DUP sources fear the removal of Arlene Foster could trigger an Assembly election

By PA news

There are fears the removal of Arlene Foster as First Minister could lead to an Assembly election later this year.

Mrs Foster will step down as Democratic Unionist Party leader on 28 May and as first minister at the end of June 

She faced an internal revolt by part members.

Now party sources who have asked to remain nameless fear Sinn Fein may demand concessions on the Irish language or LGBT rights before agreeing to the election of a new first minister.

Meanwhile Mrs. Foster is set to return to Stormont Executive business later.

She'll jointly chair a virtual meeting of the devolved powersharing administration on Thursday, less than 24 hours after announcing her planned resignation in the face of an internal revolt against her leadership.

Commentator Jon Tonge thinks the coup by DUP members must be accompanied with a strategy ahead of next year's schedled Assembly election.

The politics professor at the University of Liverpool says getting rid of Arlene Foster was the easy bit. 

Arlene Foster is set to return to Stormont Executive business later as focus within her party shifts to the race to succeed her as DUP leader and First Minister.https://t.co/plioTVNGle

— Q Radio News (@qnewsdesk) April 29, 2021

The 50-year-old Fermanagh and South Tyrone Assembly Member has also signalled an intent to quit politics altogether, with Wednesday’s resignation statement speaking of preparing to “depart the political stage”.

Attention now turns to who will replace her at head of both her party and Northern Ireland’s devolved government.

MPs Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and Gavin Robinson, both viewed as moderates, and the more hardline Stormont Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots are among the names emerging as potential successors.

Veteran MP and arch Brexiteer Sammy Wilson, who almost ran against Mrs Foster when she was elected in 2015, may also consider entering the contest this time round.

There is some speculation that when Mrs Foster does depart, the twin roles she currently occupies could be split going forward, with one politician taking on the role of party leader and another being appointed First Minister.

That would potentially allow an MP to lead the party from Westminster while an MLA takes on the First Minister’s job.

While Mrs Foster had been under mounting pressure from disgruntled DUP supporters for months, the pace at which her grip on power slipped this week has surprised many.

Her resignation came a day after party colleagues unhappy with her leadership moved against her, with a majority of senior elected representatives signing a letter of no confidence.

Discontent at the DUP’s Brexit strategy was a major factor in the heave, with party rank and file laying some of the blame for the emergence of an Irish Sea border at her door.

Traditionalists from the party’s religious fundamentalist wing also harboured concerns over positions Mrs Foster had taken on some social issues.