Ben Sharkey

Communications Assistant @niassembly - Party Officer @uuponline - Constant Sufferer @stokecity

[Ulster Unionist Party @uuponline]

Thank you to everyone who joined us this morning for a fantastic business breakfast at the Stormont Hotel.

A special thank you to our guest speaker, Gareth Hetherington, Director of the Economic Policy Centre at Ulster University, whose insight added real depth to the conversation.

We talked about the things that matter: skills and training, investing in infrastructure like wastewater capacity, and making the case for lower corporation tax and reduced VAT for hospitality and tourism so we can compete and thrive.

The Ulster Unionist Party is in the business of making this place work for everyone, and days like this are how we get there. 👏

[Ulster Unionist Party @uuponline]

The Minister wanted to know what Jon’s expertise was, so he told her.

[Jon Burrows MLA @JonBurrowsMLA]

1. If the amendments to change the minimum age of criminal responsibilty to 14 as proposed by SF, Alliance & SDLP becomes law a 13 year old in England recently convicted of aiding & abetting the rape of 2 schools girls could not even be investigated, as it would not be a crime.

[Cool FM News @newsoncool]

🚨🔥BREAKING: Fire in Belfast Harbour area.

It’s understood fire crews are currently tackling a major blaze, with an update from the Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service expected shortly.

(Video: Neal McClelland)

[Matthew Bell @MatthewBellUUP]

The Omagh Bomb inquiry will see many officers having to tell the story of what happened on that horrible day, and the role they played in during the chaos that followed.

This will not be easy, and will be challenging for their mental wellbeing.

Thank you Alan Chambers for this

[Jay Basra @JayBasra2]

A SF MLA posted this to their social media, clearly stitching together two separate polls, dressing it up as one result, and topping it off with an AI graphic to sell a “win.”

They’ve weighted it by population (73.9/26.1) rather than actual voters, and that’s before you even get into completely different electoral choices on each side of the border 🤨

[Ulster Unionist Party @uuponline]

Ulster Unionist Party Leader comments on Dunmurry Incident

Jon Burrows MLA said:

“Last night’s car explosion in Dunmurry was another display of cowardly criminality, almost certainly committed by dissident republicans. It should be utterly condemned by everyone.

“Whilst these terrorists have been heavily degraded by effective law enforcement, they retain some capacity and still harbour the intent to maim, murder and destroy.

“The PSNI are often the target of these dissident groups, but these groups don’t care who else gets hurt or traumatised.

“They are desperate, depraved and morally bankrupt gangsters seeking to drag Northern Ireland back to darker days. They will fail, just as their predecessors did.

“My thoughts are with everyone affected by last night’s car explosion, those evacuated from their homes, the victim of the car hijacking, victims of terrorism in the past who will be traumatised by these scenes, and the brave PSNI officers and staff, and their families, who live under the threat of dissident republicans every day.

“I wish the PSNI every success in bringing those responsible to justice and in dismantling the remaining dissident republican gangs.

“Terrorism is wrong. It was always wrong. It will always be wrong.”

[Matthew Bell @MatthewBellUUP]

Have been proud to serve as a @YoungUnionist for the guts of 10 years now.

Have always been incredibly proud in the fact that whatever level of the party. From local associations to our Party Executive, to the Management Board, there is always young voices prepared to speak.

[Ben Sharkey @BenSharkey104]

@JonBurrowsMLA @uuponline @OwenMcKinleyNI @JayBasra2 @MatthewBellUUP @YoungUnionist @Diana_uup Thanks Jon👍

[Ben Sharkey @BenSharkey104]

Delighted to have been reelected to the @uuponline Management Board at our AGM last week. This marks the 15th consecutive year that a Young Unionist has been elected into this key body of the Party.

