Carla Lockhart quits DUP as Drumcree split deepens unionist divisions

Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart has left the DUP following a clash over its response to the Drumcree dispute, opening a further split within unionism. She intends to continue representing the constituency at Westminster and is not launching another party. TUV leader Jim Allister has offered closer cooperation, while the DUP warned that division would benefit Sinn Féin.

Lockhart set out her reasons to DUP leader Gavin Robinson in a letter dated Monday 2 November 2026. Her departure follows more than 20 years of membership and comes a fortnight after she stepped down as a party officer over concerns about its strategy.

Dispute over removing the First Minister

The disagreement centres on how the DUP should respond to the fallout from Drumcree. Lockhart had pressed the party to remove Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill as First Minister. Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly could bring that about by resigning, because the two offices are linked.

The DUP said it shared unionist anger at O’Neill’s actions but disagreed with Lockhart about how to secure accountability. In its response to the resignation, the party said: “The only winner out of further divisions within unionism is Sinn Fein.”

Speaking at Stormont on Monday 2 November, Robinson said Lockhart’s position differed from that of most DUP colleagues.

O’Neill, meanwhile, accused the DUP of trying to undermine her position because it could not accept a nationalist First Minister.

Allister offers closer cooperation

Lockhart said she wanted to build a community-rooted movement rather than establish a new party. She also offered to keep working with Robinson and the DUP on Northern Ireland and its place in the Union, stressing that their disagreement was not personal.

Allister welcomed her decision and said he wanted to broaden their existing cooperation on anti-Protocol issues. He described the departure as an opportunity to strengthen unionism, contrasting with the DUP’s warning about fragmentation.

In her open letter, which included a foreword from Baroness Kate Hoey, Lockhart said: “But I want to be a politician whose word means something.” She pledged to maintain her constituency work and seek election in future mandates in whichever capacity she believed would best serve Upper Bann.