Mr Robinson said,
“Making Northern Ireland work is essential to our future and to the future of the Union. We cannot ignore the new realities we face. Just this week there were headlines trumpeting that support for the Union has dropped below 50%—to 48.6%—for the first time. Whilst those figures don’t provide the full picture, they should not be ignored.
Alongside those who will support Northern Ireland remaining within the Union, and those who want to break-up the United Kingdom, there is a third group. That third group is the ‘Don’t Knows’. These people are crucial – and the opinion poll is further proof of that. By taking out those ‘don’t knows’ from the opinion poll results, support for our place in the United Kingdom rises back up above 50%, but we shouldn’t be trying to ignore them; rather win their active support.
They can be persuaded—either to support the Union or to break it. While we may not win their hearts, we must win their minds. To do so, Northern Ireland must work, and this is why a functioning Executive, despite its challenges, is better than bad governance imposed by London, with Dublin whispering in the Prime Minister’s ear.
We can use the tools available to us to improve the lives of people here. Take childcare, for example. Many of you know the strain that childcare costs place on young families. It was a key manifesto commitment of ours, and we have delivered. Our team has advanced a new support scheme that is already making a real difference. Across Northern Ireland, 11,500 families are now receiving £133 off their monthly childcare bill because of the DUP. That’s making Northern Ireland a better place to raise a family.
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At
our Party Conference, I committed to working with fellow unionists for
the greater good of the Union. Division is costly, friends—you know this
all too well here in North Antrim. Had Mervyn Storey been elected
instead of an Alliance MLA in the last Assembly election, Unionism would
have had an extra seat and a majority at the Executive table. That
would have made a real difference to our ability to implement our vision
for Northern Ireland.
We cannot allow this kind of self-inflicted harm to continue. Unionists
attacking unionists only delights our constitutional opponents. They
dishearten the broader unionist family, who want cooperation, not
division.”