The UUP doesn’t just talk about listening to youth voices, they make it happen💪

[Ben Sharkey @BenSharkey104]

@RafeAnstruther @JonBurrowsMLA @uuponline @OwenMcKinleyNI @JayBasra2 @MatthewBellUUP @YoungUnionist @Diana_uup Thanks Ralph👍

[Owen McKinley @OwenMcKinleyNI]

On Saturday, myself, the @YoungUnionist team, and many others enjoyed a productive and motivating AGM at Corick House, Clogher. We were pleased to hear about leader @JonBurrowsMLA topping the latest opinion polls! Congratulations to Chris Mercer on winning YU of the year award 🇬🇧

[Matthew Bell @MatthewBellUUP]

UUP leader Jon Burrows polling as unionisms most popular leader.

The UUP is here, and it’s ready to lead.

[Doug Beattie @BeattieDoug]

13…… under proposed changes to legislation that 13 year old would not face criminal charges. The victim, in this case, ignored.

Where nobody wants to criminalise children there must also be scope for the Youth Justice System to be hold them accountable.

[Ulster Unionist Party @uuponline]

Ulster Unionist MP Robin Swann today hosted a highly successful South Antrim Business Breakfast at the Dunadry Hotel, bringing together a broad cross-section of local businesses from right across the constituency.

The event delivered a clear message: the Ulster Unionist Party is committed to supporting a competitive and prosperous economy, with businesses at the heart of that vision.

[Ulster Unionist Party @uuponline]

On 4th February 2026, the Ulster Unionist Party Press office inadvertently used the PSNI logo to accompany a press release from Doug Beattie MC MLA about a data release from the Courts and Tribunal service. The PSNI contacted the party, and the logo was, rightly, removed at the earliest opportunity.

It has now come to light, through two separate FOI responses from the PSNI; one with names redacted and another showing the names, that Naomi Long MLA contacted the police via WhatsApp Messenger, using either a private or departmental phone, to complain about the use of the PSNI logo. This is despite the fact that her own party has used the logo on multiple occasions.

Not only did she raise the issue with the PSNI to highlight the Ulster Unionist Party’s use of the logo and encourage the police to intervene, but she also used the exchange to make comments intended to undermine the character of the Ulster Unionist Party leader.

Was Naomi Long acting as the Minister, who was the subject of criticism in the original post by the Ulster Unionist Justice Spokesperson, or was she acting as the leader of the Alliance Party? Whichever it was this was clear political interference in the PSNI operational independence. It was an attempt to influence the actions of the police to a stage that she suggested the police need to challenge the party on the social media platform. This was completely inappropriate and not in keeping with the position the Minister continuously uses regarding police operational independence.

This is not an issue for the police; this is an issue for politicians who think they have a free hand to influence a police service for political reasons; in this case when another political party was being critical of the Minister and her department. It must also be added that if our Justice Minister is using a messenger application to talk about operational matters with the police on this issue what else is she using an insecure phone application for. Will the Minister take steps to ensure all such messaging is retained if it is on a personal phone? It is important that the Minister comes before the assembly to explain why she believes she has the authority to use the police in this manner when faced with political criticism and by doing so bring the police into the blast radius through her mistakes. The WhatsApp messages we have uncovered are deeply concerning and the attack on the character of our party leader in communications with the PSNI is both inappropriate and unprofessional.

[Alan Chambers MLA North Down. @alcham49]

Very disappointed with the level of political condemnation of the despicable attack on the statue of Queen Victoria at the RVH. I hope that the silence from some quarters does not indicate any degree of consent for this action in the grounds of a healing hospital. @uuponline

[Jon Burrows MLA @JonBurrowsMLA]

My engagements across Northern Ireland continue this week. Ill be in East Belfast at an open meeting at The Skainos Centre 730pm on Wednesday. Come along to hear my vision for the Ulster Unionist Party & Northern Ireland, this will be followed by an unfiltered Q&A session.

[Jon Burrows MLA @JonBurrowsMLA]

Was Pat Sheehan rude? Yes. Will I complain to the Standards Commissioner ? No. Because there are far more important things for me to do and for the Assembly to focus on than arbitratimg about such tittle - tattle.

[Matthew Bell @MatthewBellUUP]

Brilliant day at the @uuponline meeting at the Stormont Hotel, to introduce our new leader @JonBurrowsMLA and deputy leader Diana Armstrong MLA