help us to

emphatically return all of our

existing members of Parliament, they

also won back South Antrim.

APPLAUSE

And, and, they returned the South

Belfast seat to the unionist fold

for the first time in 12 years.

APPLAUSE

Emma, and Paul's excellent victories

further strengthen our team at

Westminster, so brilliantly led by

Nigel...

APPLAUSE

At such a crucial time in our

nation's history. We are truly

fortunate that our Parliamentary

party is led by someone as trusted

as and as able sz Nigel Dodds.

APPLAUSE

And I want to again very publicly

acknowledge and thank Nigel for the

support he has given to me. He is a

steadfast and loyal deputy leader

and his service to this party and to

our country cannot be overstated.

Now we all worked for the success,

but to return the highest number of

MPs in our history, to register the

largest percentage share of the vote

ever for our party, and to record

the biggest vote of any party since

1985 was an astounding achievement.

The people proved that more votes,

means more seats which means more

influence. Your efforts, knocking

doors, delivering leaflets and

putting up posters all added up to

almost 300,000 votes and together

you all helped to make history. And

that momentous result put our party

in an unparallel position at

Westminster. Now, for our part, we

made it clear that our priority was

to help bring stability to our

nation. Do you remember how some

said that the DUP would push a

narrow agenda in our negotiations?

Well, what we secured was for

everyone across Northern Ireland.

APPLAUSE

Not narrow and not sectional, but a

deal that benefits all of the people

of Northern Ireland. And it wasn't

just an agreement about Northern

Ireland, we have ensured that

pensioners in every part of our

kingdom will have the security of

knowing that the triple-lock on

pensions is safe and that the Winter

Fuel Payment will remain universal.

We are the party for Northern

Ireland, but our unionism doesn't

end at the Irish Sea. We will always

fight hard for the best deal for

Northern Ireland, but we care about

vulnerable people in Bristol and

Birmingham, every bit as much as

those in Belfast. That, of course,

is the very essence of our unionism,

whether English, Scottish, Welsh or

Northern Irish, we aren't

competitors or rivals in this United

Kingdom, we are bound together as

one, stronger together than apart.

And it is...

APPLAUSE

It is an honour underpinned with a

solemn responsibility to be able to

help bring stability to our United

Kingdom in these challenging times

and we do it seized with an abiding

sense of duty to the national

interest. Now we will avail of every

opportunity now and in the future to

advance the union as a whole, and

Northern Ireland's place within it.

Securing support for our pensioners,

at determination to support our

Armed Forces and a commitment to

maintain the same cash support for

farmers until 2022, are

illustrations of what we mean when

we say we will help shape policies

in the national interest. We will

bring that same philosophy of doing

what's in our nation's best

interests to the other challenges

that the United Kingdom will face

over the course of the current

Parliament. Now, there is no doubt

that delivering on the decision of

the people of the United Kingdom to

leave the European Union is perhaps

the most substantial and complex

process the Government and

Parliament has under taken in the

modern political era. From the UK's

entry to the old European Community,

to the failure of member states to

agree to reform the European Union,

this party has been consistently

sceptical about Brussels. Now, much

has been said about Brexit.

Listening to some quarters you would

be forgiven that life as we know it

will end. But during the referendum

campaign and ever since some of

those who advocated Remain have

argued that the UK's departure from

the European Union will result in a

hard border on the island of

Ireland. Now, I said from this

platform, 12 months ago, that no one

wishes that to be the case. We want

our border to remain open for people

to move freely, north and south, for

work, for education, and as

tourists. We want to see continued

trading across the border in the

economic interests of our two

countries.

I also said that any exit deal must

recognise reality of our geography

and history and not for us, we

wanted to get the best deal for

Northern Ireland and the United

Kingdom as a whole. We want a

sensible Brexit. That works for

Northern Ireland and for the United

Kingdom. However, we will not

support any arrangements that create

barriers to trade between Northern

Ireland and the rest of the UK. Or

any suggestion that Northern

Ireland, unlike the rest of the UK,

will have to mirror European

regulations. I have written to the

Heads of Government Conference of

the EU 27 member states setting out

our views and Diane Dodds will

continue her work in Brussels in the

coming days to reinforce our

position. The economic reality for

our economy is that our most

important trading relationship is

with the rest of the UK and we will

do nothing that puts that at risk in

any way. And we welcome the

assurances from our Prime Minister

and the UK Brexit team that no such

internal barriers will be

countenanced and as we join the then

European Community as one nation, we

believe as one United Kingdom.

