TUV now NI’s third-largest party as Allister pledges no return to Stormont without Protocol removal

TUV Party Leader, Jim Allister MP

TUV leader Jim Allister has said his party is ready for, and looking forward to, the challenge of the next Assembly election, as new polling data shows the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) overtaking both Alliance and the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) to become Northern Ireland’s third most popular party.

Speaking at a TUV barbecue in Dervock on Saturday evening (23 August), the North Antrim MP said disillusioned unionists were increasingly turning to his party, which he described as the only one to have consistently told voters the truth about the Protocol.

“Trust is hard to earn, but easily lost. The public want the truth; that is what they get from TUV,” Mr Allister said.

He warned that the Northern Ireland Protocol was “dismantling our Union” by diverting trade towards the Republic, imposing EU laws, and tightening what he described as the “noose of the Irish Sea border”.

“The challenge ahead is daunting, but TUV is up for it,” he continued. “In the next Assembly election we will give unionism the opportunity to change direction by pledging no executive, of any sort, unless and until the Protocol is removed.”

Mr Allister added that the party would “gladly reassert the leverage that the DUP surrendered and synchronise it with the prospect of a radical change of government in London.”

Poll boost for TUV

His remarks come as the latest LucidTalk poll for the Belfast Telegraph shows the TUV’s support rising to 13%, up one point since May, putting it ahead of both Alliance (12%) and the UUP (11%).

The poll confirms Sinn Féin remains the largest party on 26%, with a comfortable lead over the DUP, which has dropped to 17% – its lowest rating since the 2022 Assembly election.

Support for all four Executive parties has either stagnated or fallen, with voters showing growing disillusionment at Stormont’s performance.

Mr Allister himself is now the most popular politician among unionist voters, enjoying a 65% approval rating, a double-digit lead over DUP leader Gavin Robinson.

Commenting on the findings, the TUV leader said:

“The LucidTalk poll confirms what more and more people across Northern Ireland are recognising — TUV is the strong, dependable voice of unionism.

“Our consistent rise in the polls is not an accident. It is the result of a clear and consistent message: strength, not weakness; a demand for full UK citizenship and no sea border and an unapologetic championing of Loyalist culture and traditions in the face of republican aggression.”

Mr Allister said voters were rewarding the party for honesty rather than “deception”.

“Unionism is strongest when it is honest. Today’s poll shows that voters are responding to principle, not deception,” he added.

“In the battle ahead there is room for all like-minded unionists. There is room in TUV for all principled, honest and determined unionists.”