Jon Tonge: DUP remains party many on social media love to hate, but it keeps winning... 

By Jon Tonge As election candidates, pundits and counters catch up on sleep this Bank Holiday Monday, how is the 2019 local election best analysed in terms of all the main parties?

Jon Tonge: Outcome looks grim for UUP, but DUP's vote share rose... and the centre... 

By Jon Tonge So the centre ground really does exist. Just when we were thinking that the non-unionist, non-nationalist elector was a creature found only in our university studies of public opinion, out come Alliance...

Jon Tonge: Why devolution is the only show in town 

By Jon Tonge The opening day of May seems early to decide the political moment of the year. Yet the sight of sheepish politicians rising uncertainly to their feet amid heartfelt admonishment from Father Martin Magill...

Jon Tonge: Close alignment with customs union and single market could solve DUP's Brexit... 

By Jon Tonge Parliament's predictable eight-fold rejection of every Brexit option highlights how all exits from our political crisis are currently blocked.

Jon Tonge: You cling to hope May has Machiavellian genius, but time is running out... 

By Jon Tonge Another day, another humiliation for the Prime Minister. There's little fun in interminable ritual. When even your Attorney General says, in boomingly polite but forlorn language, that you haven't...

Jon Tonge: DUP must be clear whether it wants backstop rewritten, time-limited or flat-out... 

By Jon Tonge Will the real DUP Brexit policy please stand up? You can have whatever DUP Brexit you like at present.

Jon Tonge: May deluded if she thinks this changes anything in Brussels 

By Jon Tonge Another day. Another 7pm News Special. Another near-farce. Two long hours of divisions to produce the parliamentary equivalent of a scoreless penalty shoot-out. Still, at least the Commons will be...

Jon Tonge: DUP has got its wish but now is time for party to tell us all exactly what it wants 

By Jon Tonge Not bad night's work for the DUP then, in an odd sort of way. An unwanted deal defeated, a Prime Minister humiliated and a Conservative Party clinging to office today on its 10 votes.

Jon Tonge: Tory no confidence vote solved nothing - just a spectator sport for the DUP 

By Jon Tonge So on we go, with a Prime Minister with the backing of 63% of her party. Weaker than John Major, the last Conservative PM to undergo a vote of confidence. He carried on and took his party out of...

Jon Tonge: Why it would be wrong for DUP to view May's humiliation as victory 

By Jon Tonge Amid their apoplexy over the EU withdrawal agreement, the DUP's MPs might have enjoyed Theresa May's abject discomfort in the Commons yesterday.

Jon Tonge: It would have served May better to focus energy on winning over MPs 

By Jon Tonge Who is advising Theresa May? At a time when the Prime Minister needs the support of parliamentarians like never previously in British political history, she descends upon a place where 17 of the 18...

Jon Tonge: Despite condemning the government over Brexit, the desire to retain the deal... 

Jon Tonge A delayed flight back from Belfast on Saturday night allowed plenty of time for reflection on the DUP conference. Things will be easier when Boris's bridge - an easy build, he reckoned - is constructed.

Conference is not just about DUP, it’s also about future of the Conservatives 

By Jon Tonge Bin the backstop will be the uncompromising message from DUP leaders Arlene Foster and Nigel Dodds at potentially the liveliest conference in the party's history today.

Jon Tonge: After a testing year the DUP's faithful will be buoyed by some PM bashing... 

By Jon Tonge The DUP gathers for its annual conference this weekend after one of the most turbulent years in the party's recent history. Thank goodness Boris Johnson will be speaking, just to calm everyone...

Jon Tonge: Theresa May needs to be frank about just who is going to be in control in Northern... 

By Jon Tonge Theresa May's 905-word eulogy to 'her' deal might contain lots of cogent points but will do nothing to appease her erstwhile Westminster allies in the DUP.

Jon Tonge: Cabinet Brexit deal victory a pyrrhic one - Parliament is the real battleground 

By Jon Tonge One hundred references to Northern Ireland in the Draft EU withdrawal agreement, but virtually none to please the DUP. Northern Ireland businesses trading across the border may take a...

Brexit deal: Honeyed words, fudge and ambiguity make for a recipe sure to be hard... 

By Jon Tonge Normally the DUP at least waits until seeing the text before rejecting the deal. This time Sammy Wilson and Nigel Dodds were already solemnly shaking heads before some outlets had broken...

What Theresa May is offering is unsellable in its present language even if the Prime Minister... 

By Jon Tonge So, the endgame then. For the last year the DUP have been supplying the Government with anything but confidence. The June 2016 sweetheart deal was horribly misnamed.

