Nesbitt becomes UUP leader
Mike Nesbitt has been named the new leader of the Ulster Unionist Party.
The Strangford MLA won with 536 votes, a convincing margin over John McCallister, who received 129 votes.
Party members made their decision at the UUP AGM on Saturday and with 665 votes cast, UTV’s Political Editor Ken Reid said it was a “landslide victory” for Mr Nesbitt.
“This will be disappointing for the McCallister camp but a significant victory for Mike Nesbitt,” Ken Reid.
At the meeting on Saturday, Mr Nesbitt pledged to instil a new spirit among people in Northern Ireland.
“I want everyone in this country to get out of bed with a sense of purpose. I want this party to wake up with a sense of purpose,” he said.
“I want us to reach out to become the party of choice for every pro-union voter in Northern Ireland, including those who still say they want a United Ireland, but privately accept there is no longer a single reason not to enjoy their continued membership of the United Kingdom.”
If elected, John McCallister had pledged to remove the UUP from the government and form an official opposition.
