UUP leader reassures party faithful

The embattled Ulster Unionist Party is slowly rebuilding behind the scenes, even if those outside its “inner circles” cannot see it, leader Mike Nesbitt has said.

Six months after the former TV news anchor was elected as its new high-profile figurehead, critics claim the party has yet to enjoy any early political boost.

Tomorrow, Mr Nesbitt will use his first party conference speech as Ulster Unionist leader to highlight the need to give new hope to recession-hit communities.

But his address at Belfast’s Titanic building will also be aimed at reassuring his rank-and-file about their own future prospects, as they fear a continued political squeeze from both the DUP and Alliance Party.

Their leader has argued, however, that he is putting in place the groundwork necessary for future growth.

“I am content, but I also understand that people outside the party and the inner circles of the party would not necessarily be across what’s been happening,” he said.

“I ran on a ticket which was largely based on organisational reform as the key urgent need, rather than producing a suite of policies.

“That reflected, first of all, my analysis of what the Ulster Unionist Party needs to put itself back into a position where it can be at the heart of government.

“And also the fact that the next election isn’t scheduled until June 2014 (for the European parliament), so we’re in, for Northern Ireland, an unusually fallow patch in terms of elections.

“So, there is no point peaking politically in the summer of 2012 when you what to peak in the summer of 2014.”

He added: “I am pleased enough. It is always, no matter what organisation or sector you’re in, slower than you want it to be. But we’re going in the direction that I had in mind.”

The new leader, who for years was one of the North’s best-known broadcasters, described his experience of political life as “a roller coaster” but said he is keen to learn from experience.

“In terms of anything, media performance, policy creation, leadership – I would never come out of a studio, or out of a meeting or out of a debate, and think ’I nailed that, I could never, ever possibly do that better’,” he said.

“Life-long learning is something that politicians glibly say we should be into - well, I am into it. Do I make mistakes? Yeah, I make mistakes. Do I learn from them? I think I do.”

His party finished last year’s Assembly election on 16 seats, representing a two-seat drop.

This was measured against the performance of a rampant DUP that romped to a 38-seat tally while the cross-community Alliance Party rose to eight seats.

Since the election, the Ulster Unionist Party has continued to be distracted by internal wrangling and public spats.

A recent dispute with Ken Maginnis over his comments on gay marriage eventually saw the veteran figure quit the Ulster Unionists, having been sanctioned for failing to adhere to party instructions on dealing with the media as opposed to the outrage over his remarks.

Mr Nesbitt does not expect the absence of the former Fermanagh South Tyrone MP to become an issue at conference.

The leader also denied his party risks a continued squeeze from its main political rivals.

He conceded that the Ulster Unionists fought a negative campaign in the 2011 Assembly poll and suffered as a result, but said his party would now have to present a positive alternative to voters.

While he said the creation of an official opposition at Stormont would be the “single biggest positive change” for the Assembly, Mr Nesbitt said he is against his party leaving government until formal structures for an opposition are in place.

He said the cross-party discussions on reshaping the Assembly was the correct time to argue for the change, even though Sinn Féin has signalled it would block any fundamental altering of the power-sharing structures.

But Mr Nesbitt said: “The biggest single thing that you could do to make it a more effective government would be to introduce an official opposition.

“We will continue to argue that at party leader meetings.”

He said his conference themes will focus on economic issues, sectarianism, deprivation and reclaiming his party’s links to unionism’s historic roots.