Doug Beattie: UUP offering a confident, positive, pro-Union vision in order to build a Union of People

I am a proud Unionist and I believe in the Union in its widest sense. A United Kingdom of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland working in the best interests of all its people.
Parliament Buildings at Stormont ... the UUP believes that ‘when Northern Ireland works for all, we all win’Parliament Buildings at Stormont ... the UUP believes that ‘when Northern Ireland works for all, we all win’
Parliament Buildings at Stormont ... the UUP believes that ‘when Northern Ireland works for all, we all win’

We have the opportunity to truly build a Union of People if we have the courage and vision to strive for better. We can unite people regardless of religion, sexual orientation, culture or community to build a better Northern Ireland. It is my fervent belief that when Northern Ireland works for all, we all win.

As Ulster Unionists, we are offering a confident, positive, pro-Union alternative that will work for everyone.

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Those of us who live here will not agree on everything, but we can surely agree on the need to make this place work for all of us and to create the best possible future for the next generation and those generations still to come.

Ulster Unionist Party leader Doug Beattie MCUlster Unionist Party leader Doug Beattie MC
Ulster Unionist Party leader Doug Beattie MC

Too often in the past local politics has been about poking each other in the eye or finding new ways to antagonise each other. That is not my style, nor do I believe it is what the vast majority of people who live here want to see either.

I truly believe that Northern Ireland’s place in the Union is safe and that there will be no United Ireland in my lifetime or in my children’s lifetime unless unionists do what some seem intent on doing - alienating the very people who will decide our future.

There is no Border Poll on the ballot paper and anyone driving that is intent on promoting fear to take your vote. If people fall for it they will regret their decision almost immediately as they see the same type of politics delivered for the next five years.

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Unionism has to decide the type of face it wants to present to the world. If it chooses to present a confident, positive vision, then it can genuinely hope to attract and retain the support of those who weren’t previously unionist voters but who can recognise the benefits that flow from continued membership of the United Kingdom.

One of the biggest challenges facing unionism is the need to reverse the decline in those voting for unionist political parties which in percentage terms is now in the low 40s. Research conducted on behalf of the University of Liverpool in 2020 found that 75 per cent of people who don’t vote in Northern Ireland are pro-Union.

Political Unionism has to give these people something to identify with and which motivates them to turn out and vote. Angry, negative unionism simply does not do that.

We have been the most consistent and persistent party in Northern Ireland in firstly trying to avoid a Brexit outcome such as the Protocol, and then opposing the Protocol.

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When the Conservative Government brought it in, it wasn’t the Ulster Unionists who on 2nd October 2019 described it as being a ‘serious and sensible way forward’, or said in March 2020 that customs posts at ports in Larne and Belfast would not affect our sovereignty. Nor did we claim it was the ‘best of both worlds’.

Unlike others, at no stage have we supported the Protocol in any way since it was introduced in October 2019, and we are the only party that has put forward coherent proposals to replace it, some of which were incorporated into the Government’s Command Paper of July 2021.

The Protocol is a political problem which requires a political solution. Walking away from Stormont’s devolved institutions won’t get rid of it. We need to be engaged and we have been making our case at every opportunity to both the UK Government and the European Union, not least regarding the need to remove any internal checks on goods travelling and intended for use within the United Kingdom.

We are on the cusp of major changes to the Protocol which will be delivered after the election. These changes will be in line with what the Ulster Unionist Party have been advocating on trade but will not solve all the problems. It is important that whatever happens, the Protocol is replaced with something that works for everyone and does not deliver a feast or famine outcome.

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The Covid-19 pandemic has shaped our society for over two years and it is vital that we have politicians who are willing to work together. Northern Ireland has indeed been fortunate to have a Health Minister like Robin Swann who has shown competent, principled and cohesive leadership.

The Ulster Unionist Party is clear. People are the prize, they are not a commodity. It is they who will decide the future of the Union, and therefore we must secure the support of the people.

Doug Beattie MC is Ulster Unionist Party leader and a Stormont candidate in Upper Bann

Other essays by the unionist party leaders: