Having just turned 40, I am very aware that time is marching on. It stops for no one. It seems like yesterday as a thirteen-year-old I watched the Belfast Agreement being signed.
As we count down towards 2027, the next Assembly and Local Government elections, I want us all to be focused on ensuring Unionism wins. It should not be about manufacturing divisions between us, it must be about working together to ensure more pro-Union candidates are elected.
Let’s remember, we have an Alliance Agricultural Minister because of divisions within Unionism. There were enough votes elect four Pro-Union MLAs in North Antrim, but the loss of Mervyn Storey meant the loss a Pro-Union voice and vote around the Executive table.
Time cannot beat us. Discussions about maximising the pro-Union vote in those elections should not be left until time has run out. I want this to start now.
As an Orangeman since I was nineteen, I care passionately about the Institution and the Christian values it seeks to uphold. One of those being the principle of loving our neighbour.
Sometimes within Unionism, there hasn’t been enough neighbourliness towards each other. We have been good at finding heretics rather than respectfully debating the subject and winning converts. That must change.
We have more that unites us than divides us. We all want Northern Ireland to prosper.
Out of the 458 members who entered the draw to advance a Private Members Bill at Westminster, Jim Allister was one of twenty drawn out of the hat a few weeks ago.
I have already given Jim my full support for his Bill as have every other Unionist MP, but getting legislation changed at Westminster as an MP is not easy.
Last year, I successfully steered a Private Members Bill through Parliament to change the law about British Citizenship. I was the first Northern Ireland MP to succeed with a Private Members Bill since Martin Smith in 1989.
By working as a team of pro-Union MPs we can affect change and by working together we can improve the outcome for Unionism at the ballot box.
Time keeps moving and we must keep moving with the times. The priorities and battles of my generation are different to the battles of my father and grandfather’s day. Equally the battles of the next generation will be different to what we face in 2025.
For my part, I will lead the DUP from the front. I will set an example of working with other Unionists. I will stand foursquare to restore Northern Ireland’s place within the United Kingdom including removing the application of EU law in our country and the internal Irish Sea Border it creates.
Over 2025, I will be travelling to every constituency and building a strong team of candidates who are principled and effective at delivering for their people.
2025 will be a make or break year for Unionism. We will either work together and lay the groundwork to win in 2027 or we will fail to seize the moment and allow time and distractions to defeat us.
By working together, we can ensure that the next generation inherits a stronger, more united Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom.
I wish all the Orange family a Happy Christmas and blessed New Year.