DUP MP Carla Lockhart resigns as party officer amid Stormont power-sharing dispute

Carla Lockhart, the Upper Bann MP for the Democratic Unionist Party, announced she is leaving her position as a party officer amid a growing rift with party leader Gavin Robinson. The disagreement centres on Lockhart’s call to dismiss deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, arguing that doing so would automatically remove Sinn Féin First Minister Michelle O’Neill from their joint office. Lockhart cited O’Neill’s participation in an allegedly unlawful protest on Garvaghy Road in Portadown as a key factor.

Robinson, speaking on one outlet NI’s The View, said he was sorry to see the resignation, stressed that Lockhart remains an important part of the team, and hoped she would not quit the party. He also reiterated the party’s democratic process and its decision not to withdraw Little-Pengelly from the executive. The broader controversy involves police investigations into the unnotified protest and a recent decision by the Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant to ban an Orange Order parade on the same road.