The main demand of the DUP, the largest Protestant Unionist party in Northern Ireland, is for the British government to withdraw the Northern Ireland protocol. That protocol is intended to maintain controls at the border with EU member state Ireland and thus also to prevent new conflicts at the border. For example, there was a violent civil war in Northern Ireland between the 1960s and the 1990s.
In exchange for that control and conflict-free border, a customs border has been installed between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom. The British government and unionist parties such as the DUP fear an alienation from London as a result. The British government has given the EU an ultimatum to allow changes to the treaty. If not, London will unilaterally terminate the agreement. In that case, a trade war threatens.
The discussion around the Northern Ireland protocol is now also hindering government formation in Ireland, as the DUP refuses to cooperate with the nationalist party Sinn Féin. After last week’s elections, it became the largest party in Northern Ireland for the first time in history.
Party leader Michelle O’Neill reacted sharply on Twitter: “Today is the day when we should form the board to put money in people’s pockets and fix our health care system. Instead, the DUP has confirmed that they will not show up and will punish the people. They are shamefully holding people at gunpoint for their Brexit mess.”