Solitary Nesbitt resigns as party leader

Solitary Nesbitt resigns as party leader

8 March 2017

ULSTER Unionist Party leader Mike Nesbitt’s absence from the Strangford count on Friday evening was an early indication of the hit his party had taken.

Despite enjoying a personal vote increase from 4,673 to 5,323, Mr Nesbitt did not top the poll as he sensationally had in May when he was elected on the first count.

Although his party’s second candidate, Philip Smith, had also enjoyed a surge in popularity since May with a rise in first preference votes from 1,694 to 2,453 — due to the reduction of seats from six to five it was immediately doubtful this would be enough to secure his re-election.

By late afternoon, as Mr Smith endured transfer turmoil, it was obvious Mr Nesbitt was not open to count centre chit-chat.

But the local situation proved the least of his worries, with the leader quietly leaving the count centre for a Belfast hotel in the early evening where he announced his resignation as party leader.

Having lost a number of prominent figures including former deputy leader Danny Kennedy and Jo-Anne Dobson, Mr Nesbitt said it would be the height of hypocrisy if he did not take full responsibility. 

“I am the one who suggested that in a normal society people would vote on performance and that the DUP and Sinn Féin did not earn another mandate,” he said.

“I’m also the one who said this should be Northern Ireland’s first post-sectarian election based on the economy and education and health and housing and that I had a different vision but the electorate disagreed.

“They certainly did not give me a mandate big enough for me to feel justified in continuing in this position so I shall not.”

Just minutes after this announcement, back in Strangford, an emotional Mr Smith became the latest UUP election casualty.

Earlier in the evening, Mr Smith predicted he would end up locked in battle with the DUP’s Peter Weir for the final seat.

Elected at the final count in May, he said he anticipated a similarly long day ahead through the allocation of 10,000 transfers.

“People seem to have gone for the fear factor and the DUP, while the Alliance seems to have done well,” he said.

“It is back to last year, waiting for transfers to be made. I will be here for the long haul.”

As the complicated process got underway, it became clear that transfers were not kind to Mr Smith, who was finally eliminated on the ninth count when he was surpassed by SDLP candidate Joe Boyle.

Leaving the count centre, a clearly emotional Mr Smith said he was resigned to “looking for another job”.