A FORMER Ulster Unionist Party councillor who grew up in West Belfast, has quit the party after UUP leader Doug Beattie’s decision to resign as leader.
Stephen McCarthy, who stood as a candidate for the UUP in the 2022 Assembly election in South Belfast, moved to England last year but remained a member of the party.
Resigning as leader of the UUP this week, Doug Beattie cited “irreconcilable differences” between him and party officers.
Now posting on X, Stephen McCarthy has announced that after 15 years in the UUP he was now “stepping away”.
"I am disappointed that Doug has felt that he could no longer lead the party. When Doug became leader he brought so much momentum with him, so much personality, encouraged so many new, younger, progressive members to step forward and get involved, that the future of the party and Doug's future as leader became inseparable," he wrote.
I joined @uuponline in my teens, worked with @DdeBK, @SteveAikenUUP, the people of @ANBorough as Cllr & with @BeattieDoug while running for the Assembly. I've stepped back since moving to Norwich, but Doug's resignation has really made me think - after 15 years I'm stepping away pic.twitter.com/EwQrPTere6
— Stephen McCarthy (@smccarthynire) August 21, 2024
"If the more recalcitrant members of the party always intended to clip his wings when he tried to fully exercise his mandate, they made a devastatingly strategic blunder in pushing him to the point of resignation, as this looks likely to be the first of the last dominos to fall for the UUP.
"I wish my colleagues well as the party moves on from this, and I admire Doug's integrity in standing loyally by his successor. Like Doug, I hope they continue to build on his progressive platform. As a firm believer in Northern Ireland's central place in the United Kingdom, Doug's platform is the only way to guarantee that future for our nation."
Interviewed by the Andersonstown News in 2022 during the Assembly election campaign, Stephen McCarthy spoke about his upbringing.
“I’m originally from West Belfast, but my family are from South Belfast. I’m from a working-class Catholic background. My family growing up would have been nationalist, but more into politics from the left, than issues with nationalism itself,” he said.
Former North Belfast councillor, Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston has also quit the UUP.
She wrote on X: "Whilst I hold a number of individuals in very high esteem, my support for the Ulster Unionst Party ends here with Doug's leadership."
