‘The DUP took us for fools’: Some North Antrim residents mourn the fall of the House of Paisley | Northern Ireland

For more than half a century, the Paisley family dominated North Antrim, a political equivalent of the Giant’s Causeway. Just as ancient volcanic fissures created a band of interlocking basalt columns, Ian Paisley Sr’s fiery rhetoric forged a unique brand of Unionism and a family dynasty in this corner of Northern Ireland.

The Free Presbyterian preacher transformed his Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) into an electoral juggernaut and handed his Westminster seat to Ian Paisley Jr, who has held it since 2010 with a huge majority.

The election took place and Paisley House stood still, not quite a UNESCO World Heritage Site but part of the landscape.

On 4th July, Jim Allister of the radical Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) party won the seat by 450 votes, causing a real earthquake. While the rest of the UK was digesting Labour’s landslide victory, Northern Ireland was left speechless in North Antrim.

Just over a week later, with the shock still fresh, voters in Paisley’s old strongholds agree on one thing: Junior deserved it.

“We’ve lost Ian Paisley, but it’s a welcome loss in my eyes. He’s gone down the drain,” said Chris Bowyer, 65, who chairs a community group in Ballykeel 1, a housing estate in Ballymena. “People are expected to go out and fight for the union, not just go on holiday.”

It was a reference to Paisley’s suspension from the House of Commons in 2018 for becoming a “paid lawyer” for the Sri Lankan government and failing to declare a family holiday worth at least £50,000.

“I’m glad to see him go,” said Barry Lorimer, 64, a former merchant marine. “I didn’t see the value in this man.”

Coming from a trade unionist, it was a brutal dismissal, but even those who voted for the son of the DUP founder acknowledged that his name was associated with scandal and hubris. “He was a good speaker, but he made mistakes,” said one supporter, who gave his name only as Freddy.

Paisley’s fall is part of a wider fragmentation of the unionist vote which has replaced three of the DUP’s eight MPs with Allister of the TUV, Robin Swann of the Ulster Unionists and Alex Easton, an independent unionist.

The result, depending on the point of view adopted, is either an incoherent hubbub of voices which weakens the Unionist cause, or evidence of varying vitality within the Unionist ranks.

To outsiders, Paisley’s ouster, the DUP’s most spectacular and unexpected defeat, might seem like a blow to those determined to keep Northern Ireland part of the UK. His father, who died in 2014, embodied resistance to Irish nationalism and London’s “betrayal” and made the family name synonymous with “non-submission, non-backdown”.

Paisley Jr, now 57, abjured biblical thunder but was an articulate and charismatic heir who gave no quarter to Sinn Féin, the Irish government or faltering British ministers.

Yet his downfall has not caused much angst among unionists. In fact, many of them, even some in his own party, are jubilant and relieved. “He didn’t really play a part and made life difficult for the leadership,” said one DUP official. “There will be less nonsense.” For a dynasty that was launched with flying colours, it is a quiet epitaph.

Paisley has had a complicated relationship with DUP headquarters since his father’s lieutenant, Peter Robinson, replaced Paisley Sr in 2008. It was a clever reversal of an ageing leader that angered the Paisley family – and one that US Democrats can only envy.

Paisley Jr insisted he did not want the crown but remained a prince, shuttling between Westminster, Belfast and the television studios – flamboyant, outspoken, high-profile, underemployed.

Robinson’s successor, Arlene Foster, kept him at arm’s length, leaving his undoubted talents untapped, and turned a blind eye to solo racing. The maverick, after all, kept North Antrim a DUP stronghold.

When Paisley partied with Nigel Farage or bragged about his links to the Trump family, some in his electorate rolled their eyes while others enjoyed the spectacle. Junior made no secret of his expensive tastes, fuelling wild rumours such as the one that he wore £6,000 shoes.

In fact, it was the price of a flight to New York that he had charged for a charity appearance, 10 times more than what the then Irish Tánaiste Simon Coveney had paid to fly to the same event in economy class. When the Sri Lankan holiday and lobbying came to light, Paisley Jr. apologized and appeared to walk away, as he had other revelations related to money. A 2018 recall petition failed.

But the revelations had a trickle effect, said Dessie Blackadder, editor of the Ballymena Guardian. “His downfall started with the scandals. It had a cumulative effect.”

Other factors have weakened the party’s support: Unionists have accused the DUP of being responsible for the Irish Sea border after Brexit and have accused the party of overselling a deal that would have ended border controls. Prosecutors have brought sexual assault charges against the party’s former leader, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson. The Ulster Unionists ran a weak candidate in north Antrim, so anti-Paisley sentiment has focused around Allister, a lawyer and judicial critic of the sea border.

Still, Paisley Jr looked stunned as the TUV leader overtook him.

Last week the DUP office in Ballymena was closed and Paisley Jr remained silent, not responding to interview requests. His posters were taken down, leaving Paisley’s name invisible. “He thought he was going to get his shins kicked, but he got a kick,” Blackadder said. “People were stunned, but life goes on. People don’t talk about him, they talk about how cold it is.”

It is not yet clear what Paisley will do next. Few expect DUP leader Gavin Robinson to introduce him to the Stormont assembly.

The other question is whether the unionist parties can manage their divisions to present a coherent case for union and fend off Sinn Féin’s push for a referendum on Irish unification. The republican party is now the largest in local government, Stormont and Westminster.

There is little desire to mourn Paisley Jr. “His fall is a good thing for the Union,” said Jeffrey Dudgeon, a commentator and former Ulster Unionist politician. “His replacement has a good sense of history and is ruthless and forgiving.”

Geordie Nicholl, 47, a factory worker whose home is decorated with union flags for Orange Order parades, said Paisley had reaped the rewards of the party’s sins on Brexit. “The DUP have taken us for fools.”

Wilbert Gilmore, 84, another Ballymena voter, said he used to march under the Paisley banner when it was a bulwark against betrayal. “Then Paisley betrayed us.”