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Contrast between Beattie and Poots 20 May, 2021 01:00
THE uncertainty and flux within political unionism has been vividly illustrated by the two main unionist parties naming new leaders within days of each other.
Edwin Poots, who was elected by a secret ballot of the DUP s 28 MLAs and eight MPs in that party s first ever leadership contest, is due to have his appointment rubber-stamped on Tuesday.
Doug Beattie, meanwhile, was the sole candidate to succeed Steve Aiken as UUP leader.
His appointment is due to be ratified by the party s council next Thursday.
It is striking that on the centenary of partition and the creation of Northern Ireland, both the DUP and UUP are asking existential questions of themselves rather than setting out a confident case for the merits of the Union.
Upper Bann MLA Doug Beattie has been elected to be the new leader of the Ulster Unionist Party. He was the only candidate to run for the position.
Beattie will replace Steve Aiken after he stepped down as party leader stating he has taken the party as far as he could. The election has yet to be formally ratified by a meeting of the Ulster Unionist Party council at the end of May, BBC Northern Ireland reported.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Beattie said: “We know there are some mammoth tasks ahead of us, not least the Northern Ireland Protocol and we will look to see how we can address that. All of these things will feed into a degree of instability which is affecting Northern Ireland.”
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