Anonymous Ulster Unionist MLAs criticise Jon Burrows leadership with claims they're 'constantly on guard'
Three anonymous Ulster Unionist MLAs have hit out against the party leadership in a briefing to the BBC, complaining that the Stormont team is “constantly on guard” over what they say, and that Robin Swann has been “sidelined” and is not in a party group chat.
The unidentified politicians made a series of allegations about their feelings in the wake of Doug Beattie’s resignation from the party at the weekend.
Some of what they told the BBC’s Nolan Show has been widely reported, including that the leadership team of Jon Burrows and Diana Armstrong don’t have the full backing of a majority of the MLAs.
However, they added that the party’s sole MP Robin Swann has been “totally sidelined” and is “not even in a Westminster group chat”.
The Nolan Show reported on Tuesday morning claims from one UUP politician that the MLA team is “constantly on guard” and worried that the party “has gone out of their way to find a reason to discipline certain members” – a claim backed by another unnamed MLA.
A third MLA said that the party feels like “an extension of a police force” where “what you say may be taken down as evidence”. This MLA also said that the “way Doug Beattie was treated” had “felt orchestrated”.
The UUP has not commented on the claims.
It comes amid a crisis for the party with the MLA team utterly at odds with the leadership and the party officers and membership.
None of Mr Burrows’s critics at Stormont put their name forward for the leadership when Mike Nesbitt stood down at New Year.
Robbie Butler, who was then deputy leader, pondered over whether he would challenge Mr Burrows for a number of weeks, before deciding against it.
Since then, there has been a poor relationship between the old guard on the Assembly team – the majority of whom would have preferred Mr Butler – and the new leadership. This is partly as a result of tensions going back years between the membership and MLAs, and a perception that Jon Burrows is more interested in the views of members than his MLA colleagues.
The tensions culminated in the resignation of Doug Beattie on Sunday. He claimed that a toxic atmosphere had been allowed to develop under Jon Burrows, and that the MLA team had been sidelined.
The UUP said it did not accept that characterisation, and that it had launched a probe into Mr Beattie’s conduct.
This related to misogynistic tweets on his X profile and his behaviour towards the leader. The tweets had not been deleted after a row a number of years ago when historic social media posts by Mr Beattie emerged and threatened his political future.
He offered to resign at the time, but ultimately stayed on as leader.
This week, Mr Beattie described a new party probe into the remaining posts as “vindictive”.