Around 150 TUV members gathered in the Royal Hotel, Cookstown for their annual conference under a banner of “Bringing Strength to Unionism”. They’re easily the most vocal audience of the (many) local party gatherings I’ve attended in recent years. Every seat seemed to have been provided with a union flag, but people applauded so vigorously they mostly forgot to wave the flags.
The tone of TUV representatives is vociferous and rarely diplomatic. The punchy rhetoric from the stage has more energy than most other party conferences. The party is clear what it stands for – the jeers and applause underline the speaking points that resonate the most – and their bombastic oratory critiques every other party at Stormont (only Claire Sugden escaped being mentioned) with well-rehearsed pantomime, whether they are a threat at the polls or not.
Brexit and the Protocol – aka the “Dud Donaldson DUP deal” – have become a Trojan horse stepping stone towards Irish Unity. Lots of problems are identified, although few specific policy solutions (other than abandoning devolution and the Protocol) are offered.
Speeches were strong on evangelical rhetoric, with some using Bible verses to back up their points. For all the talk against other parties exhibiting identity politics, the most fervent TUV supporters display a high degree of homogeneity. While Jim Allister’s speech almost had more false endings than a James Bond film, most of the contributors were punchy and had the audience eating out of the palm of their hands.
The launch of the Youth Voice group was accompanied by a photo of thirty or so young guys up at Stormont. The women in the conference hall (other than a couple of school-age children) were nearly all middle aged or older. The party clearly needs to work on its gender profile. The first woman to speak from the stage was party secretary Ann McClure, who closed the conference more than four and half hours after the public part of the conference began.
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Later in the morning, Kyle said that it wasn’t “often I agree with Chris Donnelly. This week on Nolan … he said the TUV have got too big for the DUP to handle … Even a stopped clock is right twice a day!”
Political veteran and party president William Ross welcomed the members and thanked the “foots soldiers” who make the party run and will go around the doors to “preach the gospel of unionism”. He was gifted a book about MPs who have behaved badly in honour of his recent 90th birthday.
“Doing a deal with your enemy gives them a foot in the door … There was no deal done with Mr Hitler. No deal with Japan. And I regret that … in this Province … we ended up with the Belfast Agreement.”
Ross cast his eyes back to those who denigrated Winston “Churchill and his like” in the 1930s. “The folk who sneered at Churchill. The folk who sneer at us today. Many of them know perfectly well that they know what we say is right … they are the useful fools of our enemies.”
McDowell said that after the next set of elections, “the face of politics in Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom at large will have changed for ever … In 2027 there’s going to be new TUV faces in councils across Northern Ireland. The look and feel of the Assembly will change forever as we make our meteoric rise.”
After “years of empty promise” there will be “no more namby-pamby actions around the Windsor Framework. … there should never be unionist acceptance of the Irish Sea Border … not even with a pay rise … The propping up of Sinn Féin and taking the crumbs from the table of a dysfunctional government has never delivered for unionism.”
McDowell said he stood for “no terrorists in government and no apologies”. He touched on attempts to limit street preaching through proposed Belfast City Council byelaws: “civil liberties are threatened on our streets: did you ever see the day that praying silently could be construed as an offence?”
He spoke against “the impact of illegal immigration on communities” and said a TUV red line was “sending all illegal immigration back to their country of original”.
McDowell finished by telling members that next year’s election would be “the fight of our lives. Offer your shoe leather. Support your candidates who are sitting around you. I don’t think Northern Ireland if unchallenged would survive the DUP. Conference, let’s win.”
- making the civil service accountable to ministers;
- House of Lords should scrutinise legislation properly and submit to the mandate of the House of Commons;
- the judiciary should apply statutory and case law rather than inventing law;
- there should be one sovereign parliament within one border and under the Crown … the unfinished business of Brexit.
Kruger said it was “inspiring to watch actual political rhetoric … it gets the political juices flowing”. “I am very proud to sit with Jim Allister … in the naughty corner [of the House of Commons] … The real action is in our corner.”
Having dismissed Labour and the Conservatives, he labelled the Liberal Democrats as a “sententious” blob. But Jim Allister was “a rock of Ulster granite … immoveable and impregnable”.
