The Ulster Unionist Party has begun the process of selecting its next leader following the resignation of Doug Beattie.
Nominations for the position of party leader opened on Tuesday following a meeting of party officers and will close at 4.30pm on August 30th.
An extraordinary general meeting will be held on September 14th to ratify or elect the new leader.
It is understood an emergency meeting of the party’s executive may be held after some party members raised concerns over Mr Beattie’s departure.
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The outgoing leader referenced internal tensions in his resignation statement, following a difference of opinion with the local constituency association over the selection of an MLA to replace Robin Swann in North Antrim following his election to Westminster in July.
No candidate has yet declared their intention to stand for the leadership, but there has been speculation that the current deputy leader, the Lagan Valley Robbie Butler, or the East Antrim MLA John Stewart, could put themselves forward, or that the North’s Minister for Health, the former UUP leader Mike Nesbitt, might seek to return to the role
Asked by RTÉ on Monday if he had considered standing for the position, Mr Nesbitt said he had not given it a “millisecond’s thought.”
There has not been a leadership contest in the UUP since 2012, when Mr Nesbitt defeated John McCallister to the position.
Mr Beattie, who stood down on Monday, was elected unopposed in 2021.
A decorated British army veteran turned Assembly member for Upper Bann, he sought to revive the party’s fortunes with a liberal brand of unionism which he hoped would both distinguish it from the DUP and win back former unionist voters who had switched to Alliance.
He was embroiled in controversy in 2022 after a series of derogatory social media posts, written while he was still serving in the army, came to light, but apologised and survived as leader with his party’s backing.
However, under his watch his party had its most successful electoral showing in recent years, winning its first seat at Westminster since 2017 in the July general election.
In his resignation statement, Mr Beattie cited “irreconcilable differences between myself and party officers combined with the inability to influence and shape the party going forward” which meant he could “no longer remain the party leader.”
He said some within the party “did not agree with the direction and path I set for the party and the vision I promoted.
“I hope they can see that in the long term only an inclusive Ulster Unionist Party, promoting a positive message, can secure our future. I hope the new leader is given the freedom to act,” he said.
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