An election for the leadership of the

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule movem ...

(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 Stephen Ronald Aiken (born 16 June 1962) is a Northern Irish politician, who served as Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 2019 to 2021, and was Chief Whip of the UUP from 2017 to 2019. Aiken has been a Member of the Northern Irela ...

, who was elected in 2019.

Doug Beattie Douglas Ricardo Beattie (born 13 October 1965) is a Northern Irish politician and former member of the British Army, who has been leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) since 27 May 2021. He has been a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembl ...

, a retired

Army captain The army rank of captain (from the French ) is a commissioned officer rank historically corresponding to the command of a company of soldiers. The rank is also used by some air forces and marine forces. Today, a captain is typically either t ...

who was first elected as an MLA in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, 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. Beattie had established a reputation at Stormont as one of the UUP's most

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

voices on a variety of social issues, including

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

and

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 33 ...

. Beattie's election as leader was noted as a shift to the centre ground for the UUP. The Ulster Unionist leadership election came just days after

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

's largest unionist

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...

, the

Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist, loyalist, and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who led the party for the next 37 years. Currently led by J ...

(DUP), elected

Edwin Poots Edwin Poots (born 27 April 1965) is a British politician in Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from May to June 2021. He was first elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in 1998, and was ...

and

Paula Bradley Paula Bradley (born 23 June 1969) is a Unionist politician from Northern Ireland, who has served as Deputy Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) since May 2021. She was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Belfast No ...

as their new leader and deputy leader respectively.

References

2021 elections in the United Kingdom

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

2021 in British politics 2021 elections in Northern Ireland Ulster Unionist Party leadership election {{NorthernIreland-election-stub