In his column attempting to condemn the DUP for its intransigence, a Times columnist has opened with a light-hearted intro about how we’re all fed up with the Northern Irish unionists.
One thing that can “bring us all together”, he jokes, is that “we can all agree that we have had enough of the Democratic Unionist Party”.
This is followed up with the caveat:
“Now, I use the word “all” loosely. Nigel Dodds, the party’s leader at Westminster, likes the DUP. And his wife likes the DUP (probably). The rest of us, however? Not so much.”
There’s one problem here. And it’s a pretty embarrassing one. Nigel Dodds’ wife, Diane Dodds, definitely likes the DUP – she has been a DUP MEP for the Northern Ireland constituency since 2009, and was a DUP MLA for West Belfast from 2003-7.
A fully paid up representative, then, not just a potentially supportive “wife”.