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Ulster Unionist Party, Leader Steve Aiken OBE MLA
UUP Extraordinary General Meeting, 9 November 2019
Hilton Hotel, Templepatrick
Thank you Lord Empey, and may I thank you, as Chairman of the Party, for the hard work that you, and the other Party Officers have done over the last 40 days.
Forty days not only marked by the change in leadership of our party, but by the triple impact of the DUP agreeing to a border down the Irish Sea, Boris Johnson’s sell out deal, and now, the General Election.
A General Election that will be the most important political event to impact on our nation in generations - an election that could affect our very Union itself.
It would be a momentous time to assume the leadership of any political party, but now, for Unionism, for those that are pro-union, and those that just believe in Northern Ireland, it has never been more important for the Ulster Unionist Party to be ready to go out and fight for what is right for our nation.
Let us be in no doubt whatsoever, from the DUP’s gross incompetence in agreeing a regulatory border down the Irish Sea in October, their miring of the good name of unionism and Northern Ireland in an alphabet soup of scandal, coupled with their inability to help restore our local assembly;
To Sinn Fein’s constant attempts to prevent the restoration of Stormont, linked to trying, at every opportunity, to besmirch the memory of our brave security forces – all the while hypocritically attempting to rewrite history. If Republicans want to claim that they were fighting a war then let them accepts and admit that their actions were war crimes.
Our country is in a mess – Our country that we helped found, is no longer working.
So it is against this tumultuous background, that I thank the Ulster Unionist Party for making me your new Party Leader. It is with humility and with a passion to make Northern Ireland a better place, for every citizen, and strong within our Union, that I accept this privileged and historic position.
My journey into politics was not by any conventional means; I come from South Antrim, a proud son of a senior trade union official, steeped in working class unionism, proud of our heritage, with many of my earliest and fondest memories of seeing my Dad in his Silver Band leading my Uncles’ Lodges at many a 12th July Parade.
I have from those days to now, had a deep-set and indomitable belief in my home, our culture, our people and above all, my country.
It will be of no surprise to you that for someone with a nickname of ‘Submarine Steve’ I chose to serve in the Royal Navy for 31 years. As a submariner I was privileged to command two nuclear submarines, operating throughout the world, and in the latter stages of my career, I was a senior staff officer, giving me extensive exposure to how Whitehall and government works – gaining a knowledge of how departments, ministers and permanent secretaries should work properly.
Like in taking minutes and keeping Special Advisors in their place – a lesson sadly lost here.
But I also spent far too much time in the world’s conflict areas; seeing, unfortunately, at close hand, what happens when politics fails and when our armed forces had to step in – sacrificing much for our peace.
It fills me with enormous pride that it is our Party that attracts so many veterans; all with more courage and determination than I can ever hope to match, but who are willing to serve their Party as strongly as we all served our Nation – I and this party, on this Remembrance Weekend, salute you all.
After 31 years under the White Ensign - I became a Chief Executive where I helped generate millions of pounds of trade for companies, large and small, across these Islands.
I learned at first hand the importance of open borders and the free flow of trade and, as a regular participant in all manner of talks in London, Brussels, Dublin, the USA and beyond, I became convinced that Northern Ireland needed to change if it was to gain the maximum advantage from its geographic and economic position. A position of stability and prosperity that is now firmly under threat.
I also attended many British Irish events and conferences gaining a growing awareness of how we were perceived by others and how important the Union is for us all.
It was during these conferences that my political awakening occurred when I was inspired to hear Mike Nesbitt talk about the need for a New Northern Ireland. A place that needed to realise that we had more in common than anything that kept driving us apart, and it was Mike’s vision that attracted me to our Party – a message of hope for Northern Ireland, not fear.
That is also my vision – that our part of the United Kingdom can be a great place to live, to bring up our families, to invest in, to be educated in, to look after our health, and into our old age.