APPLAUSE.

-- we will leave.

The general election provided

unionism with the perfect

opportunity to bounce back. But we

have no intention of resting on our

laurels are taking success for

granted. Our mission is to secure

Northern Ireland 's place within the

union. Our mission is to make

Northern Ireland as good as we know

it can be. And our mission is to

make life better for all of our

people. I am a unionist by

conviction and unashamedly so. I

believe the union is the best basis

upon which we can build a peaceful

and prosperous society in Northern

Ireland. Regardless of some of the

propaganda, the truth is, the union

is secure and no matter how many

times we are told that the North is

not British, Northern Ireland is

British and will remain British!

APPLAUSE.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

I was motivated to enter public life

necessity because of my desire to

protect and preserve our place

within the United Kingdom but

defending the union is not our only

child. We are also charged with the

crucial task of advancing our vision

for Northern Ireland. And perhaps

precisely because in the past years

we have had to guard against those

who would destroy the union, we have

not always spent sufficient time

spelling out that positive vision.

We need to spend more time outlining

the count of Northern Ireland we

want to see flourish and why at is

best advanced through being part of

the union. But the country is

nothing without its people. A

society's real strength is not

generated by GDP but by its people.

And I never cease to be astounded by

the exceptional nature of our

people. Northern Ireland is too

often characterised by what divides

us. But I am always amazed by how so

many of the people I meet might have

very different life experiences but

almost all shared the same Northern

Ireland values. They are humble, as

they are hard-working. They are

deeply devoted to their families.

They believe in personal

responsibility but they will not be

found wanting whenever a neighbour

is in need. They possess compassion

for those who are less well off, no

matter where in the world they live,

and they have a pride in our country

and the achievements of all of our

people. But what I believe sets us

apart, what marks us out as special

and what gives us the real edge over

others is the spirit of never giving

up. It is embedded deep in our DNA.

We experienced adversity yet face at

down. And through all of the tough

times of the Troubles, our people

never stopped believing in the

promise and potential of Northern

Ireland. And we owe it to the

generation that came through the

Troubles and maybe even more so to

those generations that follow to

fulfil that promise and potential.

Northern Ireland people want their

children and their grandchildren to

do better than them. To realise

their dreams and enjoy life in ways

that from maybe denied to them. And

everywhere I go, I see that real

sense of ambition. That same sense

of aspiring to be all that you can

be was ingrained in me from a very

early age. My mother and father

instilled in me that believe that

the only barrier to becoming

whatever I wanted to be was myself.

So that desire to inspire the next

generation is as strong today as it

was when I was growing up. It is

exactly that desire to not only

ensure that Northern Ireland is a

better place to live than it was and

I was growing up, but that we are

still to the next generation and

Northern Ireland where they can get

a job, afford a home, raise a family

and live their lives to the full.

And that is the of this party. That

is why we are the people's party,

the party that puts people first.

The party that prioritises

attracting jobs and investment and

improving the health services and

our schools and housing and

infrastructure so that all of our

people can live better lives. We

either party for people trying but

finding it difficult to get their

foot onto the property ladder for

the first time. For young families

who find the cost of childcare a

barrier to working. For the

pensioner who has worked hard all

their life and just wants a

retirement free from worry and who

will look after them and how it will

be paid for. For the small business

owner who finds their ability to

grow and create more jobs stifled by

unnecessary bureaucracy and red

tape. They are the people we serve.

They are the people that motivate me

to keep moving forward. In

everything we do, in everything we

say, and in everything we try to

achieve as a party, we must be the

party the people.

APPLAUSE.

Most people do not want or expect

their government to do everything

but what they do demand is that

their government put the taxes they

pay to good use and deliver the sort

of services they, their families and

community need to enjoy a good life.

The government's only job is to

serve the people. It is there to

protect people, provide the

vulnerable with a safety net and act

when and where the markets fail to

serve the people properly. Our

mission is to do all that we can to

make life a little bit easier for

people who get up early in the

morning, get their kids to school

and do a hard day's work. Our

mission is absolutely about

affirming our British identity.