It was clear that Kruger had flown across to make sure the TUV understood that they could have a relationship with Reform but it wouldn’t be exclusive. He thanked the DUP as well as Allister for their support against the Assisted Dying Bill. He said that the bill “was almost dead now … I’d like to think it’s died of natural causes, it hasn’t been killed … poor thing”. But he warned of the need to be “vigilant” of that bill coming back.
“I admire Jim greatly and salute the TUV. There’s something of the Reform about you! But it’s not for parties in Great Britain to interfere with politics in Northern Ireland.” Despite admitting he sensed a slight frostiness around mentions of other unionist parties, Kruger said “I also like Gavin Robinson and Robin Swann. I just want to see the maximum number of unionists in Westminster.”
Kruger was applauded for saying “asylum hotels in Belfast and Bangor should be closed” [Ed – didn’t the Home Office stop that practice at the end of February?] and more applause was forthcoming when he called “for stopping churches being turned into mosques and stopping Islamification”.
“We were told that when Jim went to Westminster the TUV voice on the blue benches would fall silent. How wrong were they?! … There’s no more taking unionist for granted and we are on the rise.”
What separates the TUV from other unionists? “In every vote I’m guided by my faith, my family and the love I have for my country.”
He said he had been silenced for asking too many questions of the First Minister, and silenced for “saying too many hurty things”. “It’ll take more than a couple of days in the sin bin to shut me up.”
Gaston surveyed the other parties up at the Assembly.
“Conference, I want to take you on a whistle‑stop tour and mark some of the homework of those who hail the first Programme for Government for 13 years as some sort of achievement …
“Let’s start with our Economy Minister, who is meant to champion Northern Ireland job creation … Ms Archibald’s legacy will be known as the Minister for the Economy who set out to America with 300 jobs ‘in the bag’ and returned with none. Invest NI believed the jobs were secure. Discussions were taking place about the timing of the public announcement. And then the leadership of Cantor Fitzgerald met the Minister. Three hundred jobs, gone, because of the toxic nature of Sinn Féin, and yet Unionism still sustains them in Government. [shouts of ‘shame on them’ from the floor] Does that sound like delivery to you?
“Let’s now focus our attention on the Minister for Infrastructure, who can’t fix very many potholes and can’t build new key infrastructure projects. Ms Kimmons can boast of leaving multiple legacies within her department, but none of them involve actually building infrastructure, which is ironic in itself. This year, the Minister had to hand back £134 million to the central pot due to the botched A5 project. Approximately 2,000 acres of farmland was vested, with work started ‘at risk’ only to be struck down by the very Climate Change Act Stormont agreed back in 2022. To date, the A5 project has cost £150 million – £80 million of that made up of consultancy fees – without a square foot of tarmac laid. Now we’re paying to reinstate the fields that have been destroyed.
“In this Department [which] can’t build roads [and] can’t fix our potholes, we’ll move on to our wastewater systems to see how the Minister is faring with her arm’s‑length body. The latest figures show we have 68 wastewater treatment works with no capacity and a further 107 networks with restricted capacity. This equates to over 23 towns and villages throughout Northern Ireland where securing a sewage connection simply isn’t possible to connect a new house.
“With our sewage infrastructure at breaking point, and Northern Ireland Water dumping 20 million tonnes of untreated sewage into our waterways each year, one would have thought the Minister would have focused on these bread‑and‑butter issues rather than creating a culture war at Grand Central Station. But no, not content with getting rid of the Boyne Bridge, this Sinn Féin Minister was exposed for using and abusing her position to fire culture bullets into the loyalist heartland in Belfast. No consultation. No equality screening. A deliberate attempt to impose her will without even consulting her Executive colleagues.
“Following that example, it’s no wonder the Sinn Féin recruit, what prides himself as the Irish language commissioner, shows no self‑awareness to unionist concerns. It’s time the DUP’s Emma Little-Pengelly put the brakes on Mr Deeds as the TUV are watching. What did we learn last Wednesday? We now know Jamie Bryson [who was in attendance at the conference] brings out the moody teenager in Mr Deeds. But I want to thank him for ensuring Ms Kimmons is rightly being challenged in court, and I look forward to his case that is moving forward later this year. [Scheduled for early June]
“I can’t let today go past without mentioning our Environmental and Rural Affairs Minister, Mr Muir. [some in the audience laugh and jeer] I’m proud to stand with our farmers and our farming community. It’s very important that we protect this sector [so they have” a business to pass onto the next generation.
