Unionist anger over Drumcree boiled onto the streets of Portadown on Saturday night as hundreds packed the town centre for a parade and rally where Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart declared: “Michelle O’Neill must go… this lady is not for turning.”
The DUP MP, who recently quit her role as a party officer amid deep tensions over the newest Drumcree standoff, addressed the crowd of several thousand after the procession, but steered clear of criticising her own party despite several attacks on the DUP from the platform and the audience.
“I said I wouldn’t enter into politics but profound consequences must mean profound consequences, Michelle O’Neill must go,” she told those gathered.
Echoing former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, she added: “That is where I stand and this lady is not for turning.”
Ms Lockhart said she had been “blown away” by the turnout in Portadown, hailing it as a response to critics of recent protests over the long‑running Drumcree parade dispute.
“I want to thank you all for turning out, you have blown me and the district away with your support,” she said.
“For all the naysayers that we have had over the last month-and-a-half, they’ve got their answer tonight so they have.”
Encouraging the crowd to continue backing Portadown District and its campaign, she said: “Walk tall, walk proud, keep the faith and keep fighting for this wee province.
“It’s great to see people getting the beat of the drum back in their hearts.”
The MP also used her speech to publicly thank loyalist activist Jamie Bryson, who has been providing Portadown District Lodge with legal advice in relation to Drumcree.
“Twenty‑eight years this district got a ‘no, no, no’, 52 weeks of the year the answer was ‘no’,” she said.
“This man took it to the courts, he got the legal framework and he was the one that had the grit and the determination to actually win.
“He really is a thorn in the flesh of republicanism and to the left-wing media, and certainly fearless when it comes to fighting these things legally.”
During the rally Ms Lockhart was presented with a Drumcree Jewel by Portadown District Master Nigel Dawson.
The collectible item was first issued by Portadown District No. 1 following the original Drumcree standoff in 1995 and is viewed locally as a symbol of support for the district’s long‑running campaign over the parade.
