Reaction: UUP party chairperson Jill Macauley resigns after replacement Tom Elliott announced by Mike Nesbitt

There had been reports this week that chairperson Jill Macauley had resigned after Mr Nesbitt told her that he was going to replace her with former party leader Tom Elliott, now Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard.

However, various sources in the party have assured the News Letter that in fact the switch over was quite amicable and represented a normal part of UUP tradition.

And Banbridge woman Ms Macauley, a mother of four, former UUP councillor and a dairy farm owner, told this newspaper that she wished Mr Nesbitt “nothing but success”.

She is a business graduate of Ulster University and a former marketing co-ordinator at Botanic Inns Ltd who has served on two district councils.

Party sources have told the News Letter that it is custom and practice that a newly elected leader always makes their own appointment of party chairman and treasurer.

The one difference in this case is that when Mr Nesbitt was appointed leader for the second time – in September – he reportedly asked Ms Macauley to stay longer than her normal tenure and serve up until the party AGM, which is this Saturday.

Ms Macauley told the News Letter: “It is normal rules for the party chairperson to be replaced by an appointee chosen by the new party leader.

"I wish nothing but success for the leadership, including Mike, the officer team and management team going forward.”

One party source told the News Letter that Ms Macauley’s preference was to have the handover completed well before the AGM; and in order to achieve this, she tendered her resignation to Mr Nesbitt when he said would be replacing her.

The source told the News Letter: “To be fair, people who are appointed by the party leader should effectively step down when the leader does.

"That has long been the practice. But on this occasion Mike was happy to let Jill stay on longer and then appoint Tom at the AGM.”

The source related that there has been a very warm handover process between Jill and Tom.

Asked if Ms Macauley had expressed any annoyance with Mr Nesbitt since her resignation, the source replied: “No, not at all. She is just keen to get it all out of the way before the AGM and just move on. I don't think she expected this sort of controversy at all."

It was also reported that Ms Macauley got a standing ovation when she made her final speech as chairperson to the 100 members of the party executive at the end of last month.

This was almost a week after she had tendered her resignation to Mr Nesbitt.

“But I was there and it wasn't a state of the nation speech or anything like that,” the source said. “It was just her reflecting on her couple of years as chair, what she'd done and how she felt about it all. But there was no mention of any friction.”

A party spokesman said it does not comment on internal party matters.