“Agriculture is the biggest sector in Northern Ireland’s economy. It provides thousands of jobs. And most importantly, it feeds our nation with top‑quality produce that can’t be matched anywhere else in the world, from farm to fork. [loud applause] Whether it’s the questions to be answered at AFBI, or the continued pollution of our waterways by Northern Ireland Water, I’ll proudly stand in the gap and hold Mr Muir accountable while others scapegoat the industry and drive their environmental agenda.”
On MLA pay …
“While others dance and hide from issues, I tackle them head‑on … That’s what we have done since the Assembly Commission’s plan was called out in December 2024 to create legislation that paves the way for a massive MLA pay hike. In recent weeks, while MLAs tried to hide behind the independence of the board that they created, there should be no hiding place allowed for Sinn Féin, the DUP, the Ulster Unionists, the Alliance, and the part‑time opposition the SDLP, from their part in delivering this pay increase.
“They are the parties responsible for the 27% pay increase that not one of them deserve. These are parties that sit on the Assembly Commission. These are the parties that decided to consult only themselves before it was brought and exposed by the TUV. They loaded the dice. These are the parties that voted against amendments that would have ensured the public being consulted on awarding each MLA a £14,200 increase per annum.
“The public won’t be taken for fools on this issue. Dear Michelle. Dear Naomi. There’s no point coming out now and saying this is excessive after voting down amendments that would have curtailed this pay increase.
“People are waiting years to see a consultant. Classroom assistants are at breaking point. Schools can’t afford to carry out basic maintenance without fundraising. Our roads are crumbling. We can’t build houses because the sewers are at capacity. Yet the Assembly Commission has ensured the additional £1.3 million is already in the budget to ensure the MLAs get paid come April. This shows a government out of kilter with its people.”
Transgender rights – “the radical trans agenda” – were a frequent target of the TUV speakers and a popular topic with the delegates. Gaston commented:
“Speaking of the Assembly Commission, now that they’ve got their MLA pay hike out of the way, I trust they will now focus their attention on doing something about stopping Trans Invaders from using the Stormont toilets of their choosing. The current toilet policy adopted by Stormont is one where a man pretending to be a woman is allowed to use the ladies’ toilets, despite advice from the Equality Commission warning that the current policy is outdated and leaves them open to challenge. Despite schoolchildren visiting Stormont on a daily basis, this policy still operates. [tuts from audience]”
He added:
“If there’s anyone in this room [who] identifies as neither, there’s an exit at the back and there’s also a fire exit on my right. This ‘trans nonsense’ … is signed up to by the deputy First Minister. What is your deputy First Minister doing to put a foot down and end the wokery that has consumed the Executive Office? …
“I trust the days of radical ideology and the lobby groups being given an open door to set Stormont policies are coming to an end. TUV are watching.”
Gaston concluded:
“If ever there was a time for TUV, it is now. We are going into the 2027 elections with a clear message to the electorate. Vote for the party you can trust. Vote for the party that will do whatever it takes to restore Northern Ireland’s place within the Union. Vote for a party that has brought strength to unionism.”
A series of regional roadshows have been planned to explain the TUV principles and policies across Northern Ireland.
He celebrated a year of support in polling for breakthrough at forthcoming elections. The party’s North Antrim MP singled out Councillor Ron McDowell as “TUV’s diplomat”, praising his patience when talking to “William Crawley on ‘TalkNationalism’” radio programme. Allister said that Timothy Gaston has “set the bar pretty high for aspiring MLAs in the audience”.
“If this is what we can do with one MP, one MLA, and a handful of councillors [10], think what we could do to finish the job.”
Allister suggested that Kruger would be “a far better occupant of Hillsborough Castle [than] the current occupant [Hilary Benn] who seems to think he’s the Secretary of State for the EU rather than for Northern Ireland”.
