David Taylor

Ulster Unionist Councillor - Newry, Mourne and Down District Council

[David Taylor @DavidTayloruup]

Building A Better Northern Ireland For All Of Us - Secure Within The Union

Vote David Taylor No 1 on Thursday 5th May ⁦@uuponline⁩ ⁦@UUPNA⁩

[Ulster Unionist Party @uuponline]

✍️Statement from Ulster Unionist Party Leader Jon Burrows MLA regarding the scenes at the Garvaghy Road.

[Northern Ireland @NorthernIreland]

Another clean sheet. Another three points. That was incredible 😮‍💨💚🤍 #GAWA

[Jon Burrows MLA @JonBurrowsMLA]

Absolutely reprehensible. Two fingers to the victims of terrorism. It’s vital that we never become conditioned to accept this and fail to comdemn it - because then history will have been rewrittten.

[Ulster Unionist Party @uuponline]

𝗪𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘁?

Here's what's behind that question.

The Irish Government has set up a €14 million media fund for 2026 to 2028. It's run by Coimisiún na Meán, Ireland's state media regulator, and part of it pays for journalism, with a stated priority for reporting that "supports shared understanding across the island". Media here in Northern Ireland can apply through cross-border projects.

So one government, with one constitutional objective for this place, is now a funder of the journalism that reports on it. At a time when our local press is under real financial pressure.

This isn't a criticism of any journalist, and cross-border reporting is a normal part of life on this island. It's about what happens to public trust. In a divided society, perception is everything. A press trusted by one community and suspected by the other serves neither.

Cooperation, yes. But we see your stealth tactics.

[Ulster Unionist Party @uuponline]

Today, on Ulster Day 2026, we mark 114 years since the signing of Ulster’s Solemn League and Covenant on 28 September 1912.

Across Ulster and beyond, 237,368 men signed the Covenant, while 234,046 women signed the Women’s Declaration. In total, 471,414 people pledged their opposition to the establishment of a Home Rule Parliament in Dublin. The Covenant was signed at more than 500 locations across Ulster, with Sir Edward Carson the first person to sign at Belfast City Hall.

It was a defining moment in Ulster’s political history, demonstrating the scale and determination of opposition to Home Rule and helping shape the constitutional events that followed.

More than a century later, Ulster Day remains an important part of unionist history and heritage, remembering those who came together in defence of their equal citizenship within the United Kingdom and in opposition to Home Rule.

[Ulster Unionist Party @uuponline]

📺 WATCH: Ulster Unionist Party Political Broadcast

𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 🙌

Missed it on TV? Here it is – special guest included 🐶

#UUP26 #StrongerTogether

[Ulster Unionist Party @uuponline]

🎥 Watch: 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲 𝗢'𝗡𝗲𝗶𝗹𝗹, 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 👏

Jon Burrows MLA offers to debate the case for a united Ireland against the case for the Union, any time, any forum. "It's the people of Northern Ireland she has to convince."

[Ulster Unionist Party @uuponline]

Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA Diana Armstrong is the new Chair of the Assembly's Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee, succeeding Robbie Butler following his appointment as Minister of Health.

Diana Armstrong MLA said:

"It is a privilege to take up the chair of the Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee, and I want to thank Robbie Butler for his work in the role. This Committee's job is scrutiny: to hold the Department to account and make sure it works for the industry and the people it exists to serve.

"Agriculture has shaped virtually every aspect of my life. I grew up on our family farm near Ballinamallard and I am married to a farmer, so I know the realities at first hand. When my father, Harry West, was Minister of Agriculture, he worked to three guiding principles: investment in farming, education of young farmers, and affordability. Sixty years on, those are still the right tests.

"I take up this role at a difficult moment. Fivemiletown is in my constituency, and I have spoken to farming families there. Confidence between farmers and the Department that regulates them has been badly damaged, and rebuilding it will take more than time passing. Nor have the other pressures gone away: the cost of fertiliser, the basic affordability of farming, bovine TB running through herds, and continuing uncertainty over nutrient rules and farm support. We should also speak far more openly about mental health in farming. Resilience should never be mistaken for an absence of need.

"The Committee's work goes wider than farming. The Dilapidation Bill is something I am particularly interested in. Derelict buildings blight communities and hold back investment, and with the Bill at its final stage my focus is on seeing it through and then making sure councils have the resources to actually use these powers. On the environment, there is a difference between partnership and prescription. Climate targets should be revised, not abandoned, and on Lough Neagh, wastewater infrastructure must face the same scrutiny as farming. What I will not accept is our farmers carrying that burden alone. They manage our land, and they should be central to the design of policy rather than the people it is done to.

