A new poll has seen support for the DUP slump to just 16 per cent, posing a major challenge for incoming leader Edwin Poots. In addition to falling well behind its Sinn Féin rivals, Mr Poots’ personal rating among DUP voters is low. Mr Poots will now be tasked with arresting his party’s decline, which has tumbled from 31 per cent at the 2019 Westminster election. The survey opened immediately after Mr Poots became DUP leader, at a time when Mr Beattie was the only declared candidate for the UUP leadership. Mr Poots was ranked by voters as the worst-performing party leader in Northern Ireland, behind the outgoing Arlene Foster.

Source: The Irish Times May 22, 2021 11:15 UTC