Mike Nesbitt says leadership speculation is media 'invention' and he's reconsidered standing down
UUP leader Mike Nesbitt says there is no discussion within the party about his future, and speculation on the issue is a media “invention” – despite having floated the question of his own future during the summer.
In July, he said that he would make a decision on whether to run again by January 2026 at the latest – prompting much discussion within party ranks about when he would stand down and who the successor would be.
In an interview with the News Letter ahead of the party’s annual conference this weekend – Mr Nesbitt says there is “no certainty” that he is leaving politics, as he set out his vision for the Ulster Unionists.
When it was put to him that much of the speculation ahead of the conference would be about his leadership, he said “There's no speculation. There's no chat within the party. It's all journalists”.
It is understood that the issue of leadership was not formally raised at a recent meeting of the party executive in Lisburn, but was a topic of discussion among those in attendance. Asked about his previous comments calling into question his own future, Mr Nesbitt said when Stormont was resumed last year he said himself that he was “cruising to retirement”.
He said he had made clear that he would “think about staying on” and “make that decision in January”. Asked why he wouldn’t make an announcement before then, the UUP leader said: “Is there a part of ‘I'll tell you in January’ that's giving you a problem?”
When it was put to him that it is a strange position for the party to be in with uncertainty around the future leadership, Mr Nesbitt said “there's no certainty I'm leaving, and if I decide I'm not going to stand in 2027, I will make a decision in sufficient time to have a contest ahead of the next AGM, which will give the next leader a good run into 2027”. He added that he had to “think again about my decision not to stand” – and denied that there are any questions about the future direction of the Ulster Unionist Party.
Mr Nesbitt argued that questions about the leadership and direction “media invention, so neither here nor there”.
In recent months, prompted by Mr Nesbitt’s own commentary about his future, senior party figures have themselves been speculating about who is most likely to take over as leader. The discussion has focused on current deputy leader Robbie Butler and the new MLA for North Antrim Jon Burrows. Neither man has publicly declared an interest in the position.
In July the UUP boss told the media: “If I am not going to stand, in fairness to the party, I think I have to make a decision early in 2026, given there are elections in May 2027”.
He added: “That is something I will look at in terms of what happens between now and Christmas, but I do think early 2026 is the latest I can leave it in fairness to whoever might be coming in if the decision is to stick to where I was 18 months ago”.
During his interview with the News Letter Mr Nesbitt said that a single unionist party is not going to happen – but repeated his view that there should be a realignment within unionist politics into two parties.
“I’m pretty sure that Gavin Robinson is leading a party where he has to think about factions within it – that has normally been the way with the Ulster Unionist Party. We have traditionally been called a broad church. Does a broad church appeal to voters a quarter of the way into the 21st century? I’m not sure it does”, the Strangford MLA said.
He said that the UUP needs to be “coherent and cohesive” as well as “consistent in our messaging to the public, particularly on the big ticket issues”.
Mr Nesbitt said that if any conversations were to occur, they would be “more easily organised with the DUP” than TUV.
Asked whether the dividing line within unionism essentially comes down to the future of the Stormont institutions, the UUP leader said he did not know what the current DUP position is on the matter.
“My view would be, if you collapse it again, it's gone – and it's not coming back. And that will put you in a position where to have any kind of significant devolution you would need a negotiation on the scale of 1998.
“The question is, is that possible that 2025 with social media and a different environment? My assessment is no, I don't think you could. So you're handing power back to London. Do you trust a London government? I think you'd be very foolish to.
“To what extent would a London government involve the Dublin government? Well, if you look at some issues recently, like legacy, they're moving in lockstep, even though it is very arguably a strand one issue going back to ‘98 where the government of Ireland should not have a formal role in proceedings”.
Asked if the UK government was now ignoring unionist concerns about Dublin’s role in internal matters pertaining to Northern Ireland, Mr Nesbitt said they do, but are “not sufficiently responsive”.
Looking ahead to the party conference in Belfast on Saturday, Mr Nesbitt said that the theme is ‘hope through prosperity’ – saying that people needed a reason to get out of bed in the morning.
“I would find it inconceivable to wake up every morning and have no reason to get out of bed. I think you're probably the same, and a lot of people out there do wake up in the morning without a really solid reason to get up and go do something they consider to be important. We should be giving them those opportunities, because those will be transformational for their lifestyles”, he said.