Councillor leaves UUP with ‘heavy heart’ after ‘astonishing’ decisions made by party bosses

AN Antrim councillor has told how he quit the Ulster Unionists “with a heavy heart”, following what he described as “embarrassing” and “astonishing” decisions by the party’s top brass.

Paul Michael has been an elected representative on Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council since 1999, but this week announced he would no longer serve as a UUP member.

He said he has had ongoing concerns with how the party has handled issues relating to its South Antrim MLA and former leader, Steve Aiken, who recently received a two-day suspension from the Assembly for an “egregious breach” of the code of conduct.

“None of us knew — and when I say none of us, I mean us as elected representatives — that Steve had been involved in an investigation in 2022,” Mr Michael told this newspaper.

“The findings of that investigation found Mr Aiken guilty of breaching confidentiality.

“Not only was there a breach for him to be found guilty, but there were also failings to comply with the investigation.

“That’s there for everybody to see, and on Monday and Tuesday of last week, he was suspended from the House.

“In between times, the party leader [Doug Beattie] had appointed him to Deputy Speaker of the House, with calls across the floor for him to stand down for what he has done — and rightly so.

“The party leader and Mr Aiken had known full well that the investigation had found him guilty in 2022.

“The only reason that his penalty was implemented last week, was because the implementation result was suspension from the Assembly, but the Assembly hadn’t been up and running, as we all know, in 2023.

“It kicked into practice when the Assembly got back up and running, which is why we are reading about it now, but the actions were from 2022.

“Again, the cover and the facts were not produced.”

The commissioner’s report was considered in March 2022 by the standards and privileges committee, which is made up of MLAS.

The substance of the complaint is that on November 4, 2020, at a meeting of the Committee for Finance that was streamed live online and which remains visible online, Dr Aiken “breached the Assembly code of conduct by disclosing both the fact and the content of a complaint against Sinn Fein MLA Maolíosa Mchugh”.

Mr Michael also expressed his personal concerns that Mr Aiken “has a lack of presence on the ground” in his constituency, and that he does not do enough “community work”, particularly at grassroots level.

The aggrieved councillor added that a decision to line up former UUP leader Mike Nesbitt to replace Robin Swann as Stormont Health Minister was another “bridge too far” for him.

Mr Nesbitt breached Covid lockdown rules to visit a female friend on the north coast in 2020.

At the time, Mr Nesbitt apologised for his actions and stood down as Deputy Chair of the Committee for the Executive Office at Stormont, but continued as Strangford MLA.

“Mr Nesbitt being appointed a Health Minister, oh my goodness, how embarrassing,” said Mr Michael.

“He breaks Covid regulations, and my party appoints him as Health Minister after a week of the Covid Inquiry coming to Belfast? I feel so strongly about this. I’m prepared to walk away and that’s what I’ve done.

“I will sit for my remaining time as an independent councillor. I’ve held the seat for 25 years and that’s the situation.”

Mr Michael has been a member of the Ulster Unionists for 30 years, and said that he is “saddened” by what has happened within the party in recent months, but that he is not alone in his dismay.

“I can’t and won’t speak for other people, but information like I have shared was brought to my attention, not just by constituents, but by elected members also.

“I have made my decision with a heavy heart, but I can say I made the right decision.”