Ulster Unionists Newry & Armagh

Welcome to Newry & Armagh @uuponline Association Follow our @UUP_ABC & @nmdcouncil elected representatives. 📧 [email protected]

[Jon Burrows MLA @JonBurrowsMLA]

Yesterday, I was pleased to support a bill that permits girls to wear trousers in schools if they wish. This is basic common sense. I don’t believe a man should force a girl to wear a skirt against her & her parents wishes. The DUP should have supported this & it could have be been addressed through the new school uniform guidelines, but wasn’t.

[Jon Burrows MLA @JonBurrowsMLA]

Reponse to my questions on MLA pension forefeiture. No provision exists here despite there being provision in other pension schemes (for example MP’s - albeit insufficient ). I hope other party leaders join me in calling for a forfeiture mechanism for serious crimes such as rape.

[Ulster Unionist Party @uuponline]

Today at Hillsborough Castle, we are meeting the Secretary of State and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury 🤝

Our message is simple: Northern Ireland deserves a fair deal and better delivery.

We are here to fight for proper funding for our public services, our schools and our hospitals.

But this isn’t just about more money. It’s about better government here. That means cutting waste, spending wisely and growing our economy.

[FSB Northern Ireland @FSB_NI]

Small businesses are the engine of Northern Ireland’s economy. That’s why it’s so important that any new employment legislation works for small businesses, not against them.

This week, the @FSB_NI team met with Jon Burrows MLA, Leader of @uuponline, Diana Armstrong MLA, Deputy Leader, and colleagues at Stormont to discuss the proposed Employment Rights Bill.

Constructive engagement with elected representatives is essential. Legislation of this scale must be based on evidence, meaningful consultation and proper scrutiny, particularly when it could have significant consequences for employers, employees and the wider economy.

Our concern remains that legislation of this scale cannot be properly scrutinised and risks poor law-making within the limited time remaining in this Assembly mandate, given its potentially far-reaching consequences for employers and employees alike.

Thank you to Jon Burrows MLA, Diana Armstrong MLA and their colleagues for taking the time to listen to the experiences and concerns of Northern Ireland’s small business community.

We’ll continue working with representatives from across the political spectrum to ensure the voice of small business is heard throughout this process.

#SmallBusiness #NorthernIreland #EmploymentRights #FSB #Stormont #SMEs #Jobs #Growth

[Ulster Unionist Party @uuponline]

Funding model is failing rural communities where schools are the glue holding everything together, says Burrows

Ulster Unionist Party Leader and Education spokesperson Jon Burrows MLA has warned that the Department of Education's latest announcement on school funding risks accelerating the decline of rural schools, which serve as the heart of their communities.

Jon Burrows MLA said:

“The funding model for our schools simply isn't working for rural communities. In villages and small towns across Northern Ireland, the school is not just a place of learning. It is the heart of the community and the glue that holds everything together. When a rural school closes, the community loses far more than classrooms. It loses its gathering place, its identity, and often its future.

“That is why today's announcement, while it will be welcomed by grammar schools and larger urban schools, will cause real concern in rural areas, the very communities the existing policy was designed, in part, to protect.

“The Ulster Unionist Party has always supported parental choice. But choice must mean genuine choice for every family, not just those within reach of a large urban school. A policy that quietly drains pupils and funding from smaller schools doesn't expand choice. It removes it from rural parents altogether.

“There is a better way. Shared Education campuses such as Ballycastle show what is possible when rural schools are given the tools to shape their own future. By unlocking dormant capital transformation funding, that model could be replicated across Northern Ireland, giving pupils and parents a sustainable, high-quality alternative to closure.

“Yes, a declining birth rate means Northern Ireland will need fewer classrooms in the years ahead. But that transition must be managed strategically, not left to a funding formula that accelerates decline in the communities that can least afford to lose their local school. A strong education system is one in which every school, and every community, has the opportunity to succeed.”

[Ulster Unionist Party @uuponline]

✍️As reported by Conor Coyle in The Irish News, Eleanor Donaldson received a redundancy payment after she had been charged with aiding and abetting her husband's child sex offences.

Ulster Unionist Party Leader Jon Burrows commented saying:

"This matter demands maximum transparency. The public is entitled to know precisely what payments were made to Eleanor.

"I am calling on IPSA to be fully transparent about this matter, to the fullest extent that it can.

"If it is the case that Eleanor received a redundancy payment as a consequence of Donaldson's own criminal conduct, then there is a compelling case that the money should be repaid.

"Taxpayers should not be left footing the bill. Eleanor, if she had any decency, would repay any money she received, and the rules should be changed so this can't happen again.

"The Jeffrey Donaldson case has exposed a series of weaknesses in our public institutions. We should not simply move on.

"We should close every loophole that allows those responsible for the gravest criminality to continue benefiting from public funds."

