Alliance accuse Robbie Butler of 'Trumpian' tactics and denying science amid UUP leadership race
An Alliance MLA has accused Robbie Butler of “trying to elbow himself into the headlines” during the UUP leadership race with “Trumpian” comments about the approach of Stormont’s agriculture minister to the farming industry.
John Blair’s comments come after Mr Butler questioned the science behind DAERA minister Andrew Muir’s policies – and said his “warm words” do little to restore confidence among Northern Ireland’s hard-working farming families.
The UUP deputy leader was responding to a speech by the Alliance politician at the Oxford Farming Conference last week – in which he set out his vision for a “thriving, resilient and environmentally sustainable future for Northern Ireland agriculture”.
Mr Butler criticised the minister’s handling of Bovine TB – arguing that farmers are “weary of pilots, blueprints and timelines that always seem to sit just beyond the horizon”. He also said farmers feel “lectured, not listened to” over environmental issues such as Lough Neagh.
The UUP MLA, who chairs Stormont’s agriculture, environment and rural affairs (AERA) committee, said the Alliance minister’s “repeated invocation of ‘science’ speaks volumes about his Department’s thinking”.
“Science only carries authority when it is trusted. That trust has been badly damaged by the handling of the Lough Neagh environmental disaster, where farming was too readily blamed while wider systemic failures were downplayed”, he said.
The comments have faced criticism from the minister’s Alliance colleague John Blair, who told the News Letter: “It’s most disappointing to see Robbie Butler resort to a long rant against the Minister, trying to elbow himself into the headlines as a Trumpian sceptic while the internal power struggle in the UUP continues.
“I would expect better from an AERA Committee Chair, who should be championing science and evidence, and offering more constructive scrutiny, rather than trying to drive a wedge between farmers and the environment and leading farmers on a journey of denial and rejection of science.
“The AERA Committee Chair knows fine well the Minister's work opposing the family farm tax, as well as the significant action being taken on a wide range of issues, including Bovine TB and Ammonia”.
There is currently speculation about whether Mr Butler will enter the race to become the next UUP leader, with fellow MLA Jon Burrows having thrown his hat in the ring last week.
The UUP has previously said that farmers should not be blamed for the “institutional failures” of NI Water over Lough Neagh, and that it won’t allow the industry to be “scapegoated”
DAERA officials cite pollution, climate change and zebra mussels as the three major contributing factors to blooms of toxic blue-green algae in the Lough Neagh. The pollution is caused by excess phosphorus and nitrogen from agriculture, wastewater treatment works, domestic systems and industry entering waterways in the lough’s catchment area.
The Executive’s Lough Neagh action plan cites a 2020 report attributing high phosphorus levels in NI waterbodies as coming from agriculture – 62%, wastewater treatment works – 24% and septic tanks – 12%. It says provisional studies on Lough Neagh follow “a similar pattern”. The Lough Neagh strategy also says it is “widely recognised that the intensification of agricultural production” has had negative impacts on the environment.
In his Oxford speech, minister Muir said eradicating bovine TB remains a top priority for his department.
“In April last year, I endorsed the TB Partnership Steering Group’s blueprint for eradication and work is underway on five key areas. In October 2025, (Irish) Minister Martin Heydon and I launched a new cross-border pilot under the Shared Island Initiative to support reduction of bovine TB incidence and transmission”, he said.