The local Ulster Unionist Party association in Upper Bann is now expected to reselect Doug Beattie to stand in next year’s Assembly election.
The Belfast Telegraph is reporting that UUP headquarters asked the Upper Bann association to ‘revisit’ its decision.
It comes after a report from the BBC last week that the association was planning to choose Councillor Kyle Savage over Doug Beattie. According to sources speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, both will now stand in the election.
The former party leader said that if he were to be deselected, he would stand as an independent candidate.
Doug Beattie was first elected to the Assembly in 2016. In 2021, he was elected as UUP leader after Steve Aiken’s resignation.
His resignation came in August 2024 after he stated ‘irreconcilable differences’ between him and party officers – a clear indicator of a fallout. He did not support the co-option of Colin Crawford to the Assembly, instead he wanted Darry Wilson to take the seat.
Crawford resigned in June 2025, less than a year after he was co-opted, and Jon Burrows was selected to take his seat. Less than six months after becoming an MLA, Burrows became leader of the Ulster Unionist Party.
Wilson has since left the UUP and is now a DUP councillor on Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council.
Speaking on Friday morning to The Nolan Show, Jon Burrows said he did not intervene in the selection process, nor did he influence anyone else to do so.
“The association initially was going to choose one candidate. The association has now chosen to run two candidates.
“Neither of those candidates have been picked, and they will be picked in the forthcoming weeks and months.”
