Doug Beattie quits and takes aim at Jon Burrows - but UUP says move comes after probe into 'conduct and judgement'

It is understood Mr Beattie faced having the whip withdrawn after a fresh probe into historic social media posts and the way in which he spoke to the party leader.

It comes after weeks of tension between the Upper Bann MLA and leader Jon Burrows, as well as the party hierarchy.

In his resignation letter on Sunday, Mr Beattie said his position was “no longer tenable” – and that he had witnessed a “marked deterioration in the relationships” within the party.

The Upper Bann MLA had faced deselection from running as the party’s candidate in the forthcoming Assembly election – and had defied the leadership on policy matters.

Mr Beattie said an issue with relationships had become “particularly apparent and accelerated” following Jon Burrows’s election, and claimed MLAs “were increasingly marginalised, ignored, isolated, and discredited”.

“Your leadership style became dismissive and overly centralised, empowering individuals to actively undermine elected representatives. In the absence of any coherent policy direction from the leadership, a toxic atmosphere has been allowed to flourish within the party.

“The Ulster Unionist Party once prided itself on its social conscience, its progressive and moderate outlook, and its respected conservative tradition. I no longer believe that is the case and I no longer feel at home or comfortable within the party”, he said.

An Ulster Unionist Party spokesperson confirmed the resignation and thanked Doug Beattie for “his many years of service to his country and to the party” – saying it wishes him well.

However, it said it does not accept the “characterisation of recent events set out in Mr Beattie’s letter”.

A spokesperson said: “The Party Management Board met on Thursday evening to consider serious concerns about Mr Beattie’s conduct and judgement. The Board unanimously agreed a course of action, which was due to be communicated to Mr Beattie by the party leader on Monday. Mr Beattie’s resignation has overtaken that process.

“On Councillor Kate Evans, who Mr Beattie’s letter references, we again thank Kate for her many years of service to the party and to the people of Craigavon. The party leader, Jon Burrows MLA, reached out to Kate personally to wish her well and offered to meet at any time. We wish her and her family well.

“The party’s focus remains on serving the people of Northern Ireland, on delivering for them, and on the work ahead.”

Mr Beattie had said he was “especially concerned by the appalling treatment of both Alan Chambers MLA and Councillor Kate Evans”.

It comes amid growing tensions between the UUP leadership – backed by the party’s grassroots – and a chunk of the party’s Stormont grouping which included Mr Beattie.

The relationship between Doug Beattie and Jon Burrows was at rock bottom, with the once close pair barely on speaking terms. The new leader had been recruited into the party by Mr Beattie, who did not believe he should have run for leader.

However, Mr Burrows had the strong backing of the membership and was elected unopposed at the start of the year.

Since then, Mr Beattie had made it clear that he did not support the decision of the membership, with whom he has had a turbulent relationship. While he did attend Mr Burrows’s ratification, he left early.

Doug Beattie has long been in conflict with the internal UUP structures – governed by its officers on the party management board. A clash between Mr Beattie and this board in 2024 resulted in Mr Beattie quitting the leadership.

At the time, Mr Beattie cited “irreconcilable differences” with the party’s officers and an “inability to influence and shape the party going forward” in his resignation.

Since Jon Burrows won the leadership, there has been resentment from a significant group on the party’s benches at Stormont. Some of this stems from his successful courting of the UUP membership.

The MLA group, who while having few major policy differences with him, also object to his direct style.

However, there have been direct challenges to party policy from Mr Beattie on the minimum age of criminal responsibility and on puberty blockers. The leader wants the age at which children can, theoretically, be prosecuted to remain at 10.

Mr Beattie has submitted a proposal to the Assembly to raise it to 12, despite reportedly having been ordered not to do so.

Weeks into Mr Burrows’s leadership, he also challenged the party’s previous policy on a puberty blocker trial for children, saying it was “not something I can personally support”.

He made the comments to the News Letter in advance of a major policy shift by the party, which ended Northern Ireland’s participation in a clinical trial of hormone blockers being given to children questioning their gender.

Last week a close ally of Doug Beattie, Craigavon councillor Kate Evans, quit the party to sit as an independent citing an “increasingly difficult” relationship with the party and its internal politics.

The ex-UUP MLA hit back at criticism over canvassing with councillor Evans after her resignation, saying that a party logo is not “a symbol of integrity”.