Upholding the constitutional status

of Northern Ireland as an integral

part of the United Kingdom. But our

mission is also about ensuring that

people all across the UK can have a

good life also. I want everyone in

Northern Ireland, regardless of

whether they are unionist or

nationalist or don't consider

themselves either, to ensure a good

quality of life and to be able to

pass on to the next generation a

better Northern Ireland, filled with

opportunities for all. I know it is

popular to bash Stormont and

criticised evolution. You may have

noticed that! But to say it has

delivered nothing is not true. The

truth is that during our devolved

government, whilst far from perfect,

there were record levels of inward

investment, scores of new schools

built and miles of new roads

constructed and hundreds of millions

more spent on health. And while we

have more influence than ever before

at Westminster, we also want to see

our local institutions functioning

and delivering for the people of

Northern Ireland. Making our mission

reality is best achieved by getting

the Assembly and Executive back

doing what the people elected us to

do. That is why we should have

established the Executive eight

months ago. Without any

preconditions.

APPLAUSE.

Because we would have got the

government going again whilst

dealing with the issues of language

and culture in parallel but such a

pragmatic approach was rejected by

the heavy Brigade in Sinn Fein. That

should not surprise us. Let us not

forget how Sinn Fein stopped the

Executive from meeting for almost

one year over policing and justice.

Or how they allowed over £150

million to be lost as they delayed

the limitation of welfare reforms

that in the end they largely agree

to. They walked away from office

earlier this year knowing what that

would mean for public services and

the hurt and harm it would cause to

hard-working people. They protest

against health cuts yet held that

very portfolio in the last Executive

where they would have been able to

do much more than complaining that

public meetings. They moan about

what they called Tory austerity yet

their Finance Minister failed to

bring in a budget, leaving it to the

Conservative Secretary of State to

legislate for our budget at

Westminster. They complain about

Brexit, all the while refusing to

form and Executive or take their

seats in parliament and they go to

conference and glory in the murder

of the IRA.

APPLAUSE.

Let me say this... Today, my

thoughts are with the victims of

Enniskillen, Kingsmill, Le Man and

many thousands of innocent victims

who have conducted themselves with

dignity over many decades.

APPLAUSE.

-- La Mon. Yet when you listen to

Sinn Fein, they blame everyone else.

It is time Sinn Fein got serious.

Our team has been working hard over

this last few months in the talks

process and I want to thank my

Stormont team, who have been there

be fully. In particular, Simon

Hamilton, Edwin Poots and Philip

Weir, who have been very faithful in

their support of me.

APPLAUSE.

Some progress was made but that can

only be built upon if all sides are

genuinely serious about obtaining a

deal that is balanced. This party

will conclude a balanced deal but we

will not be party to a one-sided

arrangement that rewards

intransigent behaviour. Northern

Ireland needs of government and we

cannot continue without ministers.

Time is short. And those in Sinn

Fein blocking the restoration of

local decision-making need to decide

whether they want to do business

with us or have direct rule

ministers in place instead. For my

part, I still believe that

devolution is the best way to govern

Northern Ireland but to do that and

obey that delivers for all our

people we need serious partners in

government. ... In a way. One key

element of the talks that is

critical is that of any new

Executive is to be restored it must

be on a sustainable basis and all

parties who share that view must

insist on being the case. I said

back in the summer that this party

was prepared to legislate for the

Irish language in the context of

legislating for the plurality of

cultures that exist in Northern

Ireland. We know the Irish language

is spoken and enjoyed by thousands

of people in all parts of Northern

Ireland, it does no damage to our

unionism or the union that we

cherish. I respect the Irish

language and those who speak it.

However, respect is not a one-way

street.

APPLAUSE.

Respect works both ways. It is time

that Sinn Fein started to respect

our British culture. For too long

they have shown nothing but disdain

and this respect for the national

flag, the Royal Family, the armed

Forces, British symbols, the

constitutional reality and the very

name of this country! So we are up

for respect.

APPLAUSE.

We are up for respect. And we are up

for rights. Because Republicans like

to lecture us about rights, have you

noticed? There were not so concerned

about that most fundamental of

rights, the right to life, during

the Troubles.

APPLAUSE.