This vision has to be of a modern and inclusive part of the United Kingdom – one in which we can all feel part of – regardless of class, religion, gender, orientation or identity – this is our country – the one we all serve and many of us have fought for – a Union for us all to be very proud of.
I also have a vision where one day we can have a normal political discourse where political parties will be fighting elections on policies, rather than the rancorous dialogue over seats for one community or the other. Where all political parties will engage in the democratic process and take their seats – rather than attempting to turn every single election into a plebiscite for a United Ireland.
Make no mistake Sinn Fein abstentionism ignores the real needs of all of our people. When hospital waiting lists and the welfare of our disadvantaged take a lower priority than their ‘New Ireland’ – and be in no doubt, even in the toxic atmosphere of this election, we could never leave those who believe in the Union to a Sinn Fein MP
It should also be very clear that threats and intimidation have no place in politics.
The attacks across the UK on elected representatives and their staff, the vile abuse on social media, the intimidating phone calls, must be, and should be rightly condemned by all.
Our Party has a proud tradition of doing what is right for Northern Ireland, regardless of murder, assault and intimidation, directed at us, from all sides, and we will never be cowed or deflected in our mission.
It is my vision and belief, despite the turmoil created by BREXIT, that we are on a journey towards a transformed Northern Ireland, and with the help of this party, we can change it together.
And together we must, because the best way to secure the Union, is to have all Unionists, those that are Pro-Union and those who, quite frankly are just happy the way things are, bought into, supportive and invested in a settled, vibrant, diverse and self-confident Northern Ireland.
We have the people, the skills and the ambition –but what we need to do is to make Northern Ireland work again.
And because we must do that - we can become one of the most successful regions of our Country – no longer being seen as a burden, constantly seeking handouts, but seen as an asset and an equal partner, by all of our fellow citizens, across our great nation.
I, and everyone in this Party, also owe an enormous amount of gratitude to Robin.
It has been my privilege to be beside him over the last two immensely frustrating years.
But not many people are aware of, and should be, that it’s was Robin’s dogged tenacity as Chair of the Public Accounts Committee that helped expose the scandal of RHI and, during what we should laughingly call ‘the intensive talks’ process, that Robin, politely, but forensically, held the other Party Leaders, the various Secretaries of State, and the insidious Northern Ireland Office officials, to account.
As a Party we should applaud his leadership.
Thank you both for all that you have done and I hope to be a worthy successor.
I’d also like to give thanks to my greatest supporter, my wife Beth, and to my family, and again especially to my wife - who has even come here on her Birthday – now that is dedication!
So fellow Unionists:
We are now in the teeth of a General Election – with the Boris Johnson/DUP Withdrawal Deal being the biggest threat to the Union that we have experienced; for, thanks to Nigel Dodds, Arlene Foster, Jeffrey Donaldson and Sammy Wilson, we now have a border drawn down the Irish Sea.
Be in no doubt that this is a BREXIT election.
Do not be ‘DUPed’ into believing that in some way the Union will be ‘saved’ by their antics; the stark reality, as we told them time, and time, and time again, was once that ‘regulatory’ border was conceded it was never going to be taken off the table.
The UUP voted, on balance to remain in the referendum; as a democratic party we recognised the result of the referendum, however as a unionist party right now, with Boris Johnson’s deal being the only one on the table, we have to recognise a clear fact – if the Conservatives deal goes through Northern Ireland will, well and truly, be a ‘place apart’ – we will be separated from our largest market, with differing legal systems, tax regimes, and held ‘accountable’ by special and joint EU committees.
There are many unionists, and indeed many in this room, who will have voted to leave, but I’m pretty sure you didn’t vote for England, Scotland and Wales to leave, while Northern Ireland stays – we have a stark choice, but for us, the Union, of our whole United Kingdom, must come before anything else.
The false promises from the DUP and their ‘star’ conference guest Boris over BREXIT, with senior DUP MPs still advocating a hard BREXIT as being better than staying, all ignore the interests of everyone in Northern Ireland.
