Sir Reg Empey takes reins as UUP leader

Sir Reg Empey has been elected leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, after Friday night's meeting of the Ulster Unionist Council in Belfast.

Sir Reg, who becomes the 13th leader of the Party following in the footsteps of Sir Edward Carson and Sir James Craig, won a close fought leadership contest at the Ramada Hotel in Belfast.

Sir Reg garnered 321 votes (52.7%) compared with Alan McFarland’s 287 votes (47.2%) on the second count. Strangford MLA David McNarry polled just 54 votes in the first count and was forced to drop out of the contest.

Acknowledging that a tough time lay ahead for his leadership, Sir Reg said he had "absolutely no illusions about the difficulties which lie ahead - but we have met adversity before."

Outgoing leader David Trimble was conspicuous by his absense at Friday's vote, however he is thought to have been attending a prior engagement in Scotland. His wife, Daphne, however, was there to cast her vote.

An MLA for East Belfast and a former Economy Minister for the suspended NI Assembly, Sir Reg is also a councillor sitting on Belfast City Council.

Commenting on the Sir Reg’s victory, Sinn Fein’s Mitchel McLaughlin said: “Unionism has to send a signal to the nationalist and republican community that it has moved on from the politics of domination and is willing to accept that the days of second class citizenship are over.

“Unionism needs to display to the rest of us that it can do business on the basis of equality and respect for others political mandates. That can be the only basis upon which we can secure forward movement in the time ahead.”

(MB/SP)