We are for rights and we respect

rights. What we oppose is using the

cloak of rights as a Trojan Horse

designed to break unionists. And I

know probably more than anybody that

our politics can be tough. Brutal,

even. But I am passionate in my

belief that politics has to be about

making a difference in the lives of

every single one of our citizens.

Back in the spring I visited our

Lady's Grammar School in Newry and I

came away with two things. A greater

understanding of the genuine passion

and love many have for the Irish

language and a beautiful gift of a

framed picture. And that picture was

inscribed with the words, together

we are strong. And those words

really registered with me. Every are

to generate opportunities for the

pupils of that school and all the

other schools across Northern

Ireland, to fulfil their potential,

then we have a far better chance if

we are moving forward together.

As you know I am very fond of the

work of CS Lewis and I want to

conclude with one of his quotes. He

once wrote, "You can't go back and

change the beginning, but you can

start where you are and change the

ending." And CS Lewis was right. We

cannot go backwards and undo what we

have done. We cannot start again

from somewhere different. We have to

deal with things the way they are.

But that doesn't mean the end is

already written. We can shape the

future for the next generation. That

is so much better than what we had

to experience. Build a Northern

Ireland where everyone can live a

good life. Create a country where

ambition and aspiration are

encouraged and opportunities exist

to fill them. Now, I love this

country. And I want it to be the

best that we all know it can be. And

that is my vision and that is our

mission because together we are

strong and together standing strong,

we will achieve that mission and

move Northern Ireland forward to a

better future. Thank you.

APPLAUSE

So Arlene Foster on her feet there

delivering that final speech in this

year's DUP conference. 25, 26

minutes I reckon and not

surprisingly, an enthusiastic

response for what she had to say.

You can see some of the well-known

members of the party there in the

front row and behind them

applauding, cheering, I saw Ian

Paisley, son of the former First

Minister. Gavin Robinson. I saw

Nigel Dodds sitting in the audience

alongside various other senior

members of the team. There is Nigel

Dodds the deputy leader taking to

the platform with Arlene Foster and

holding her hand aloft. She looks

Rick, she looks pleased with how

that went. Is it fair to say? What

did you think? Did she tick all the

boxes?

I think she is as much

relieved as pleased because she has

had a rough year what with the

Assembly election, RHI, then the

bounce back which began with the

general election in June. So it has

been a topsy-turvy 12 months for

Arlene Foster. I think if you

compare with Gerry Adams was the

attention she gave to criticising

Sinn Fein. Last week Gerry Adams

levelled most of his criticism at

the Irish and the British

Governments. She took her gloves off

in blaming Sinn Fein in effect for

the failure to restore devolution

and she did express her own

preference for the Restoration of

devolution, but like others in her

party, I think she is preparing the

party for the possibility that we

will get a fully fledge devolution

in the New Year.

Embraces from Simon

Hamilton, a senior member of the

team and senior negotiator in the

talks. There is Diane Dodds, wife of

course of Nigel Dodds. We also saw

there on the platform Willie McCrea

the former MP, Peter Weir, William

McCrea taking to the stage to lead

the cheers for Arlene Foster and she

has taken a seat at the front of the

hall. They are mopping up

proceedings. She will be coming out

to speak to members of the media

very shortly. In terms of how she

delivered that, did she seem to be

comfortable? With said with yourself

and Mark said beforehand, it was

quite a difficult trick for her to

have to pull off. She had success

and she had challenges in the past

12 months?

She certainly had. The

other thing I thought she got right

was the balance between if you like

the national UK wide picture and the

more local picture, you know, the

first part of the speech was apart

from celebrating the achief

inspectors in June, and thanking

people for their performance and

help and so on, was how they have

contributed to the wider UK agenda

and I think she put that upfront and

then turned her attention towards,

you know, our local difficulties as

it were. Expressing her preference

for devolution as I say, but

actually, there is nothing in there.

You remember if last week, Theresa

May talked about maybe talks

beginning or encouraging talks next

week. There was nothing I think in

that speech in and of itself that

suggested those talks would get

under way next week. There was very

little in terms of detail. She

recited her position on the Irish

Language Act which is that she

clearly I think is expressing a

preference for a kind of catch all,

multi-cultural approach to the

issue. So, there is going to be no

movement on that. She reinforced the

message about no border on the Irish

Sea in relation to Brexit. The kind

of restatement of what we know the

DUP currently its position is in

relation to the talks and indeed, in

relation to Brexit. But actually

there was nothing there, I think, to

encourage any idea that the

devolution is on the horizon. I

think really what she is doing is

softening people up for the very

real possibility now, I think, of

direct rule, but I was really taken

with the extent which A, she claimed

the DUP was now the People's Party

which I don't know which people is

included?