“After the Windsor Framework fiasco we are looking to any government of which Reform is a part to fully restore our place within the United Kingdom, to complete and not stymie Brexit. No ifs, no buts, the job needs to be done. The current miserable government we have is day by day unstitching Brexit for the whole UK, through aping the dynamic alignment that we are already blighted by in Northern Ireland, so that the GB as well becomes a rule taker as we are. The future for Great Britain, the future for Northern Ireland must not lie in subjecting us to laws we don’t make and cannot change. We in this part of the UK have had enough of that! And I would fight vigorously that what we have been subjected to is not foisted to on the rest of the United Kingdom.
“We need the urgent restoration of democratic accountability, an end to part of UK … governed by laws we don’t make in the UK, governed by laws that we can’t change in the UK, governed in more than 300 areas by foreign laws and we’ll look to any future government of conviction to deliver that. And an end to this UK being partitioned by an Irish sea border.
“Also look forward to moral clarity at the national level through a government that knows what a man is and knows what a woman is. And a government that resists the radical trans agenda, a government that refuses puberty blockers to children, and a government that makes sure there is parity of the law across the United Kingdom on all of those issues. For we must be subject to the rulings of the UK Supreme Court, not the European Court of Justice. And herein is another iniquity of the Windsor Framework …
“We also need a government that unashamedly puts the British people first and actually stops rampant immigration [applause] and that includes closing the back door that is the Irish Border. How is it that the Gardaí can check people going south, check their passports, check their papers, but it’s open house coming north? Immigration is out of control in this country, and it is out of control to the point that it is redefining our communities and putting our public services in some cases to breaking point.
“We also a government that is not blinded and besotted by net zero madness, especially at a time of spiralling oil and gas prices. Doesn’t that illustrate the lunacy of having oil and gas resources in our own North Sea that this government under zealot Miliband refuses to use. And the absurdity that we buy these resources from Norway to take them out of the same sea. Choosing rather to have needlessly high energy prices across this kingdom on the altar of his crazed belief that he single-handedly is saving the planet. [laughs] It’s not a narcissist we need in charge of energy, but a realist. A realist who would open up our resources in the North Sea because that undoubtedly is the way to do.
“And as for dithering Starmer, where does one start? Proclaimed jurist, a chief prosecutor, no less, who fell for the lies of Mandelson. Or did he? Did he just decide to appoint him anyway? Looks that way to me. But a man whose judgement is shot through on that critical issue.
“And isn’t it interesting how all the saints of the peace process are getting their comeuppance – George Mitchell, President Clinton, and now Mandelson – have all had such ignominious fall from grace. And poor Gerry [who] never knew all those balaclavas, all those weapons, all those explosives, all those robberies, all those murders, all those secret meetings were anything to do with the IRA …
“There’s a term for those who pretend they are something other than they are. It’s called ‘Delusional Misidentification Syndrome’, more commonly as ‘Provo mendacity’, very common and incurable in Sinn Féin circles.”
Allister turned to focus the Alliance Party in his sights …
“I think things are bad in Westminster, then I look back at Stormont. But I have to caution you. Be careful how you look at some of those parties at Stormont, because they are very precious about criticism. Certainly, do not give them any respiratory advice. [laughs]
“Take thin-skinned Alliance. The officially approved party of the woke media. Oh yes, they can dish it out, but say boo to Naomi and you’re a misogynist. As for Tennyson he’s just programmed to be offended, especially if it comes from a white straight male. He can talk – knowingly or otherwise – about ‘Dames’, but wasn’t the former leader of Alliance, David Ford, wasn’t he closer to the mark when he referred to his party as ‘the back end of a pantomime horse’? Don’t expect me to disagree.
“Now Alliance, in an obvious effort to distance themselves from the disastrous Executive, is pretending it might withdraw. Some chance. Pigs don’t fly. And, of course, Tennyson and Sorcha have no interest in the leadership. What scurrilous demonisation to even think such a thing!
“Truth is, Alliance is an integral part of this failing Executive. Take agriculture: uncontrolled bovine TB, absurd ammonia policy blighting farm planning, and a minister who hasn’t a clue. He can’t even dress for the part – it’s not bow ties and fancy wellies our farmers need but a minister who cares, one who cares more about saving farm livelihoods than saving badgers. [applause]”
More generally …
“And this wonderful Stormont even when it was given £81m and another £17m to help hard pressed energy consumers, it can’t even get it out the door. Stormont is dysfunctionalism on stilts.