Be it farmers, small, medium and large businesses, the hospitality industry, our education system, the thousands of workers from Europe who help support our Hospitals and our Elderly, every act of Boris and the DUP has undermined our country.
So, for the Ulster Unionist Party, our message is clear - – with only Boris’s/DUP sell out deal on the table, we must put our Union first.
We joined the EU as one, we either leave as one, or we REMAIN as one
But this Election Campaign has to be more than that;
We are a party of devolution – but the return of Stormont that we strove for in the Belfast Agreement - that we negotiated - has been catastrophically undermined – by Tony Blair and Peter Robinson at St Andrews, and every day since, when we went from power sharing, to see who could fill their boots.
Even a casual read of Sam McBride’s ‘Burned’ shows that the entire political process has been corrupted by unelected Special Advisors, by ministers who refuse to take accountability or responsibility - but who are quite happy to get the photo op and the free turkey (of whatever size).
It is also amazing to see those who have come out of the woodwork as the ‘protectors’ of the Belfast Agreement – those who for years tried to belittle us for doing the heavy lifting – and by doing the right thing for Northern Ireland.
So we need to change Stormont together, we need to change the culture, the civil service, the role of ministers, and really making people – and I mean ministers -accountable and responsible - for their actions – and maybe they can be over the ‘jot and tittle’ of the papers that are actually put in front of them and stop having to get clearance from Connolly House before they can make a decision.
We also need to change our health service together – how can it be, in this part of the United Kingdom, that 1 in 7 people are on waiting lists, why aren’t our hospitals, GP practices and services delivering the same as they do in England?
What happened to the Nigel Dodds so called confidence and supply money, why are our waiting lists not going down – why can’t we get back into Stormont and deliver for our people – let’s stop talking about it, and get on with it – and if it can’t be done here, appoint direct rule ministers to do it now.
I’ve asked Roy Beggs & Gareth Thomas and many of our activists across the health service to come together to help how we deliver a NHS in Northern Ireland – a NHS that is as good as, or better, than that of our friends across the water.
We need to transform our education system, we need to educate all of our children together, but we also need to change how we all look at education – education needs to be from pre-cradle to retirement age and beyond – we must change how people look at education and we must set the tone that education is for us all and attainment in getting a good education should be the norm, not the exception, for everyone.
And I pleased to announce that Rosemary Barton and Robbie Butler will be continuing to champion Education.
We also need to realise that we are in a climate emergency, the environment effects everyone, and we cannot simply sit back and wait – we need to take action – now – and as a Party we must be committed to achieving a Net Zero Carbon Economy, not by 2050, but by 2035; this needs to be a priority and a core issue for our party and across Unionism.
And John Stewart and Danny Kinahan will be helping formulate our policy to achieve this.
I’m also asking our great councillors to support Joan Baird’s fantastic initiative, and calling for 1 million new trees to be planted by our Councils to mark Northern Ireland’s Centenary.
On policing we need to ensure our PSNI has the resources to cope for the challenges ahead – we must have the Police on the ground to deter crime and terrorism, they must have the full support of the community but at a bare minimum we must have 7,500 full time officers.
Alan Chambers will be at the forefront on making sure we have the police force we need for Northern Ireland.
But as I look out today, and at our act of remembrance earlier, I look to the past, when many of us, including many of our friends and relatives held the line, in the RUC, the RUC reserve, the UDR, the Royal Irish, in the Prison Service and for all of us who served in the armed forces, I see a concerted effort by Sinn Fein, and many of their fellow travellers, who are attempting to rewrite history.
It is even more surprising that the architects of this process are Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and Emma Little-Pengelly – who would have thought ‘unionists’ would have agreed the setting up of the Historical Investigation Unit? – where our friends, relatives and comrades, who selflessly put their lives on the line, can be investigated for ‘historic misconduct’ - but the terrorists can’t.
I can assure you, as leader of this party, we will never acquiesce to these so called ‘legacy’ witch-hunts – and I am proud to have Doug Beattie fighting this corner for us and there’s not a stronger voice out there supporting our people.
