Why has DUP MP Carla Lockhart resigned?

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The Hard Shoulder with Ciara Kelly and Shane Colman.

Ciara Kelly (1:04)

On Newstalk with Ciara.

Shane Coleman (1:09)

Now, DUP MP Carla Lockhart, who would have had a very high profile over the last number of weeks because of events on the Gavaghi Road, has resigned as a party officer of the DUP amid a deepening row with the leadership over the future of Stormont. For more on this, we're joined by Tom Kelly, columnist at The Irish News.

Tom, what's at the bottom of this decision by Carla Lockhart to resign as a party officer of the DUP?

Tom Kelly (1:38)

Well, I think the fact is that she has been on a different track to the party leader. He has decided obviously that collapsing the institutions is not a good idea. The reason for that is because they've done it before. When they went back to the table, there was less in the table. Paul Given today, one of Carla Lockhart's colleagues, and who wouldn't be described in any way as liberal, was once First Minister. He had to stand down and collapse the institutions, and then he watched both the Tories and the Labour governments proceed with the protocol arrangements and the so-called seat border.

So they know it achieves nothing.

Shane Coleman (2:15)

Okay, so what, where is Carla Lockhart coming from? I mean, she would be seen more on the harder line wing of the DUP. She would have been there, you know, at the events of the Garvahy Road, outside the church. She would have been seen as taking quite a harder line approach than her party leader.

Tom Kelly (2:39)

Oh, absolutely. An upper van where she represents is a hard gig. If you're a unionist, it's a hard line constituency. So from her point of view, she's appealing to the grassroots in her own backyard. And that way, she probably is feeling disproportionate heat or the need to do something more than anyone else on it. But the problem is, I mean, before the past month on the Trump crisis, how many people in the republic would have known who Carla Lockhart was? She is a fairly listless and anonymous politician on the ranks of the DUP.

And she has been pressurized by the right, particularly the DUP, and also from Jamie Bryson and other loyalists, fringe loyalists. And she feels slightly emboldened. But I mean, she said last night that she wanted to keep her resignation secret. I mean, what is this, some kind of undercover Christian game?

I mean, you don't resign to keep it secret in a political party.

Shane Coleman (3:37)

Is she likely to go to the TUV? Is that a possibility, do you think?

Tom Kelly (3:43)

I think most commentators are saying no. And Gavin today said that both her family and his family were founding members of the DUP and that they bleed DUP. Now, the problem with that, Shane, is so did Jim Alistair once bleed DUP as well. And then he set up his own party.

I would say she's probably looking, she does decide to go, and I don't think that she will, but she does, she would be looking at the model of Alex Easton in North Down, where she could remain an independent unionist.

Shane Coleman (4:11)

How? Sorry, go on. Sorry, I thought you were finished. Please finish.

Tom Kelly (4:15)

She's got a fairly safe seat. I mean, she's seven and a half thousand majority.

Shane Coleman (4:20)

How big a blow is it to Gavin Robinson? Or is it a blow for him, the DUP leader?

Tom Kelly (4:25)

Well, I mean, he has got two types of DUP. He has the Puritans, even Puritanical wing in there, and he also has the pragmatists. Now, the pragmatists aren't liberals in the way that you and I would think of liberals.