[Ulster Unionist Party @uuponline]

Health Minister Mike Nesbitt has confirmed an £80million investment plan to reduce waiting times and improve elective care across Northern Ireland.

The funding will target:
🏥 More surgery capacity at Causeway, Daisy Hill and South West Acute Hospitals
🩺 Expanded diagnostics, cancer services, robotic surgery and ophthalmology
🧠 Backlog activity for adult and children's mental health waiting lists
👶 Strengthened paediatric specialties
🦷 Expanded Dental Foundation Training
🚑 Regional stroke thrombectomy services

Minister Nesbitt commented: "Patients have waited long enough to see real change. My priority is to ensure every pound of this investment delivers tangible benefits for patients."

Investment plus reform = better access to care and a more sustainable health service for the future ✅

[Ulster Unionist Party @uuponline]

The Ulster Unionist Party congratulates Alderman Hazel Legge on her appointment today as President of the Northern Ireland Local Government Association (NILGA) for the 2026/27 term.

Ald Legge paid tribute to NILGA for the support it provides to local councils and said her focus as President will be "partnership with purpose: stronger councils, stronger communities and a stronger voice for local government," alongside the continuing need for local government to be properly recognised as a delivery partner.

In her first address as President, delivered at the NILGA AGM and Executive, she set out her call to action: "To Ministers, Departments and Assembly colleagues, work with us earlier, more openly and more strategically. Bring councils in at the design stage, not at the delivery end. Trust the insight, leadership and democratic mandate that local government brings. And to our member councils, continue to share your evidence, experience and ambition with NILGA, so that our advocacy is strong, grounded, credible and impossible to ignore."

[Ulster Unionist Party @uuponline]

🇺🇸 To all our American friends, as the United States marks 250 years of independence, we celebrate the bond between Northern Ireland and the USA.

It was a Strabane man, John Dunlap, who printed the Declaration of Independence. It was the sons and daughters of Ulster Presbyterians who helped build the American republic, and as many as 17 US Presidents, from Andrew Jackson to Ulysses S. Grant and Woodrow Wilson, trace their roots to this soil.

When freedom was under threat in 1942, it was here in Northern Ireland that the first American GIs stepped ashore in Europe, with some 300,000 US servicemen stationed among us during the Second World War, forging friendships that endure to this day.

From Ulster to America: a shared history, a shared heritage, and a shared future. @USAinNI

[Sam Nicholson @stjnicholson]

Large crowd from across all of the business sector at the @stormonthotel to listen to guest speaker GarethHetherington from @UlsterUni for the @uuponline Party leaders breakfast.
#uup
#growth
#economy
#prosperity
#potential

[Ulster Unionist Party @uuponline]

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

[UTV Live News @UTVNews]

Move to raise age of criminal responsibility “dangerous and ill-conceived” says UUP leader

More here: https://t.co/X1FReXSvuY

[Ulster Unionist Party @uuponline]

🎥 It’s clear Stormont needs reform.

Party Leader Jon Burrows MLA was in Westminster today giving evidence on institutional and operational reforms.

[Jon Burrows MLA @JonBurrowsMLA]

In this clip from the debate on the age of criminal responsibility I outlined the irrationality of listing 5 crimes that a 13 year old could be investigated/prosecuted for whilst excluding other very serious offences. The proposals were utterly irrational and not thought through.

[Robin Swann MP @RobinSwann_MP]

The violent attack in North Belfast was barbaric.
I have pressed the NI Secretary of State to provide accurate updates to fill the information vacuum and that those who saved the victims life will be recognised and not subject to any prosecution.

[Love Ballymena @LoveBallymena]

“Last night’s murderous attack in North Belfast is not just savage in itself but indicative of the alien culture that has been imported through unchecked immigration.” —Jim Allister MP

UUP Leader Jon Burrows has secured Matter of the Day for the attack to be discussed on Tuesday in the Assembly.

https://t.co/PPyY7Vqps0

[Jon Burrows MLA @JonBurrowsMLA]

I was honoured to meet Colin at a motor neurone disease association event today. Colin said he hadn’t much to grumble about & wanted to ensure I support carers. My aunty died of this cruel disease. Many of us complain about small things; Colin inspired me with his courage & grace

[Jon Burrows MLA @JonBurrowsMLA]

What a pathetic sight here on the Newtownards Road. Most of the masked youths are under 16 - it’s vital parents are proactive and ensure their children are not out in the street. Disgraceful criminality.

[Jon Burrows MLA @JonBurrowsMLA]

I was present when the masked yob threatened this news crew; I told the thug in no uncertain terms that we have a free press in this country. My thoughts are with those who live in the communities aftected by the violence.

[Ulster Unionist Party @uuponline]

🎥 WATCH: Party Leader Jon Burrows MLA speaks on the serious stabbing in North Belfast.