Did she mean, do you

think, unionist people or did she

mean the people of Northern Ireland

Was she thinking about her prove

role as First Minister where she

spoke on behalf of everybody in

Northern Ireland, that was the

theory anyway and do you think she

has carried a bit of that with her

into today's speech? It was very

much a people of Northern Ireland

who saw the world through DUP eyes.

Is it fair to say that?

I think so.

No, of course, as First Minister,

she is going to want to speak for

the whole of Northern Ireland,

particularly in relation to the

negotiations with the UK Government.

But she is not in that role at the

moment?

She is not. Unlike Nicola

Sturgeon who has her own platform in

Scotland or Carwyn Jones in Cardiff,

she has no political platform other

than that as leader of the DUP and

the spotlight for the DUP has

shifted to Westminster where Nigel

Dodds is in the driving seat and for

Sinn Fein their focus has shifted

southwards, the centres of political

gravity for each of the parties has

moved geographically and

politically.

And just a word about

the fire she directed towards Sinn

Fein. There were several speeches.

We had a copy of the speech that ran

to 16 pages, two-and-a-half pages

were devoted entirely to Sinn Fein

and the obstacles that they have

repeatedly put in the way of

progress towards the

re-establishment of devolution. She

turned that whole respect issue back

on Sinn Fein.

She did.

She said we

are big fans of respect, but that's

what that means?

Precisely. It was a

nifty sort of bit of footwork there

in turning the tables the way she

did. There was a put down of

Michelle O'Neill, Northern Ireland

is British and if you remember,

O'Neill actually said when they

appeared together on the platform

earlier this year, that Northern

Ireland isn't really British, do you

remember that?

Yes?

Ar-Shrien said

she didn't want to create a row on

air, but it was a very belated, but

nevertheless explicit and trenchant

criticism.

It was on a platform in

Oxford and there were a lot of

people watching.

There were a lot of

people watching. I suspect some of

the people watching were in Britain

and they will have a memory and they

will have witnessed what was a slap

Down for Michelle O'Neill.

We will

come back and hear more thoughts in

due course, Rick. For now, thank you

very much indeed.

Let's bring in our Political Editor,

Mark Devenport, who is at

the conference venue for us.

Mark, the focus of attention has

moved to Westminster with Stormont

down and potentially the Sinn Fein

thinking about thoughts in terms of

future Irish elections. So, I have

two MPs to talk about what they have

heard in terms of the speech. How

did you think it went? What did you

think the key theme was Emma

Little-Pengelly, your leader was

trying to drive home?

Well, I

thought it was a fantastic speech

and I think at the very heart of

that was a very positive vision for

Northern Ireland and a message that

the Democratic Unionist Party is

there to work for everybody across

all communities in Northern Ireland

and also that we believe very firmly

that it is unionism that provides

the best pathway for a secure future

and the best for business our young

people and everybody in Northern

Ireland.

Gregory Campbell, isn't

there a clash? There was a long

section of her speech which was to

do with bread and butter politics

and she said we're working for

everyone. You have got the flags

flying and she is saying that

Northern Ireland is British and will

remain British. You are not working

for everyone, you are working for

unionists

That's assuming the flags

are not all embracing. Most people

will look at the speech and draw

attention to the contrast. Last

weekend we had narrow, nationalist

minded up the rebels contributions

at Sinn Fein's ARDESH. What do we

get today? The DUP saying let's move

forward for everyone. We're proud of

our Britishness, but it is not

exclusive. It is inclusive. I think

a lot of people will be drawing

contrast between last weekend and

this weekend and we would welcome

attention on the contrasts.

A few

digs at the expense of Sinn Fein...

Of course.

Your deputy leader said

Arlene is not going away, a

reference to Gerry Adams and there

was a dig from Arlene back to

Michelle O'Neill.

