With the resignation of Doug Beattie, the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) must now select its fourth leader since the departure of Mike Nesbitt in 2017. That is an unwelcome challenge for a party that dominated Northern Ireland for almost 80 years but has struggled to define its place on the post-Belfast Agreement political landscape.
Judged on electoral success, Beattie’s record has been patchy, with the UUP faring poorly in Assembly and local elections. A brighter spot was Robin Swann’s victory in last month’s UK general election, which ensured a return to the House of Commons for the party after an absence of seven years. But it appears to be squabbling between Beattie and colleagues over who should fill Swann’s vacant Assembly seat that caused him to step down.
Compared to some of his predecessors, Beattie cut an attractive figure as leader. His record of military service and humane manner suggested he possessed some of the leadership skills and relatability that might have allowed the UUP to put itself forward as the more rational pro-union voice at a time when its DUP rivals were in disarray over the Northern Ireland Protocol. In the first few months of his leadership, the UUP actually led the DUP in opinion polls. But the “Beattie bounce” did not last, and the party soon fell back to its accustomed subordinate status.
The difficulty for Beattie and whoever his successor may be is that the party is hemmed in on one side by the DUP and on the other by Alliance. The question it faces remains the same as it has been for decades: does it persevere with attempts to regain lost ground from the DUP or should it more assertively move to the centre?
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The second option would be wiser. In the post- Brexit era, with a rising clamour for a Border poll, there is a glaring need for a liberal, secular, unabashedly pro-union party that is not afraid to engage with the constitutional debate, confident in the belief that while unionism as a political force may have lost its majority, the argument for the union can still be won on its own merits.