ULSTER UNIONIST Party deputy leader John McCallister has been stripped of his title after making a strongly worded speech regarded as an attack on party leader Mike Nesbitt.
Mr McCallister, who ran against Mr Nesbitt for the leadership last March, criticised recent partnerships between his party and the DUP in an address to an Ulster Covenant dinner on Saturday.
In the run-up to last weekend’s Ulster Covenant 100th anniversary commemorations, the two parties released joint statements, posed for pictures together, shared platforms and hosted a commemorative dinner together on Friday, at which Mr McCallister was not present.
The DUP has made a formal offer of closer links. Mr Nesbitt has declined to publicly rule out an electoral pact over an upcoming byelection in mid-Ulster.
In his speech, Mr McCallister said: “The [Ulster] covenant did not invoke the narrow language of exclusion and sectarianism. Rather, it speaks the language of civic unionism, of equal citizenship, of civil and religious liberties, of material wellbeing for all.”
He added: “All of which makes it deeply ironic – and disappointing – that it has been at this time that reasonable observers are concluding that the UUP is sleepwalking into unionist unity.”
He said there was an “unfortunate impression” that the “unionist-unity train had left the station” with a “certain P Robinson” in the driving seat, “delighting that he appears to have the UUP as a passenger”.
Mr Nesbitt stripped Mr McCallister of his deputy leader position yesterday. Mr McCallister, the MLA for South Down, remains the party’s health spokesman.
A UUP spokeswoman said the move was part of a “mini reshuffle”.
She said: “We are quite a small party now, so Mr Nesbitt is reviewing whether we need a deputy leader at all.”
A party source, however, said the move was a clear reprimand.