Party conferences

do tend to respond like that because

people want to know are the party

delivering for their supporters? But

are they delivering in a more

comprehensive wide ranging way and

that's what we tried to do and I

think successfully.

We can hear the

National Anthem in the background...

Which is even better. What a great

note to finish on?

Isn't the truth,

Emma Little-Pengelly, there is a

divergence within the party is if

there was direct rule the MPs would

be absolutely and utterly centre

stage

The Democratic Unionist Party

has been a party of devolution. We

want to see a local Assembly. It is

the best for the people of Northern

Ireland to have a local Assembly

delivering for the people of

Northern Ireland, but of course, the

MPs, we have a lot of influence at

Westminster. We will do that in

parallel regardless of whether the

Assembly is there or not. . We will

continue to try to fight for the

best deal for our Kensies in

Northern Ireland and for the entire

of the UK in this wip we have with

the Conservative Party.

Can you

clear up some confusion? I

interviewed Arlene Foster and she

told me has lots of doubts about the

statue of limitations for police

officers and I thought you and Jim

Shannon and Jeffrey Donaldson

thought it was an excellent thing.

What's the DUP policy on that?

We

have been clear. It is an

interesting proposal. It hasn't been

led by us, but when you look at what

Arlene Foster said, she indicated

she had concerns about amnesty, a

statute of limitations is not an

amnesty. And I think we need to see

the detail of it because of course,

we don't nou what statutory

limitations would cover. It doesn't

necessary have to cover all

offences. It is a limit when a

prosecution can be brought or a time

limit which is not uncommon across a

range of criminal offences. We need

to look at the detail of it. We have

indicated it is an interesting

proposal, but we have always opposed

an amnesty. We have a concern about

an amnesty, but in statute of

limitations is something we will

look at.

If lawyers gave an opinion

you can't have one without the

other?

As a lawyer, I would be of

the view.

Some lawyers think that

We

have limitations in place for a

range of offence that is doesn't

apply generally to others. We look

at this, but we need to see the

detail and we haven't seen the

detail. It hasn't been led by us. It

has been led by the Government and

some of the Conservative Party and

we will look at the detail.

Gregory

Campbell, you had Julian Smith.

Nigel Dodds said you will get the £1

billion delivered, but he said

either on the time scale set out or

in a manner satisfactory to us. Is

that last phrase an acknowledgement

that it might take longer than you

were hoping for?

Either

Either way, we will get it

delivered. It is our preference it

will be delivered in an efficient

way through devolution, but Sinn

Fein or no one else should believe

their stalling tactics is going to

prevent delivery for the people of

Northern Ireland. We will get the

money delivered, but it would be

better if it was delivered through

devolved ministers.

I suppose that

then leads us on in conclusion to

when do you think the deadline

should be set on the talks because

you know, we have heard a lot of

talk in recent weeks about time is

short, we can't go on with this

half-way house, any longer, but

surely we are getting to the point

now where there should be a cut off

point?

We are. The Republic of

Ireland politics has entered into

the frame. We should know in the

next few days if an election is

imminently. If it is, we presume

Sinn Fein's emphasis will move to

the Republic for the next three or

four weeks which would put the

throttle back in neutral, but that's

not our wish. It is not our

emphasis. Let's get on and get the

deal done. Get the money spent. The

money that we negotiated for

everybody. Let's see benefit for

everybody through devolution and

gets get it done immediately.

Do you

think we are heading for direct rule

or devolution?

We remain optimistic for devolution,

it is the best for everybody in

Northern Ireland so I will remain

confident and optimistic and hopeful

best.

Thank you.

Back to you in the

studio. Thank you. Earlier the DUP

Deputy Leader Nigel Dodds addressed

the conference delegates, he said it

was quite a year as a party became

big players at Westminster, propping

up to reason a's government in

exchange for that billion pounds

deal. Also being crowned the go for

brokering the deal. A large part of

his speech was dedicated to praise

for his leader.

The test of any

reader's metal is that how they

perform when the sun is on their

face, it is during the darkest of

times that their true worth shines

through. There is a lot of talk

about fake news these days. But if

anybody wants to see such a

phenomenon in action, they could do

worse than review how Arlene Foster

has been treated in 2017.

APPLAUSE.

The truth is, these people do not

come for you because you are weak

but because you are strong.

APPLAUSE.

