UUP leader Jon Burrows is set to use his first conference speech on Saturday to urge unionism to win new supporters, not just coordinate existing votes. He will reject calls to collapse Northern Ireland’s Assembly, describing a collapse as a dereliction of duty.
Burrows has never stood in an election and must win voters’ backing for his North Antrim Assembly seat next May, while the UUP also aims to gain seats in Assembly and council contests. A Lucid Talk poll cited in the BBC analysis put the party at 16%, ahead of the DUP, though it remains unclear whether that support will yield extra votes.
Internal tensions have shadowed Burrows’ leadership: former leader Doug Beattie left the party in protest, and former leader Mike Nesbitt resigned as health minister last month amid a dispute with Burrows over hospital services. Burrows says he wants the UUP to regain its former standing as Northern Ireland’s largest unionist party.