“And when it comes to energy, the obvious answer, the correct answer was to remove and suspend the VAT on home fuel oil which would have immediately cut 5% of the fuel. Why not. Because they are frankly coining it in during this crisis …
“But let’s move on from Sinn Féin’s little helpers to their big sister, Michelle. Some men claim they can designate as women. We have a First Minster who claims she can self-designate as ‘First Minister for All’. It’s just as impossible for Michelle O’Neill to be First Minster for all. First Minister for all things perverse, more like. That victim makers are equal to victims. That there was no alternative to the IRA’s murder and mayhem. That you can be man, woman or neither. That generous funding is never enough. That Casement matters more than our hospitals. And that Irish signage trumps fixing the potholes. That’s what it means to have a First Minster for all things perverse. And that’s sadly where we are in this province.
“Meanwhile her support act and bridesmaid, the unelected dep First Minster, keeps her in office. Never forget this, there couldn’t be a Sin Fein First Minister without a DUP deputy First Minster. The DUP are the enablers; Sinn Féin are the implementers of their pernicious republican agenda.
“And now, the Sinn Féin/DUP First Ministers have also foisted on us an Irish Language Commissaire, one by the name of Pol Deeds, whose mission is to educate us and turn us all into devotees of the IRA-adopted Irish language through a programme of Maoist style re-education. We all need re-educated. Pol Pot had the same idea in his time.
“And, never forget this simple truth about Stormont, Sinn Féin are not in government to make Northern Ireland work. Quite the reverse. So don’t be surprised they won’t balance the budget, don’t be surprised when they won’t cut the squander, don’t be surprised when they won’t fix the potholes or care about business and consumers hurting under the Irish Sea border. It’s all grist to their mill. They’re not there to make Northern Ireland work … that is why they behave as they do. And there’s no better place to destroy Northern Ireland from the inside. And that’s what we’re witnessing with our own eyes.
“And here we come to the heart of the matter. The step-by-step building of the all-Ireland economy in lockstep with the dismantling of our British connection. The purpose of the Protocol wasn’t about protecting the EU Single Market, the [volume] of trade from Northern Ireland to the Republic of Ireland is infinitesimal … It was about totally reorientating our economy away from its natural affinity and base with GB and do that through the Diversion of Trade.
“And we are seeing in huge proportion that used to be with GB that is now north south, forced by fettering trade through customers declarations, through paperwork, through checks. Just last week we had NISRA statistics published … they show that in four years of the Irish Sea border (2020-24) both purchases from and sales to ROI have increased at two and a half times the rate of any trade with GB … [Northern Ireland is now subject to] the identical trade laws and identical economic laws of a foreign country, the Republic of Ireland … In any country in the world, the politics follow the economics. This is the malicious design of the protocol.
“That building block, those stepping stones towards by Irish Unity are being delivered before our eyes while Unionist aiders and abettors in the Executive look the other way. But we see you unelected Emma with your camogie stick; we see you Paul Giv-in, we see you heading for the exit Mike, and we see you misnamed Lyons. All signed up by their Pledge of Office to implement the Protocol. Because be very clear. You cannot be a Stormont Executive Minister without signing the Pledge of Office to implement the laws …
“And never forget this. The iniquitous Protocol achieved what the IRA for all their bombing, for all their murders, for all their mayhem, was unable to achieve. It pushed the border to the Irish Sea. That’s a chilling reminder of where we are today … And now Larne, not Newry is now a border town within our own country!
“And let’s be very clear, the lies of the Dud Donaldson DUP deal, nodded through vigorously to by give-in Gavin, cemented the Protocol. That was the hard-setting cement the Protocol needed … Remember the lies? ‘No checks, no paperwork’ was the Jeffrey promise, while businesses drown in commodity codes, drown customs declarations, and stop trading because of those very checks and paperwork …
“A lie compounded with ‘the Irish Sea border is gone’ Now [we have a] parcel border, a pet border, a goods border, even a plants border. British soil no longer allowed to move to British Ulster. Can’t even buy a rose plant that might have British soil on its roots. And yet you were told the Irish sea border was gone. But sadly it’s very much strangling us to this day.
