I’M sitting here watching Carla Lockhart, the DUP MP for Upper Bann, at a self-styled community event.

She’s there to support the Orange Order and their stance on marching on the Garvaghy Road.

Her language is fiery, more suited to 1976 than 2026.

Once elected, her job, like all public representatives, is to represent everyone in her area – irrespective of their faith or politics.

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However, her frequent references in speeches to her community or “my people” suggest she only means Protestant or loyalist.

Sinn Féin representatives often fall into the same trap.

But listening to Ms Lockhart, she conveys a sense of foreboding. There’s no warmth, no humour, no surrender in her approach.

It’s hard not to think the DUP has entered a King Lear phase.

Those familiar with Shakespeare’s play will recall the line “Tis the time’s plague when madmen lead the blind”. Watching the Drumcree crisis unfold, this is exactly what’s happening within political unionism. (Though this writer notes there’s some nuance and caution from UUP leader John Burrows.)

Once, unionism could claim to be led by distinguished jurists, industry titans, and the odd statesman, all of whom understood the cold maths of power.

However, it seems in 2026 unionism has outsourced its strategy (and future) to someone who appears to dictate their tactics in 280-character outbursts with the frequency of a person with urinary incontinence. It’s all quite a remarkable journey for an individual who has not won a single vote.

As King Lear discovered, having divided his kingdom and his power, he was no........

© The Irish News