Mike Nesbitt

Ulster Unionist Party conference report – well attended but at times unexpectedly muted #uup25

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Mike Nesbitt standing on stage at UUP 2025 conference

Within minutes of starting, the 220 seats in the Crowne Plaza ballroom were nearly full of Ulster Unionist members and conference observers. (The back row filled first.) The defeated Slovakian football team had spent the night in the hotel, and at times it felt like the UUP delegates will similarly tired and jaded. While the attendance will have pleased organisers – who followed the SDLP pattern of not streaming the conference online – and the morning’s smorgasbord of speakers were …

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Four Ironies and a Leap of Faith

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Mike Nesbitt MLA is the Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, ahead of the party conference he writes for Slugger On the week of the 2025 Ulster Unionist Party Conference, I offer some thoughts to Slugger readers, inspired by the movie, 4 Weddings and a Funeral (I hope you don’t have to look it up, but, in fairness, it’s as old as the 1994 ceasefires and my children don’t remember that either). Irony One is that the biggest obstacle to …

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Fragmented Unionism and Broad Churches…

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It has long been the formula within political Unionism that if a Unionist party is both united and able to accommodate a broad church of Unionist opinion then it will be the dominant Unionist party. In many ways this formula has never been attained within political Unionism, however, in recent times it’s becoming more difficult to find a party that can solve this formula, and never has this been more apparent than now. However, is the formula relevant in 2021 …

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Reimagining Unionism

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Mike Nesbitt’s contributions to a Reimagining Unionism event I filmed at this summer’s Féile an Phobail – along with remarks by fellow panellists Dawn Purvis, Senator Ian Marshall and Sophie Long – are worth considering in light of the decisions around UUP strategy that need to be taken in the changing political battlefield.

‘A threat to the union’

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“Unionism needs to look and recognise that the environment around us is changing,” says former Ulster Unionist Party leader Mike Nesbitt MLA.  He adds: “I would like to see civic unionism becoming more active…  Perhaps we need to build civic society that goes beyond the division and the politics of unionism and nationalism”. The call for a strong civic society was made in the second interview in the series of more than 30 Forward Together podcasts.  These were recorded with …

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Country before Party? A UUP book launch discussion

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Image source: (c) Allan LEONARD @MrUlster

At the launch event for “The Ulster Unionist Party: Country before Party?” there was a roundtable discussion former-leader Mike Nesbitt, press officer Lauren Kerr and Alex Kane (its former director of communications). They discussed the party‘s performance, policies and appeal as well as its future role in Northern Ireland politics. Read about what was said and watch back the conversation.

The Ulster Unionist Party: Country Before Party?

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The first thing to say in respect of this book is a big thank you to the leadership of the UUP from all five authors. The UUP has undergone some tough times over the last two decades but the five most recent leaders could not have been more supportive of the survey of party members underpinning this volume. The book includes extensive interviews with the UUP’s five most recent leaders: Trimble, Empey, Elliott, Nesbitt and Swann, to analyse why the …

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Mike Nesbitt “You cannot watch that Parade and not be moved to join the groundswell for a new, modern, pluralist, inclusive Northern Ireland”

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Former UUP Leader, Mike Nesbitt was at the Belfast Pride march on Saturday and we asked him for some thoughts on the parade. What struck me about Pride 2018 was its air of relaxed confidence. It’s a while since I have observed a Belfast Pride Parade in any great depth and the change is remarkable. Back in the early days, it seemed to me many taking part felt a need to force themselves and their issues on the agenda with …

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Mike Nesbitt “Rather than Carson’s dream of a government for all, we are hurtling into the record books for the length of time we have had no government for anyone”

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Mike Nesbitt has released a response to Peter Robinson’s comments on a border poll; “A couple of months ago, Peter Robinson said he was pulling the pin out of the grenade – a curious analogy for a man making his inaugural speech as an Honorary Professor of Peace Studies. He was referring to the manner in which a Border Poll might be called and conducted, an issue he returned to in great detail last week. It is time to explore …

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A Year Without Government Series: Part II

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This article makes up the second part of a series that takes a satirical look back on the last year and a bit of Northern Irish Politics. The following was written entirely tongue in cheek and none of it should be taken very seriously. Find Part I here. The Assembly Election Debate It is a time honoured tradition of the Assembly election cycle that the BBC and UTV bring representatives from the five largest parties into a room together to shout …

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Mismatch: A politics driven by fire and anger that does not reflect the various parts of NI society?