And though it has been testing and

trying at times for you and your

family, you have come through this

stronger and better than ever. Those

who thought you could be harassed

out of politics did not reckon on

the will and resolve of a strong

unionist woman from County

Fermanagh!

APPLAUSE.

I say on behalf of of every elected

member and every member of this

party at a time when other political

leaders are heading for the exit

stage left, Arlene is not going

away!

APPLAUSE.

And when the republican leadership

decreed that Martin McGuinness would

have to resign his post as Deputy

First Minister, the real goal was to

rob the DUP of power and influence.

Well, that strategy has hit a few

bumps along the way, hasn't it?

Little did our critics think that

within six months, the very

existence of a government of this

United Kingdom would depend on the

Democratic Unionist Party and that

Sinn Fein MPs and MLAs would be

reduced to carping critics of

everything and everyone from the

sidelines. Today, it is this party

that stands in the heart of

government, not in Northern Ireland

but across the United Kingdom.

APPLAUSE.

None of us want to see direct rule

introduced but we are fast

approaching the moment when it will

be the lesser of two evils. I know

there are many in other parties and

across the United Kingdom, when I

outline the list of achievements

that we have managed to secure,

think that Northern Ireland got too

good of the deal from the

government. But when I see how

critical our votes have been just in

recent days, I begin to wonder, did

we settled to easily? There are some

who even say in the House of Commons

that each DUP MP is worth as much as

Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, £100

million each! That is an insult! It

should be Steve Davis and Kyle

Lafferty, in our view! That was

Nigel Dodds delivering his speech as

Deputy Leader. We can talk about

that to Professor Rick Wilford. What

did you make of that? Arlene Foster

paid a very warm tribute to Nigel

Dodds. Earlier, he had paid that

very warm tribute to her.

It is a

very public demonstration of the

close working relationship they have

and the close political relationship

they have and it is trying to

project a picture that the DUP is in

safe hands at Westminster with Nigel

Dodds as the leader whereas Arlene

Foster, who doesn't have a formal

elected role, you are equally in

safe hands locally. We trained both

of them, they present a very strong

and cohesive front to the wider

public. He is not short on blowing

his own and his colleagues' trumpets

because of the deal that was struck

between the DUP and the

Conservatives in the wake of the

general election. The confidence and

supply agreement. It is interesting,

if you think about the stability of

governments and administrations

across the British Isles and also

Europe, you have confidence and

supply in London and in Dublin,

which is looking vulnerable,

Germany, they don't have a

government yet after that election

and there is a lot of instability

and Ashlee Brown nature to the

political system across Europe and

that exerts an effect internally for

those in those nations but in our

instance it makes things in relation

to Brexit that much more difficult.

The landscape is littered with more

difficulties.

How does the

relationship change within the DUP

Anne a leadership level if there is

going to be no return in the short

to medium term, it is clear there

will be no return to devolution?

Arlene Foster it is the party leader

without portfolio in terms of not

having a formal public role. Nigel

Dodds becomes the real focus of

power for the DUP as somebody who

can wield enormous influence at

Westminster, assuming the Tory

government remains in place? And we

should not presume anything! While

that continues, he is a very

powerful individual and the balance

shifts towards those ten MPs.

It has

shifted eastwards for the DUP and

southwards for Sinn Fein and you

have this political distance between

them that is mirrored by the

geographic difference. We have a

sense of that relationship over this

statute of limitations issue for

security forces, it seems as if most

of the DUP MPs at Westminster seem

to be disposed favourably to this

idea whereas Arlene Foster herself

in an interview yesterday evening

sounded the warning bell about the

possibility of this because it is

not... If you put any two lawyers in

a room, you will get three opinions.

The same with economists. Actually,

there could be a lot of unintended

consequences if that statute of

limitations is brought about

because, for example, it might mean

that people who colluded with

security forces during the Troubles,

loyalist paramilitaries, for

example, could claim amnesty for

being a defective estate agent and

that would be, to say the least,

extremely embarrassing.

He will

speak to you again at the end of the

programme. We can head back to Mark

Devenport who is at the conference

venue and is joined by another DUP

MP.

It is the East Antrim MP, Sammy

Wilson.

The right honourable? That

is right!

A well-established member

of the establishment! You have been

effectively changed? Stage-managed?

