Sir Jeffrey Donaldson to run for Lagan Valley MLA seat

Earlier this year, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson became the DUP's third leader within the space of 50 days

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has signalled his intention to run as a candidate in Lagan Valley in the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly elections.

He said this would happen if an MLA seat did not come up before then.

Sir Jeffrey, the current Lagan Valley MP, would be running for a seat in the same constituency as the man he replaced as party leader, Edwin Poots.

He would also be up against the man he intends to replace as first minister, Paul Givan.

The DUP currently holds two Stormont seats in the Lagan Valley constituency.

"I intend to stand in the assembly elections if I am unable to return to the assembly before that," Sir Jeffrey told BBC News NI's Good Morning Ulster on Tuesday.

"I will be leading the DUP team into the assembly elections, as I have stated before."

Asked if he would run in Lagan Valley, Sir Jeffrey said: "Well, that is my intention. I am the Member of Parliament for Lagan Valley, that is the constituency that I represent.

"In the last assembly elections I think we were about 400 votes shy of winning three seats in Lagan Valley, and we will be setting ourselves a target to win seats in the assembly elections because it is absolutely crucial for unionism that we win the election."

Party Revolt

Edwin Poots initially defeated Sir Jeffrey in the DUP's first ever leadership contest earlier this year.

Edwin Poots resigned after just 21 days as party leader

However, he was forced to resign within weeks following an internal party revolt over his decision to proceed with the appointment of Mr Givan as first minister.

Sir Jeffrey then stood again for party leader and was elected unopposed.

At the time, he said he intended to return to Stormont from his current position at Westminster.

Until now, he had not declared which constituency he intended to stand in.

'Focused on the job at hand'

He also said he intended to take the position of first minister.

Sir Jeffrey told Radio Ulster that he was unable to return to the Stormont Assembly until a vacancy came up and he could slot into it.

"That hasn't happened to date, but if it does happen then, obviously, I am more than keen to step forward to return to the assembly and to undertake the role of first minister.

"My MLA team are fully behind me as leader and that is evident from the contacts I have had with them and the meetings we have had."

Sir Jeffrey said that after a difficult time, things had settled within the DUP.

"We are now focused on the job at hand, which includes tackling the Northern Ireland Protocol, dealing with issues related to legacy of our troubled past," he said.

"The MLAs are elected by their constituents; you can't just go to an MLA and say: 'It is time for you to step aside.'

"They have a mandate to continue in their role until the next assembly election and it is only in circumstances where, for personal reasons, they might wish to step down before the election that a vacancy might arise."