DUP: Stormont stalemate pushing away younger unionists

Lois Young says she believes Michelle O'Neill "is talking some sense"

For decades votes have been cast in Northern Ireland along tribal lines, but a new generation say that is starting to change.

Some unionists say different social attitudes and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) blocking devolution are moving young people to vote for other parties or not engage at all.

Without ministers, decisions on key issues, like a budget, cannot be taken.

One younger voter said she had little faith in politicians.

"It hasn't given me much faith in any of them," said Lois Young, a nurse with concerns about public services, including health.

She used to be a unionist voter but said because of the Stormont stalemate she would now consider voting for Sinn Féin.

When I ask her who would get her support in a future election, she said "possibly nationalist".

"Purely because [Sinn Féin deputy leader] Michelle O'Neill seems to be talking some sense," she said.

"It is quite a change. But I think we need to come away from this whole two parties in Northern Ireland and try and work together and do what's right for the whole of Northern Ireland, as a whole."

Voters in Bangor shared their views on the future of unionism

Her swing from unionist to nationalist is extremely unusual, but in Bangor, where I met Lois, there are signs of changes in voting patterns.

Its North Down constituency was represented for a long period by a series of unionist MPs but at the last general election in 2019 the cross-community Alliance Party took the seat.

There are also signs of societal change.

Bangor Academy, which is Northern Ireland's largest school, recently announced a proposal to become integrated - educating Protestant and Catholic children together.

It said this would be an affirmation of its "current ethos and values".

Alyssa said her unionist family members did not vote DUP in the last election

Across the road from the academy in the South East Regional College (SERC), I met a group of students studying politics and public services.

They said there was a definite divide between how their older relatives viewed politics and traditional divisions that saw people identify as exclusively British or Irish.

"It causes quite a few family arguments… because I can vote now," said Alyssa.

"But even my family, as unionists, didn't vote for the DUP because of how they're getting on.

"So, they're losing not only the younger generation of voters who are very middle ground but they are also losing their own voters."

A recent Lucid Talk survey conducted in conjunction with the Belfast Telegraph suggested that a generational difference may be emerging.

Just 8% of 18 to 24-year-olds who responded said they would vote for the DUP in a future election.

That compared to 27% of voters aged 25 to 44.

Some of the SERC students' concerns were about potential budget cuts to public services, including education.

"Next year there's meant to be a cut of 20% to further education - which I'm a part of it," said Julia who is 17 and not yet able to vote.

"That's making me think, and everyone in my class think, what is going to happen to us?

"What's our future going to look like?"

Julia worries about cuts to further education

For many unionists the primary concern remains the future of the union.

Some argue that there is a danger of focusing too much on the youth vote.

"At the last election…260,000 people voted for the DUP and Traditional Unionist Voice [TUV] combined, so the vast majority is in that hardline space," argued loyalist Jamie Bryson, who is part of the Centre for the Union think tank.

However, he acknowledged a younger generation's more liberal views on issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage left some reluctant to vote for unionist parties.

"The social issues were very skilfully captured by Alliance, Sinn Féin and the SDLP [Social Democratic and Labour Party] and that left a whole generation of unionists, whose priority at that stage was the social issues, politically homeless.

"But I also think unionism needs to sell the traditional view of the union and being strong on the union."

'DUP's negative message'

Communicating that message has become more difficult because of the dispute over post-Brexit trading regulations that has led to the DUP's boycott of Stormont.

The results of the 2022 assembly election also suggested the party had a difficult balancing act of retaining both hardline voters who might be attracted to the TUV and more liberal supporters who could lend their support to the Alliance or the Ulster Unionist Party.

"Stormont is not working and Northern Ireland is not seen to be functioning and you [the DUP] are projecting a negative message," said former Ulster Unionist Party adviser David Kerr.

"Sinn Féin are clearly very good at manipulating social media.

"They have done some very good work at growing their support base within the younger nationalist community.

"Unionism needs to work harder at that and it needs to take its head out of the sand and start projecting a positive image of Northern Ireland."

This article is the third in a series this week examining the future direction of unionism and politics in Northern Ireland.

You can also listen to the report on Good Morning Ulster and see the reports on BBC Newsline at 18:30 BST.