DUP 'strategic errors have undermined the Union', says UUP's Jon Burrows
The UUP’s new leader has lashed out his main unionist rivals, accusing the DUP of ‘strategic errors that have undermined the Union’.
Stating that unionism has weakened over the last 15 year, Jon Burrows argued the movement has been guilty of short-term and reactive thinking, as opposed what he characterised as Sinn Fein’s ‘long war’.
Speaking during a podcast interview with the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Irish Studies, Mr Burrows also stated he wants to quiz Reform leader Nigel Farage in person over whether he’s “in this for UK unionism or English nationalism”.
And he also said people in both Northern Ireland and Great Britain need to be pitched on the benefits of the province staying in the UK, stating: “It’s not enough to wrap yourself in the union flag.”
His hard-hitting words come just weeks into his tenure as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, a position he rose to after less than a year in politics – becoming an MLA last summer, after a career as a high-ranking police officer.
During the interview, Mr Burrows argued there have been “big mistakes in terms of how we protect the Union over the last 15 years”, a period he clarified saw safeguarding the Union “largely in DUP leadership hands”.
“They’ve made a lot of strategic errors that have undermined the Union,” he said. “Unionism has often complained that Sinn Fein have this long war, they think ahead. Unionism sometimes can be short-term, reactive; we now need to think, what does the union look like in 2050?”
Pressing the need to convince people of the benefits of Northern Ireland staying in the UK, he stated that the province’s populace increasingly grows up without an “innate sense” of being either British or Irish and “just want a good Northern Ireland” instead of desiring it to be in either the UK or a united Ireland.
“We need to win the case for Northern Ireland remaining in the United Kingdom,” he said. “Why it is better for your economy, your opportunities for life, your cost of living, your security, the peace that we now enjoy.
“I want to be a passionate unionist, but it’s not enough anymore to wrap yourself in the union flag. You actually need to convince people why they’re better off in the union. showcase the benefits that being in the the United Kingdom makes for people’s daily lives and their opportunities, their safety.”
He added that people in England, Scotland and Wales need to be pitched on the value of Northern Ireland as well, something he feels hasn’t been done enough by unionists.
“I want to let the people of Great Britain know that actually, Northern Ireland plays a vital role in your daily life that you might not even know about,” he said, pointing to the province as “an agri-food powerhouse” that produces around a quarter of the food consumed in the UK, despite housing just 3% of the population.
“We’re world leaders in food security,” he said. “We’re world leaders in cyber security, we’re world leaders in fin-tech, we’re leaders in clean engine emissions. We have a very talented workforce and we’re strategically important to the United Kingdom.”