{"id":630086,"date":"2026-09-20T01:54:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T01:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/630086\/"},"modified":"2026-09-20T01:54:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T01:54:11","slug":"not-all-protestants-hate-abba-dup-leader-shows-fun-side-but-no-hiding-his-election-fears-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/630086\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Not all Protestants hate Abba\u2019: DUP leader shows fun side, but no hiding his election fears \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

On the eve of the Democratic Unionist Party<\/a> (DUP) conference, party leader Gavin Robinson asked members if there were any Derry Girls fans among them.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean Londonderry Girls,\u201d replied MP Sammy Wilson at the Friday night dinner.<\/p>\n

Introducing the evening\u2019s entertainment \u2013 an Abba tribute band \u2013 Robinson quoted a line from the \u201cblackboard scene\u201d of the sitcom, which addressed some apparent differences between Catholics and Protestants. Saying he wanted to dispel a myth, Robinson joked: \u201cNot all Protestants hate Abba.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wilson proceeded to lead a conga line through the ballroom of La Mon Hotel in Belfast<\/a> to Dancing Queen.<\/p>\n

It was, as one DUP stalwart was overheard saying in the same ballroom the following day, an \u201cinsane\u201d evening.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it was very much in Gavin\u2019s image,\u201d he added. \u201cIt was fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before training as a barrister, Robinson worked as a children\u2019s entertainer, clown and magician.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was very different to previous dinners when it was more cringe entertainment,\u201d added another delegate.<\/p>\n

\"InIn a 40-minute address at La Mon Hotel Hotel in Belfast, DUP leader Gavin Robinson criticised Sinn F\u00e9in, mentioned Donald Trump and called for unionism to work together. Photograph: Charles McQuillan\/Getty Images) <\/p>\n

This was Robinson\u2019s third outing as party leader. He was tasked with delivering arguably his most important conference speech just eight months out from the next Assembly and council elections.<\/p>\n

Even before the arrest of former party leader Jeffrey Donaldson on child sex-offence charges triggered a political earthquake two years ago, the party was in decline.<\/p>\n

It haemorrhaged 40,000 votes in the last Assembly election in 2022.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0As momentum builds in the Irish unity debate, how is unionism responding?Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Once the undisputed leader of unionism, the DUP slipped behind its UUP rivals in the polls in July, a month after Donaldson\u2019s conviction on all 18 <\/a>charges<\/a>, including child rape.<\/p>\n

While the party had been unaware of these crimes, a drip-feed of unsavoury stories about Donaldson\u2019s behaviour raised questions about what the party did know of his apparent double life.<\/p>\n

Robinson commissioned a review into what, \u201cif anything\u201d, was known within the party about Donaldson\u2019s \u201calleged misconduct\u201d and how it was dealt with.<\/p>\n

On Saturday afternoon, around 300 people were seated for the main leader\u2019s speech. In 2012 and 2013, the same room was filled with more than double that number during Peter Robinson\u2019s reign (a trend reflected across all political party conferences).<\/p>\n

\"ThisThis image of DUP leader Gavin Robinson was posted to the DUP Instagram account with the caption: “It’s not all politics at the Party Conference. There’s time for Abba and selfies.” <\/p>\n

While Gavin Robinson entered the room to rapturous applause, the mood dipped when he addressed the Donaldson scandal head-on at the opening of his speech.<\/p>\n

Last year, the subject wasn\u2019t aired. It had been akin to \u201cdon\u2019t mention the war\u201d, one delegate observed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will not let the vile actions of one man define our values and our integrity,\u201d Robinson told members, to further applause.<\/p>\n

Following the US president\u2019s endorsement a week earlier of a united Ireland<\/a>, the party faithful booed \u2013 the only boo of the 40-minute speech \u2013 at the mention of Donald Trump\u2019s name.<\/p>\n

Robinson received the loudest cheer of the day after saying: \u201cWe have one objective Mr President \u2013 to make Northern Ireland great again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AA DUP programme of events at the party’s annual conference at La Mon Hotel, Belfast, on Saturday. Photograph: Charles McQuillan\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

Predictably, he rounded on Sinn F\u00e9in<\/a> for using a border poll as a \u201cdistraction\u201d from addressing the North\u2019s crisis-ridden public service:<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cNeed to do something about waiting lists \u2013 \u2018I know, a border poll\u2019. Need to do something about the A5. \u2018Oh, I know, a border poll . . .\u201d<\/p>\n

Robinson\u2019s delivery was confident. He rarely looked at any of the three autocues and he covered every inch of the stage, unlike earlier party speakers.<\/p>\n

He could easily have been delivering the closing submissions to a courtroom during his previous life in the legal profession.<\/p>\n

Yet for all his public confidence, he knows the party is in electoral trouble. Falling just shy of requesting a pact, he used the latter part of his speech to appeal to unionist rivals for \u201cgreater co-operation\u201d.<\/p>\n

The problem is that those rival leaders \u2013 Jon Burrows of the UUP and the TUV\u2019s Jim Allister \u2013 are much more formidable opponents than last time round.<\/p>\n

While he insisted the DUP would \u201cnot be found wanting\u201d to maximise a pro-unionist vote, Burrows and Allister will smell blood.<\/p>\n

Robinson, who has successfully retained his East Belfast MP seat for over a decade, may be safe electorally.<\/p>\n

He may also have his party members onside after a positive conference.<\/p>\n

Despite weathering one of the biggest scandals in the modern political history of Northern Ireland, he now faces into his biggest test as leader at next May\u2019s polls.<\/p>\n

His political survival could depend on its outcome.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On the eve of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) conference, party leader Gavin Robinson asked members if there…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":630087,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[4501,14063,26188,42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-630086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-belfast","tag-dup-links","tag-gavin-robinson","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=630086"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630086\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/630087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=630086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=630086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=630086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}