“And on the back of those lies, the only effecting leverage Unionism had was surrender, for not even a mess of potage. When the ministerial car matters more to the current lead unionist party than carrying the fight on against the Union-dismantling Protocol, then you have the reason why Northern Ireland is as it is.
“It’s as plain and simple as that. I say this to you. Leave the Protocol and the dopes In Stormont in place and we will be sleepwalked out of the United Kingdom. And all under the dishonest pretence that we’re getting things sorted, we’re fighting for the Union, while all the time destroying the Union. The truth is that under the hand of Brussels and of Stormont we are drifting away from the UK and drifting into the orbit of the Republic. Maybe even Donald Trump saw it when he joked about a merger …
“And it’s not as if Stormont is delivering. Things are improving for us and our people. We have a legislative assembly that doesn’t legislate [but is] quick of the mark for their own salary rise.
“Let me tell you there’s only one MLA in Stormont worth a pay rise. [applause] The tenacious, bubble bursting, truth telling Timothy Gaston. The nemesis of Paula Bradshaw, but the hero of North Antrim and of us all. [more applause] Give me many more Timothy Gastons in Stormont and I’ll give you a political landscape changed forever. Give TUV the clout and there will be no implementation of the Protocol through Stormont, because we are clear, there should be no Executive as long as there is a Protocol.
“That is the challenge and opportunity of the next year as we set about bringing much-needed strength to unionism. The choice is not Stormont or the soon to be gone Starmer, the choice is enabling Sinn Féin or dumping Sinn Féin. The choice is pandering to Sinn Féin or facing down Sinn Féin. The choice is partnering with Sinn Féin or divorcing Sinn Féin.
“When will the DUP have had enough of Sinn Féin’s unfaithfulness to Northern Ireland, their desertion of good government and their unreasonable behaviour in lauding the murderers of our people.
“The DUP should be careful about slogans. Remember it was once ‘Smash Sinn Féin’ before it metamorphosed into ‘Partners of Sinn Féin’. Moving toward together. Who with? With Sinn Féin? The party determined that this province at the earliest opportunity will be wrenched out of the United Kingdom …
Unionist cooperation is possible, but not automatic.
“Unionism should be united on these issues … we once were. We once had a solemn pledge that I signed, the DUP leader signed, the UUP leader signed, on Ulster Day 2021. It pledged unalterable opposition to the iniquitous Protocol … It’s not those who stood firm in honour of that pledge of unity that need to return, but those who stepped away.
“TUV stands ready to work with any unionist, for the cause of Ulster is bigger than any of us. But we’ll not be taken as fools to support the very things destroying our land and nation. This is where we stand. We can do no other. The TUV can win just as we did in North Antrim … [People are looking for] honesty and accountability in their politics. They will find it in this party and we welcome their support.”
After lunch – sandwiches and great sausage rolls upstairs (the hotel bar was not busy!) though a party member mistook me for Danny Kruger at lunchtime, so hopefully the Specsavers branch in Cookstown had an appointment available that afternoon! – delegates were instructed (by Geoff Potter) about net zero and how to better interpret the life-time carbon footprint of battery-powered cars.
The TUV’s Youth Voice movement was launched, with a panel of six young men (no women) explaining their geographical (majority Lurgan), faith backgrounds, and reasons for being unionists.
Charlie Kirk wasn’t mentioned by name, but his spirit was evident in the talk of “if young Christian men don’t rise up now, who will”.
Party secretary Ann McClure closed the conference which she described as “strong and encouraging … full of energy and purpose”.
She called on members to heed the “reminder about where we are going and what must be done to get there” and to “Go back to your constituencies as evangelists for Ulster”.
Alan Meban. Tweets as @alaninbelfast. Blogs about cinema and theatre over at Alan in Belfast. A freelancer who writes about, reports from, live-tweets and live-streams civic, academic and political events and conferences. He delivers social media training/coaching; produces podcasts and radio programmes; is a FactCheckNI director; a member of Ofcom’s Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland; and a member of the Corrymeela Community.
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