"Our farmers get on with the job quietly and without fanfare. They deserve a Department that understands them, not one they experience only through inspection and enforcement. That is the test I will apply, and I am ready to get started."

[Ulster Unionist Party @uuponline]

👏Congratulations to everybody receiving their AS, A-Level and B-Tec results today across Northern Ireland.

Wishing you all the best with whatever you chose to do next!

[Ulster Unionist Party @uuponline]

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂.

The latest LucidTalk poll, published in this morning’s Belfast Telegraph, places the Ulster Unionist Party as the leading party within Unionism for the first time since 2021.

While every poll is only a snapshot in time, it reflects the positive response we have been receiving from people right across Northern Ireland who want politics done differently.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us. We will continue to offer a positive vision for Northern Ireland - focused on fixing public services, growing our economy, strengthening accountability and unlocking our country’s enormous potential.

It is time for a new kind of politics - one built on competence, integrity and delivery.

If you believe Northern Ireland can do better, and you want to help build a stronger, more prosperous future for everyone, join the Ulster Unionist Party today.

Join us. Be part of the change.

https://t.co/CoefuKbNNX

[Ulster Unionist Party @uuponline]

🎥 A morning of big ideas. Making the case for skills, infrastructure, lower taxes, and real prosperity for everyone in Northern Ireland. 🙌

[Ulster Unionist Party @uuponline]

Ulster Unionist Party Leader Jon Burrows MLA has labelled a Fine Gael plan to develop a blueprint for a unified island as a pet project and says any constitutional change rests solely with the people of Northern Ireland.

Jon Burrows MLA commented:

“Northern Ireland is an integral part of the United Kingdom, and it is increasingly clear that many who aspire to a united Ireland are frustrated that support for constitutional change is no closer today than it was at the time of the Belfast Agreement.

“The constitutional future of Northern Ireland rests solely with the people who live here. I am confident in the case for the Union - a Union that strengthens our economic security, underpins our national security, and has helped secure the most peaceful and prosperous period in our history.

“Today, terrorism is at an historic low, people are free to identify as British, Irish or both, and citizens move across these islands without restriction. Most people are not preoccupied with constitutional upheaval; they are focused on improving public services, growing the economy, creating opportunity and making Northern Ireland the best possible place to live and raise a family.

“Simon Harris is entitled to produce whatever “blueprint” he wishes for Irish unity, but it is entirely reasonable to ask whether this is truly what was envisaged when the 1998 Belfast Agreement was signed - particularly when the Irish State amended its constitution and repealed Articles 2 and 3, removing its territorial claim over Northern Ireland.

“There is also a growing disconnect between sections of the political class and ordinary people. Recent polling in the Republic of Ireland showed that Irish unity barely registered as a public priority. At a time of significant pressures on healthcare, housing, infrastructure and the cost of living, politicians should focus on the real and immediate concerns of the people they serve rather than pursuing constitutional pet projects.

“My focus remains firmly on making Northern Ireland work better, strengthening our place within the United Kingdom, and unlocking the enormous potential of this part of our country.”

[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.

[Ulster Unionist Party @uuponline]

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

[Jon Burrows MLA @JonBurrowsMLA]

The primary duty of the state is to keep people safe & that is also the primary duty of those of us who legislate. That overriding concern should transcend party politics or point scoring. I have asked the PSNI for an update on this barbaric attack. Do not share the awful video.

[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.

[Alan Chambers MLA North Down. @alcham49]

Disturbing news regarding the incident in Downpatrick that has resulted in an officer being seriously injured. My thoughts are with the injured officer and for him to make a full recovery. I hope the person responsible for this attempted murder is quickly apprehended. @uuponline

[Liverpool FC @LFC]

Liverpool FC can confirm Arne Slot is to depart his role as head coach with immediate effect and that the process to appoint a successor is under way.

He leaves with a Premier League title to his name and our deepest gratitude and appreciation.

[Jon Burrows MLA @JonBurrowsMLA]

Republic of Ireland - higher house prices, higher mortgage deposits, higher grocery prices, higher utility bills & health charges. No national security. Less economic security (remember UK rescue loan to ROI 2010 3.25 bn euros). Northern Ireland is home & can be better than ever.

[Ulster Unionist Party @uuponline]

🎥 WATCH: Supporting our farmers at the Balmoral Show 🚜 🐄 🐎 🐓