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Before I set to on a profile of the UUP’s fate in this election I think this thought from Pete Shirlow is worth sharing on its own. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty

UTV Leaders’ Debate #vote17 – squabbling politicians talk in clichés #ae17

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If there was a winner of tonight’s debate it was Cliché. Though Lothario might be a close runner up. There were no knock out blows. Few punches caused any leader to wobble towards the ropes. Instead they parried them away with relative ease. While the lack of a studio audience eliminated oohs and ahs and mischievous clapping, it did also mean that the questions could be crisply delivered by Marc Mallett who kept the rough and tumble in the playground as well-behaved as could be expected.

Mike Nesbitt is pitching to his voters to use their judgement, not to his candidates. It makes perfect sense

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Most commentators have stated the obvious. Whistling through their teeth as they praise him for being brave in classic Yes Minister mode – .i.e. suicidal – the best that can be said for him  is that he should have looked forward to cooperating with the SDLP after the election and left it at that. But that was to miss the point. What Mike Nesbitt did was break a taboo by  daring to propose voting outside the big tent. If not …

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Nesbitt says he will transfer to the SDLP

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The UUP Leader, Mike Nesbitt was being interviewed today on The Sunday Politics , where he told Mark Carruthers; In terms of preferences, I’m saying vote Ulster Unionist and then vote for any candidate that you trust will deliver for your community, for your constituency and for this country. He then went on to say;  I will be transferring from my Ulster Unionist votes to the SDLP. He did make it clear that he was only speaking for himself and …

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“if unionism fails to live up to the values that were established nearly 100 years ago by Edward Carson”

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I’ve got a feeling we’re going to see some real campaigning in this electio, not just the going through motions thing we’ve seen in the first three since the restart in 2007. Mike Nesbitt in The News Letter: “If you go back to Carson, in 1920 as this country was being developed, Carson stood up in the Commons and said ‘you’ll only succeed if there are no factions, no sections’. “You’ll only succeed if you have got good government, fair government …

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Nesbitt urges Foster to consider her position

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After last nights Spotlight programme the UUP leader, Mike Nesbitt has urged the First Minister, Arlene Foster to consider her position over the Heat Incentive Scheme. In his statement Nesbitt says; “The mismanagement of the Renewable Heat Incentive and consequent squandering of hundreds of millions of pounds is another scandal, up there with NAMA and the Social Investment Fund. “This happened on Arlene Foster’s watch in the then Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment. To date, her only defence is …

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UUP Conference: Mike and Colum address the party faithful; opposition policies still sketchy #UUP16

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FAMILIAR VENUE BUT SOME NEW FACES at the UUP conference today. SDLP leader Colum Eastwood’s was received with a standing ovation, while Mike Nesbitt set out his stall to convince critics why his chosen path was the correct one. Confident performances, but still lacking the detail of Opposition policies that will be developed.

Former UUP MLA defects to the DUP

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Sam McBride in today’s News Letter has an interesting report noting the defection of former UUP MLA for Fermanagh & South Tyrone, Alastair Patterson to the DUP. Speaking about the decision Patterson said; “This move to join the DUP was a step I needed to make. At the Assembly election in May the people of Northern Ireland delivered a clear and resounding message of endorsement of Arlene Foster as their First Minister and the leader of unionism. “Unionism in Northern …

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Martin McGuinness: “We now wait to see if SDLP will stand by the principles of the Good Friday Agreement or follow the UUP into opposition…”

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The response of Sinn Féin’s new MLA for Foyle, Martin McGuinness, to being upstaged – at the moment of his re-appointment as Northern Ireland deputy First Minister – by the UUP leader Mike Nesbitt’s announcement that his party had unanimously agreed to go into official opposition in the NI Assembly, betrayed a confused, or forgetful, party lashing out at sceptics, and potential sceptics, alike.  [Nobody puts Baby in the corner… – Ed] From the Sinn Féin press release [added emphasis throughout] Speaking after …

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