We are the natural party for business, for our farmers, for companies, retailers, small, medium and large.
We have always listened to the people who make our economy work - others do not – we need to make Northern Ireland a vibrant place to do business, we need to remove nugatory rules and regulations, we must have tax systems that don’t penalise our economy against others.
Indeed, why with the DUP’s so called influence do we still have to pay Air Passenger Duty, why is there is no York Street Interchange and why is a lower corporation tax not even a glimmer in the eye – quite frankly as the DUP/SF ‘government of all the talents’ couldn’t even run a renewable heating scheme, a separate taxation system couldn’t be further from the Treasury’s mind – the economy can never be safe in either, or both, of their hands.
I’m pleased to say that we’re able to appoint Councillors Mark Cosgrove and Phillip Smith to be our leads and spokespersons on Business and Finance – gentlemen you, and we, have a big challenge ahead.
We also have the challenge of countering the very negative perception of the Union, both here in Northern Ireland and further afield that has built up.
We have to constructively and vigorously engage, countering at every opportunity ‘civic nationalism’s’ narrative that we are all headed for an ‘Agreed Ireland’ – we will not be reticent in putting the case for the Union strongly forward – whether by putting Leo and Simon right or their less than tactful pronouncements, to making sure that nobody forgets that the clear majority of people in Northern Ireland are more than happy with the Union.
I’m delighted to say that Mike Nesbitt will be taking our lead on engagement to ensure the pro-union case is heard and understood south of the border and Councillor Sam Nicholson will be our new border regions spokesperson.
Outside of the election we have a major task in transforming our Party – it has been clear, for a long time, that we all want the UUP to succeed.
At every meeting we held in the summer, and as I crossed Northern Ireland, asking for your nominations, there was a strong and common thread – we need, and must, makes changes – and change we must.
However, the one thing, under my leadership, we will not change, will be our position on matters of conscience.
It would be hypocritical of me to change, as the reason I was able to join the party in the first place was because I could have positions that support my conscience.
I will continue to be a personal advocate for what I believe in, but the strength of our Party is that we can encompass all of our views respectfully, and without rancour.
We also need to reform our party structure, we need to significantly boost recruitment and bring in more activists, we need to modernise and rationalise how we communicate, we need to be much better at fundraising; but above all, we all know what needs to be done – we now need to get on with it.
I’d also like to turn to you, our great Party, and ask for your help in making Northern Ireland a much better place, I’d like to ask you, to bring your enthusiasm, your skills, your knowledge, your pride and strength in our great Union, to the table – we can’t do this alone – we need you - we need you to help rebuild a Party that’s ready, willing and able to fight and win.
Finally, Ladies and Gentlemen we know there is a need for a positive, progressive, pro-union party – the Ulster Unionist Party must fill that space and offer the electorate a strong alternative to the DUP.
With the future of our very Union being challenged by Boris Johnson’s sell out deal; the DUP’s ineptitude in creating a border in the Irish Sea - coupled with a level of venality that would, in any normal political society see them banished into obscurity;
With Sinn Fein intent on destroying any semblance of good governance, whilst screeching victimhood at every juncture – it is very easy to lay the blame and play their game of lowest denominator and sectarian politics – but we can be so much more – and we have to be.
We need to articulate clearly how Northern Ireland can and will be a much better place, a brilliant country where we will have the best education, fantastic opportunities for jobs. A health and welfare system that is the envy of the rest of the UK, a green and pleasant land that is at the forefront of tackling climate change. A place where our elderly and disabled feel valued and respected and a place where our young people will want return to, to stay, to settle down and to, once again, believe in.
In short, that is the message I want this party to carry, the message of hope in the future, a message of a vibrant and confident Northern Ireland, looking positively into our second century, a modern country in our modern Union, a place not apart, but a place together – a place for us all.
Let’s make that Change Together.
Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you