Who might follow Arlene Foster as DUP leader?

Edwin Poots, Northern Ireland’s agriculture minister, has emerged as frontrunner

Arlene Foster has announced her resignation as Democratic Unionist Party leader and Northern Ireland’s first minister following an internal party revolt.

She said she would stand down as party leader on 28 May and relinquish her duties as first minister at the end of June, saying she was preparing to “depart the political stage”.

The DUP has never had a contested leadership election. Ms Foster replaced the retiring Peter Robinson unchallenged in 2015, in the same way he had succeeded party founder Ian Paisley in 2008.

It is not clear if the next leader will enjoy a similar coronation, or whether there will be more than one candidate vying for the party’s top job.

So who would are the top contenders to replace Ms Foster as DUP leader, and – if all goes to plan – walk into the job of being Northern Ireland’s next first minister?

Edwin Poots, Stormont’s agriculture minister, has already emerged as a potential frontrunner to take charge of the party, with one expert calling him the “very slight favourite”.

Mr Poots has been forceful in his opposition to the post-Brexit trading arrangements between NI and GB – calling them “frankly ridiculous” and seeking legal advice on whether he could instruct officials not to operate the new Border Control Posts (BCPs).

Ms Foster has been accused of not being vociferous enough in opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol, which governs the new trading arrangements.

Agriculture minister Edwin Poots (PA)

Ms Foster’s decision to abstain in a vote on gay conversion therapy last week appears to have further angered sections of the party’s religious fundamentalist grassroots.

The Belfast News Letter reported that several DUP constituency groups had written letters expressing concern at Ms Foster’s abstention on a motion that called for a ban on gay conversion therapy – but did not incorporate any protections for religious practices.

Mr Poots – a Free Presbyterian who previously fought against a ruling extending adoption rights to LGBT couples in Northern Ireland – may also appeal to the fundamentalists outraged by such issues.

Jeffrey Donaldson is another potential frontrunner. As the DUP’s group leader in the House of Commons and the party’s longest-serving MP, he may be viewed as a safe pair of hands.

Nigel Dodds, the DUP’s deputy leader, may decide to throw his hand in the ring if a contest does take place. However, his closeness makes it unlikely he would get much support.

Protocol remains hated by loyalist community in Northern Ireland (AFP via Getty Images)

Sammy Wilson – an arch Brexiteer who recently spoke of waging “guerrilla warfare” against the protocol – is a popular figure with the grassroots and would be viewed as a hardliner. Whether he would consider running this time round is unclear.

There is also Gavin Robinson, MP for East Belfast, who is seen as the face of the party’s younger generation. A former barrister, Mr Robinson is seen as a very capable operator and would also be viewed as a political moderate able to work with Sinn Fein.

“Edwin Poots is the person who is clearly out ahead. He is the one person who seems to be, by process of elimination, pretty much viewed as the only credible person … who the DUP could put forward,” Sam McBride, political editor at the Belfast News Letter, told BBC’s Good Morning Ulster.

Jonathan Tongue, professor of politics at the University of Liverpool, said: “Edwin Poots might start very slight favourite, but I wouldn’t take a short price on any of the candidates.

“If you have a coup you’ve got to have a clear replacement leader and a clear strategy, and that’s the difficulty with what has gone on over the last 24 hours.”