Jon Tonge: UUP's sincere, committed leader Swann facing huge task 

By Jon Tonge UUP leader Robin Swann faced a trio of difficult tasks at his party conference on Saturday: attacking the DUP in a way that resonated with ordinary unionists; articulating the means of revival for his...

Jon Tonge: Big risks if DUP removes influence at Westminster over Brexit border backstop 

By Jon Tonge The pledge by the DUP's Westminster leader Nigel Dodds to paralyse the Conservative Government's legislative agenda if a border in the Irish Sea emerges seems bold.

Jon Tonge: A fudge flavoured with constructive ambiguity may be to DUP's taste 

By Jon Tonge A scrum of reporters, Press releases, meetings, statements, Press conferences and off-the-record briefings.

Jon Tonge: Is the Good Friday Agreement even still alive 

By Jon Tonge The only surprise about Arlene Foster saying the Good Friday Agreement is 'not sacrosanct' is that people were surprised.

Paisley petition of recall: Jon Tonge: Prospect of by-election hardly enhanced by the petition’s... 

By Jon Tonge Short of tweeting pictures from a Sri Lankan beach, Ian Paisley Jnr could hardly have been more bullish yesterday.

Secretary of State's announcement of civil servant decisions is of greater significance 

By Jon Tonge Tough times for MLAs. They'll soon be receiving a mere 25% more than the average UK salary for not turning up for work.

Wilson’s response is of the ‘loose talk costs Unions’ kind, but some minor score-settling... 

By Jon Tonge Not mellowed, has he? Peter Robinson's scathing denunciation of fellow unionists - within and beyond the DUP - in yesterday's Belfast Telegraph offered a stark reminder of the brutal, and often...

Arlene Foster at PinkNews event: Credit to DUP's Foster for again leaving her comfort zone:... 

By Jon Tonge The Arlene Foster Summer of Outreach tour played its toughest leg last night. Appearing before the LGBT community at Stormont, the former first minister could, at best, hope for a respectful, not...

Arlene Foster's GAA gesture deserves recognition, not cynicism 

By Jon Tonge 'Come on Arlene' sang the crowd at St Tiernach's Park. I swear well she means…

Jon Tonge: DUP obviously on charm offensive to soften its image 

By Jon Tonge Arlene Foster's recent attempts at outreach have received a broadly positive welcome.

Jon Tonge: Maybe in a decade's time, if an audience at Queen's is listening to Professor... 

By Jon Tonge An inaugural professorial lecture is not an easy gig. And Professor Peter Robinson faced a particularly tough assignment at Queen's on Thursday night. He knew his every word on leadership would be...

Move one of many baby steps to rebrand the party 

By Professor Jon Tonge The row between the DUP and Jim Wells highlights several areas of tension within the party.

Jon Tonge: Does DUP want to be Direct Rule or Devolutionist Unionist Party? 

By Jon Tonge The Divided Unionist Party? Even the most ardent critics of the DUP would concede that the party has been very good at concealing internal divisions in the past.

Latest fiasco has proved that 2006 'agreement' was nothing of the sort 

By Jon Tonge Another day, another fiasco at Stormont.

Could 20th anniversary of the Belfast Agreement spur DUP and Sinn Fein on to cut a deal? 

By Jon Tonge The Democratic Unionist Party's annual conference in Belfast tomorrow should be lively. It follows one of the most remarkable periods in the party's 46-year history. For the first time,...

Survey: Voters polarised on same-sex marriage, Brexit, an Irish Language Act in Northern... 

By Jon Tonge As Northern Ireland's politicians take a well-earned break - just the six months off since the Assembly collapsed on January 26 - it might be time to take stock of public opinion on the issues that seem...

DUP deal with May could boost chances of reviving Stormont Assembly 

By Jon Tonge There may be just a little time left, perhaps, for some grandstanding in the time-honoured Northern Ireland politician fashion. Maybe some further milking before we get the...

Likely election outcome is similar DUP numbers and more Sinn Fein MPs 

By Jon Tonge So what will happen at the most important election since the one, er, three months ago? - and does it matter? As election campaigning resumes after the utter horror of Manchester, can we merely...

DUP's vulnerability may leave them exposed at ballot box in Northern Ireland election 

By Jon Tonge "It's not about the money... forget about the price tag", boldly sang Jessie J, not too many years ago.

Arlene may be able to survive this siege, but Stormont needs to be more accountable 

By Jon Tonge Even the siege of Derry only lasted 105 days. Yet there seems no end in sight for the Siege of Arlene. Foster's travails over RHI revelations continue apace and pressure for her removal...

Polarised views not confined to Ardoyne interface 

By Jon Tonge Is there any way to resolve the current impasse over the Orange return parade through Ardoyne?

DUP's scope is widening, but to zoom in on Catholic voters waste of time 

By Professor Jon Tonge Where does the DUP go from here?