2021 Ulster Unionist Party leadership election

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2021 Ulster Unionist Party leadership election

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27 May 2021

2024 →


Candidate	Doug Beattie
Party	UUP
Popular vote	Unopposed
Percentage	100%

Leader before election

Steve Aiken

Elected Leader

Doug Beattie

An election for the leadership of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) was held on 27 May 2021 at a meeting of the Ulster Unionist Party council. The election was triggered following the resignation of incumbent leader Steve Aiken, who was elected in 2019.^[1] Doug Beattie, a retired Army captain who was first elected as an MLA in 2016, was elected leader of the party unopposed.

Doug Beattie, MLA for Upper Bann, was announced as the only candidate nominated for leader on 17 May 2021. He was ratified as leader of the party by a virtual meeting of party members on 27 May 2021.^[2]

Beattie had established a reputation at Stormont as one of the UUP's most liberal voices on a variety of social issues, including abortion and LGBT rights. Beattie's election as leader was noted as a shift to the centre ground for the UUP.^[3]

The Ulster Unionist leadership election came just days after Northern Ireland's largest unionist party, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), elected Edwin Poots and Paula Bradley as their new leader and deputy leader respectively.^[4]

References

^ "Steve Aiken resigns as Ulster Unionist leader". BBC News. 2021-05-08. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
^ "Doug Beattie endorsed as new Ulster Unionist Party leader". BBC News. 2021-05-27. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
^ PA, David Young (2021-05-17). "New UUP leader Doug Beattie says party may have to 'shrink to grow' in move to centre ground". The Irish News. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
^ Carroll, Rory (2021-05-14). "Edwin Poots elected DUP leader to succeed Arlene Foster". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-09-29.

v t e Ulster Unionist Party
Leaders	Saunderson Long Carson Craigavon Andrews Brookeborough O'Neill Chichester-Clark Faulkner West Molyneaux Trimble Empey Elliott Nesbitt Swann Aiken Beattie
Deputy Leaders	McCusker Taylor Empey & Beggs Kennedy McCallister Butler
Chairman	Rogan Cooper Campbell Empey Kennedy
President	Hamilton Craig J. M. Andrews Dixon Brooke Graham J. L. O. Andrews J. G. Cunningham Clark J. Cunningham Smyth Rogan White Steele (honorary)
General Secretary	Gibson Bates Hungerford Douglas Bailie Hutton Millar Wilson Boyd Patterson Rea Corry Wilson C. McCusker
Leadership elections	1969 1971 1974 1979 March 1995 September 1995 2000 2004 2005 2010 2012 2017 2019 2021 2024
Organisational structure	Young Unionists
History and related organisations	Progenitor: Irish Unionist Alliance Allies: Labour Unionists/Liberal Unionist/Conservatives Offshoots: Vanguard (1973–78)/NI21 (2013-16) Electoral alliance: UCUNF (2009)
Lists	List of Ulster Unionist Party MPs Ulster Unionist Party Presidents and General Secretaries List of Ulster Unionist Party Peers
Other topics	Chief Whip Election results Electoral history

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