In past conferences one of the

highlights was a no holds barred

speech from Sammy Wilson giving that

everybody! Lots of jokes. You have

been relegated to the sofa?

In my

old age, perhaps that is the most

appropriate place for me.

Giving

deference to my age. There were a

couple of jokes, you picked up on

Lord Kilclooney?

I got a few of them

in. The crowd always likes some

jibes at your political opponents

and I am always happy to oblige.

We

were listening to that clip of Nigel

Dodds who pledged loyalty to Arlene

Foster. She has had her troubles

over the year, ups and downs. At one

point you are thinking of throwing

your hat into the ring when there

was that they can see, are you 100%

behind your?

When I think of the

year that Arlene Foster has put in,

she has proved herself E.On all

expectations as a real leader

because as Nigel said, it is easy

being a leader when the sun is

shining in your face, it is more

difficult when you face the wind and

the icy showers of adversity and

Arlene has been through that, she

has been unfairly treated and

unfairly vilified and she came

through like a stalwart and she has

won the admiration of the party and

that was shown in the reaction there

was to her today.

We had the budget

this week and as the former Finance

Minister at Stormont, you welcomed

the extra money for Northern Ireland

as an important source of

investment. Another ex-Stormont

minister said it was a bad joke,

there was nothing to add? If you

parties get your act together, how

will anyone believe this is for

real? Given is completely different

perspectives on the money and policy

and Brexit?

The bad joke is Mairtin

O'Muilleoir, as a Finance Minister

he did not bring forward any budget,

he was too scared. He could not make

the hard decisions required by a

Finance Minister to bring forward

the budget. I had known for years

and you cannot satisfy everybody and

the test of a Finance Minister and

the test is to look at the resources

and use that in the best way

possible. He looked at what he had,

he was scarred to offend somebody so

he scuttled away. He should not

really even be prepared to make any

comment on what is a good or bad

budget, and good or bad steel,

because he was a bad Finance

Minister and could not face up to

the job that he had to do. As far as

the budget is concerned, it will

leave challenges for us. But we went

in there and coming up to the budget

we argued for a large number of

things. And we got nearly all of

those delivered. He argued that we

needed more money from public

spending in Northern Ireland, we

have another £660 million. We to

have the review of VAT for the

hospitality industry to lift that

industry and the review of air

passenger duty and we have got that

and by the next budget we will

report back. We argued for more

money for the lab or funds and under

bigger issues for Universal Credit,

for small businesses, not to have

that VAT threshold lowered and few

duty and beer duty, we argued for

all of those things and were

successful. That is a difference

between us and Sinn Fein, were at

the game in Westminster and they are

scuttling away, afraid to make any

decisions.

Luckily, we don't have

any ministers to work out where this

extra money from the budget will be

allocated. Is a time when you have

to set a deadline? The end of the

year, mid-December?

For direct rule?

As both Arlene Foster and Nigel made

clear, our preference is to have the

ministers making decisions but

because of the structure here of

Sinn Fein deciding to scuttle into

the shadows and start making those

decisions, not being prepared to,

somebody has to, and we have been

saying, there is another budget to

be brought forward for next year and

that will require political

decisions Under-Secretary of State

has to face reality, if we cannot

get an Executive running here, we

need direct rule and direct

Wilderness Tours can decide on how

the billion pounds that we have

available is spent, the £660 million

and other decisions.

I was going to

ask about Brexit but I also have my

deadline!

Back to the studio. A

final word in a last-minute from

Professor Rick Wilford. Interesting.

We asked the parties to provide us

with guests to talk to Mark.

Interestingly, they selected three

MPs.

No local representatives? There

were no MLAs, excluding Simon

Hamilton, the architect of the

election strategy. This is

indicative of the way... The central

gravity has shifted to Westminster.

They do exert disproportionate

influence given those crude numbers

and they hold the balance and they

are critical players and that might

be emblematic of their thinking,

which is, direct route is coming and

we have to get ready.

What was the

big theme of Arlene Foster's speech?

I don't think there was one, not any

new idea, there were restatements of

what we already knew and jibes at

Sinn Fein and the assertion that

they were the people's party, some

people will find difficult to

accept.

Thank you. That is it. I

will be back tomorrow with Sunday

Politics at 11:35am and I will be

talking to Arlene Foster. Goodbye.