Waringstown Branch - Ulster Unionist Party

07/09/2026

06/09/2026

Hard power versus hot air - you’re very welcome in Belfast - HMS St Albans.

This submarine-hunting frigate represents far more than an impressive Royal Navy presence in Belfast. Her crew help protect every part of the United Kingdom - and provide a security umbrella from which the Republic of Ireland also benefits.

The threats beneath our seas are real. The vital undersea cables connecting these islands with the United States and the wider world carry communications and economic activity upon which millions of people depend. Protecting them is essential to our security and prosperity.

The Royal Navy also plays an often unseen role in confronting organised crime and supporting operations against traffickers who seek to flood our communities with drugs.

Meanwhile, a Lasair Dhearg activist stood safely in front of this warship, filming and criticising those who serve. That is democracy: the freedom to denounce the very people whose service helps protect your right to do so.

In many of the regimes these republican revolutionaries romanticise, he would be imprisoned for far less. Here, he is free to produce another little video offering nothing but grievance, gestures and hot air.

While he performs for social media, the men and women of HMS St Albans are doing something real: protecting lives, defending our waters and helping to keep the whole of these islands safe.

Welcome to Belfast - and thank you for your service.

06/09/2026

06/09/2026

06/09/2026

Well said Jon Burrows MLA, a man of vision 👏

06/09/2026

'Making Northern Ireland work is not seperate from strengthening the union.'

✍️ Party Leader Jon Burrows writing in yesterday Newsletter

05/09/2026

Respect,... We salute you, past and present for soldiers

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Lw8xQbsdW/

03/09/2026

Ulster Unionist Health Minister Robbie Butler MLA has today set out his approach to the future of hospital services across Northern Ireland, following the public consultation on Hospitals – Creating a Network for Better Outcomes.

With almost 30,000 written responses received, the Minister said the message from the public is clear: reform is needed, but it must be done differently.

The Minister has set out a number of key actions:

🔵 Hospital categorisation proposals will not be progressed at this stage, with a review of the proposed model and terminology to take place.

🔵 A new Independent Reconfiguration Committee will be established to provide independent expert scrutiny of major or controversial proposals for permanent changes to health and social care services.

🔵 The Committee will examine patient safety, service quality, clinical effectiveness, sustainability, evidence and consultation, with its advice published for transparency.

🔵 Existing guidance on the change or withdrawal of services will be reviewed, including requirements around evidence, transparency, early engagement and rural and equality impacts.

🔵 The Department’s Transport Strategy for Health and Social Care will also be reviewed, recognising the impact of travel distances, ambulance capacity and public transport on patients, particularly in rural communities.

The Minister has been clear that services should continue to be delivered locally wherever this can be done safely and sustainably, while recognising that some specialist services may need to be delivered on a regional or networked basis.

Following visits to South West Acute Hospital and Causeway Hospital, Minister Butler has also emphasised the importance of listening directly to clinicians, staff, patients and communities before major decisions are taken.

Minister Butler’s message is clear: reform is necessary, but it must be evidence led, properly scrutinised and focused on delivering the best outcomes for patients.

“We really need to do reform better.”

03/09/2026

Health Minister visited Lisnaskea Primary Care Centre, where he met GPs delivering elective gynaecology services in the community.

Minister Butler said:

“My priority is building a health service around people and communities.

“We are making progress and I want to build on that momentum. The Elective Care Framework is about tackling the backlog now while changing how we provide care for the future.

“Women should not be waiting for a hospital appointment when they can be safely assessed and treated closer to home. This is reform in practice - getting patients to the right care sooner and freeing hospital capacity for those who need specialist treatment.”