A WEST Belfast man has joined the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) after being inspired by party leader Jon Burrows.
Tony Mallon, who formed NI People, recently stepped down as its leader.
"I have watched John Burrows taking over the party and liked what he is doing. He is very policy-minded instead of ideology and that is exactly the same as me," he told the Andersonstown News.
"I think he is hitting the right numbers and saying the right things. He hasn’t been afraid to do surgery on the party too.
"The party under Doug Beattie was moving closer and closer to the Alliance Party and John is bringing the party back towards the centre.
"I know a lot of people especially from West Belfast see you are either Unionist or Nationalist. For me, a united Ireland isn’t going to happen for another 50 years at least.
"I will always be Irish. The reality is the Union isn’t going anywhere and the sooner people from a nationalist background accept that and want to fix here for their children and grandchildren then the sooner we can move forward.
"Sinn Féin have pretty much ran West Belfast for 50 years and it is the number one most deprived area in the UK for child poverty.
"The definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
Tony has previously stood in a number of elections as an Independent candidate, most recently in the Belfast City Council election in 2023, receiving 166 votes.
Asked about whether he plans to put his name forward to the UUP for next year's Assembly or Council elections, Tony said he "wouldn't rule anything out for now".
"I set NI People up and was leader of it for a while. It was my time to go," he added.
"In the last few elections, I stood as an independent and you are never going to get elected. Politics here is still very much orange and green.
"I am very pragmatic and believe I can deliver real change. I am a member of the UUP for now but I wouldn’t rule out standing for election if I was put forward by the party.
"For me, there are a lot of issues here and much of it comes down to funding. For me, certain departments like health and the NHS should be ringfenced.
"I think there is a lot of money wasted on vanity projects that people don’t want. I am a big supporter of supporting people with business ideas."
