Arlene Foster says she could never work with Labour leader, claiming he would be ‘clearly partisan towards republicanism’

Any Jeremy Corbyn government would be disastrous for Northern Ireland because of his perceived bias towards the republican community, the DUP leader, Arlene Foster, has argued.

Foster, who was Northern Ireland’s first minister until the power-sharing executive collapsed in January, said she could never work with the Labour leader, and she urged Theresa May – whom the DUP are propping up in Westminster – should “focus on the big issues”.

In an interview with the House magazine, Foster said a Corbyn-led government would affect moves to restore devolution in Northern Ireland, as the Labour leader was “very clearly not neutral in relation to these issues”.

Westminster imposes budget on Northern Ireland Read more

She said: “Despite the fact that we have a confidence-and-supply arrangement with the Conservative party, they have, in terms of the Northern Ireland office, gone out of their way to be neutral in their dealings here in Northern Ireland.

“You would not have that with a Jeremy Corbyn Northern Ireland office. He would be very clearly partisan towards republicanism. It would be disastrous for Northern Ireland because of his previous utterances in relation to Northern Ireland and his support for the IRA at a time when nobody else was supporting the IRA.”

Asked whether she could conceive of working with Corbyn, Foster said the DUP had previously dealt with Labour governments.

“But for us the choice is very clear when the Labour party have a leader and a shadow chancellor and other members who are so clearly advocating a particular direction, a direction which we think would be wrong for the nation,” she said.

Opponents have accused Corbyn and John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, of having previously been over-sympathetic to the IRA and the wider republican cause.

Corbyn has said he invited former members of the IRA who had served their sentences to the House of Commons, but insisted he always advocated a peaceful solution to divisions in Northern Ireland.

Foster, whose involvement in a botched green fuels subsidy scheme prompted the collapse of the power-sharing administration, said May should sharpen her attention on the main issues.

“It’s so important that she focuses on the big issues and doesn’t get thrown off,” she said. “I know that’s very difficult when there is so much noise going on, but that’s exactly what she must do.”

Irish PM 'disrespectful' for hoping Brexit will not happen, says DUP Read more

Foster said she felt the DUP had been “completely misrepresented” by the media when it began talks with the Conservatives for a confidence-and-supply agreement after June’s election.

“Some of them were saying that we were loyalist terrorists and all this sort of thing. I mean, my goodness, my father was shot by terrorists, it’s hardly something that I’m going to be supporting. For a party that was founded on law and order, it was an incredible allegation to make.”



Journalists had formed their judgments of the party by “Googling the DUP and finding things that had been said in 1974,” she said.

She defended the DUP’s continued opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion. “Here in Northern Ireland our views certainly are mainstream. We’re the largest party, people vote for us because of our views. And I think that needs to be acknowledged and recognised in parts of England and in the mainland,” Foster said.