UUP regains confidence
Peter Cheney found an increasing mood of optimism at the UUP conference. Mike Nesbitt put forward a positive message as the party sought to continue its recovery.
Ulster Unionists appeared to be putting several difficult years behind them as they met for their conference on 17-18 October. The breadth of topics covered in the speeches at the Ramada Hotel was also noteworthy, from cycling to organ donation and shared education. This was, in some ways, a sign that the party had left its divisions behind – after the departure of Basil McCrea and John McCallister – and now had more time to focus on its policy agenda.
After praising party representatives for their successes in the May elections, Mike Nesbitt turned to the legacy of the past. He again highlighted the “massive problem of poor mental health and well-being” caused by the Troubles.
“We have far too many citizens who wake up without a proper sense of purpose for the day ahead, and who go to bed without a sense of achievement,” he stated. Social enterprises, in his view, offered a very practical way to help people with mental health difficulties back into work. He encouraged politicians to recognise the sector’s value rather than taking the “old-fashioned binary approach” of public sector versus private sector.
Nesbitt wanted politics to be “a bit more imaginative” as well and called on unionists to re-engage with the United States and balance the Irish nationalist narrative with an Ulster-Scots one. His message for “hard and soft” unionists was that “it is okay to love the union” – a theme that he felt was reaffirmed by the Scottish referendum result.
On welfare reform, he called for the Bill to be brought forward to the Assembly so that Northern Ireland could “move on to debate how we can become better corporate citizens of the UK, citizens who don’t continuously keep running to London for another hand-out.”
He elaborated: “I stand for a Northern Ireland that starts generating serious wealth. They say money can’t buy you happiness, but far too many of our citizens are neither wealthy nor happy. I want people to have the opportunity to experience both.”
As for the political agenda, he saw a need for an official opposition “more than ever before” and also an agreed Programme for Government straight after the next Assembly election. The joint ticket election of the First and deputy First Ministers, while it may appear a technicality, was also important to him. That status quo is that the largest party chooses the First Minister, thus raising fears among unionists of Sinn Féin taking the post.
He reflected: “The DUP go canvassing with the message: ‘Vote for us or something bad will happen to you’. We say: ‘Vote for what you hope for’.” However, Nesbitt added that the party was prepared to agree electoral pacts with the DUP in North Belfast and Fermanagh and South Tyrone to prevent wins by Sinn Féin.
The star of the conference was undoubtedly Andy Allen, a local soldier severely injured in Afghanistan who had recently joined the party.
“I recognise that our National Health Service is designed to provide high quality and reliable support to every man, woman and child living in our nation,” he told delegates. “It is unfortunate that due to continued lack of funding and, more frustratingly, a lack of interest from certain Stormont parties, that our NHS is becoming less fit for purpose daily.”
He made a passionate call for the military covenant, which ensures practical support for veterans, to be extended to Northern Ireland. Many ex-servicemen and their families felt that their service was “not a badge of honour but a passport to second class citizenship.”
In his address, Danny Kennedy noted that money was tight and political games were being played more than ever at the Executive table. Despite his frustrations, the Regional Development Minister was excited by the potential of Belfast becoming the cycling capital of the British Isles. This transport “revolution” would take 25 years to complete and was proof, in his view, that the party would “take the right decisions today even if the true benefit is only going to be felt by our children and grandchildren.”
Speaking as party Chairman, Reg Empey condemned the DUP and Sinn Féin for “systematically squandering all the opportunities that we helped create” and added that the Assembly “is now despised by the people for its continual failures to resolve problems.”
Empey added that the UUP “will not rest until the people get the promises made to them from 1998 delivered” i.e. failing schools being turned around, an effective and well-resourced Health Service, and a stronger economy.
Guest speakers included Fine Gael MEP Mairead McGuinness, invited by Jim Nicholson, and Secretary of State Theresa Villiers. McGuinness encouraged more women to get involved in public life while Villiers assured unionists that the Irish Government would have no direct say in Northern Ireland’s internal affairs during the forthcoming talks process.
One of the observers was impressed by Mike Nesbitt’s skill as a public speaker, which in her view compared well with other local politicians. A local councillor mentioned that it “ticked all the right boxes.” Another member found it to be the most upbeat conference in four years.
Jo Anne Dobson and Danny Kinahan were announced as the party’s candidates for its main target seats: Upper Bann and South Antrim respectively. Overall, the UUP could look back over a successful year in electoral terms and looking forward to potentially returning to the House of Commons in 2015.
Nesbitt has been careful not to raise expectations and his leadership style is still very much in line with his initial message of a long, hard road to recovery. That said, delegates were happy with the progress that had been made and therefore quietly confident about the party’s prospects going forward.
