UUP member signed young unionists' letter to government 'in a personal capacity'
A UUP member who signed a joint letter from a cross-party group of young people to the government has said he did so “in a personal capacity”.
Jay Basra, a prominent member of the party in the Mid Ulster area, has said his involvement in a letter to Baroness Anderson was “not on behalf of the Ulster Unionist Party”.
Deputy leader Robbie Butler said while Mr Basra was not “officiating” on behalf of the party, his “contributions are always worth considering”.
On Wednesday a delegation of young people, some of whom were from the DUP and TUV, met the Labour peer to express their opposition to the “grave injustice” that they do not have the same democratic rights as counterparts in the rest of the UK.
A letter was handed over, with Mr Basra among the signatories, but he was unable to attend the meeting. The event was also attended by the former Labour minister and vocal Windsor Framework critic Baroness Hoey, and Dr Dan Boucher who works for the TUV.
The News Letter asked the Ulster Unionist Party if it was distancing itself from the joint letter. Deputy leader Robbie Butler said: “The Ulster Unionist Party encourage and support its young people to be confident and active participants in positive pro-Union groups and think tanks.
“Jay Basra is a valued and talented young Ulster Unionist with a bright future in Northern Irish/ UK politics and is more than capable of expressing his own ambition and views in respect of the young people that he advocates for.
“This is one of those cases. Whilst not officiating as an Ulster Unionist representative in this forum, Jays contributions are always worth considering”.
The letter signed by Mr Basra said that “having enjoyed full UK citizenship along with the rest of the UK, we now only enjoy a partial citizenship” – and that young people faced the “injustice” of being “disinherited from aspects of our citizenship and subject to discrimination”.
It encouraged the government to “fight for the rights of all its citizens to be fully re-enfranchised” – criticising the inability of elected representatives from Northern Ireland to influence EU laws under the Protocol.