Former broadcaster set to make history with second turn as UUP leader

Mike Nesbitt started his first tenure as Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader by declaring he wanted to make history.

The 67-year-old is set to do that 12 years later in a more unexpected manner than perhaps anticipated by becoming the first person to take the helm of the UUP for a second time.

The unusual situation came about following an out-of-the-blue resignation announcement from the outgoing leader Doug Beattie last week.

Mr Nesbitt was the longest-serving leader of five in 14 years of Northern Ireland’s second largest unionist party.

That succession of leaders – from Tom Elliott in 2010, Mr Nesbitt from 2012, Robin Swann from 2017, Steve Aiken from 2019 and Mr Beattie from 2021 – all struggled to dent the vote of its chief unionist rivals the DUP while also apparently losing votes to the centre-ground Alliance Party.

During Mr Nesbitt’s first tenure, the party recovered from a devastating general election in 2010 where it did not win a single seat, to winning two seats at the 2015 general election.

Mr Nesbitt resigned in 2017 following disappointing election results in the Assembly poll.

His leadership was remembered for the UUP forming closer bonds with the SDLP , including an intention to form a joint opposition in the Stormont Assembly.

Born in Belfast , Mr Nesbitt became a household name in Northern Ireland through his broadcasting career. After leaving UTV in 2006, he went on to be appointed Commissioner of Victims and Survivors in 2008.

Mr Nesbitt switched lanes to politics in 2010, running unsuccessfully to become MP for Strangford, before becoming elected as an MLA for the same constituency in 2011, and the very next year became the leader of the UUP.

After decisively winning the UUP leadership following a contest with John McCallister, Mr Nesbitt became the first leader who was not a member of the Orange Order.

He later ruffled unionist feathers by forging a closer relationship with the SDLP. He described the UUP and SDLP, previously the dominant forces in Northern Ireland, as being able to challenge the current DUP and Sinn Fein leadership.

Addressing his party conference in 2016, Mr Nesbitt urged “Vote me, you get Colum. Vote Colum, you get me”, in a bid to “get a whole new middle-ground politics, dedicated to making Northern Ireland work, whatever our motivations”.

He added while they did not agree on everything, they could find a way of doing business together.

Following his first stint at leadership, Mr Nesbitt remained a prominent party representative.

Recently he took over as Stormont Health Minister from Robin Swann as he successfully contested this year’s general election in South Antrim.