Sophy Ridge on Sunday Interview with Arlene Foster, DUP leader, 12.03.17

ANY QUOTES USED MUST BE ATTRIBUTED TO SOPHY RIDGE ON SUNDAY, SKY NEWS

SOPHY RIDGE: Now last week’s elections could have major implications not just for the people of Northern Ireland but for the unity of the United Kingdom.  Democratic Unionist Leader Arlene Foster has told Sky News that the rise in support for Sinn Fein was a wake-up call for Unionism.  In her first broadcast interview since the vote she spoke to our Ireland correspondent David Blevins.  

DAVID BLEVINS: Arlene Foster, a disastrous election result for Unionism, why have you not resigned?

ARLENE FOSTER: Well I wouldn’t characterise it as a disastrous result, indeed we increased our vote by some 23,000. It just so happened that we were in a situation where were moving to five seats instead of six seats per constituency so we were always going to see a reduction in the number of seats that we held and as well as that, the Nationalist turnout increased so I think that has caused a shock if you like, certainly within Unionism.  A lot of people have been talking to me since last Friday when the results were becoming known and a great sense of shock and how could this happen and I think it has been a bit of a wake-up call in terms of Unionism in Northern Ireland.

DB: You say it wasn’t a disaster, you were expecting to lose seats but your party lost ten and Unionism lost overall majority so if it wasn’t a disaster how do you describe it?

ARLENE FOSTER: Well I describe it as I’ve said.  I said that the election was going to be very close on all of the television debates, on all of the interviews that I gave, I said it was going to be close and people really needed to come out and they needed to realise that it was going to be a choice between Sinn Fein’s radical republicanism or the vision that we had for Northern Ireland which was a positive vision within the United Kingdom outside of the European Union but unfortunately they were able to mobilise nationalism in a more effective way than unionism and what we had then was a very, very close election insofar as on first preference votes there was a little over 1000 between us.

DB: One of your own MPs has spoken about the need to eat humble pie, have you in the last seven days at any point thought about resigning as party leader?

ARLENE FOSTER: No, I haven’t because there’s a job of work to be done.  I said back in December that the mark of a politician is not what they do during good times but how they tackle the challenges and how they deal with the opportunities that present themselves and certainly, from my perspective, I have a big job of work to do, the party has got a big job of work to do and indeed Unionism in general has to step up to the plate now and that’s what I’m focused on.

DB: If we reach the point where the restoration of devolution is possible but the stumbling block is Arlene Foster being First Minister, would you stand aside from that post?

ARLENE FOSTER: Well look, we’re in negotiations and that’s what it’s all about at the moment and we certainly can’t, to borrow a phrase from the Prime Minister, engage in a running commentary.  Gerry Adams in particular and Sinn Fein in general have talked about who they want to see or rather who they don’t want to see as First Minister in terms of the DUP because of course it is up to our party to decide who our nominee would be and I have said all throughout the week that if we get into the territory where we’re each telling each other who to select, well we will want to of course say to Sinn Fein we think you should select XY and Z instead of A, B and C so they can’t tell us who to select as our nominees and likewise we can’t tell them.  

DB: But which is the most important – the restoration of power sharing in Northern Ireland or Arlene Foster being First Minister?

ARLENE FOSTER: Well you know the answer to that, of course it’s never been about me and actually I pointed out during the election campaign that the election was not about me, it was about what was good for Northern Ireland and what was the best way ahead for Northern Ireland and of course other parties tried to make it a referendum on me and all sorts of things but it has never been about me and I want to make that very clear.  It is about Northern Ireland, it’s about the restoration of devolution and I think that’s where all of our focus should be at this point in time.  

DB: I’m not going to labour this longer but …

ARLENE FOSTER: I think you are!

DB: … you are leaving scope there for the option of an alternative.

ARLENE FOSTER: What I’m saying to you is that I have been returned as the leader of Unionism in Northern Ireland.  We as a party will make our determination as to who will be nominated and who will not be nominated in respect of the negotiation done and in respect of a return to devolution.  I have to say David, we’re not there yet, we have some way to go.  We have to continue with the negotiations in the spirit in which they have begun and I hope that that will happen and I hope that we do get to a situation where we can bring about the return of the devolved administration as quickly as possible.

DB: We now have a situation where Northern Ireland has voted to remain in the European Union and we’ve seen a surge in the Republican vote, is it time for a referendum on the reunification of this island?

ARLENE FOSTER: No, it’s not and of course, even the way in which you ask that question is not quite right because as the United Kingdom we were asked a particular question in relation to our membership of the European Union, we weren’t asked it in terms of Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland, it was a national question.  We answered it as a national question and of course that means that we’re leaving the European Union.  That doesn’t mean that we don’t take into account the very particular circumstances of Northern Ireland given that we will have a land border with another state that’s remaining within the European Union and of course recognising the history and the geography and the special relationship that there is on this island so we have to take into account all of those things, that we’re leaving the European Union but we need to recognise what has happened here.

DB: But would you concede that Brexit is a game changer for Northern Ireland because of our land border with the Republic and also the fact that it’s not just nationalists who have concerns about the future but Unionists too and how do you reassure them as a cheerleader for Brexit?

ARLENE FOSTER: Well I think Brexit is a game changer in terms of the whole nation, in terms of the whole of the United Kingdom. I think, as I would, that it’s a marvellous opportunity to strike out as global UK and to do things differently, to be more innovative, to be more flexible so I think there’s a good future ahead but that doesn’t take away from the fact that I recognise that logistically, I think someone said that this will be the biggest challenge since the end of the Second World War and everything that that entailed, and that’s absolutely right particularly for us here in Northern Ireland.  We need to get back to dealing with those challenges and planning for those opportunities and certainly that’s the message that I’m giving, not just to the other parties at Stormont but to the population as a whole here in Northern Ireland.

SR: DUP Leader, Arlene Foster, there.