Ulster Unionist MLA Robbie Butler has been announced as Stormont’s new health minister. The appointment of the Lagan Valley representative comes after Mike Nesbitt resigned from the post amid a fallout with UUP leader Jon Burrows over the proposed withdrawal of emergency general surgery from Causeway Hospital in Coleraine, Co Londonderry.
Background to the Resignation
Mr Burrows said he did not support the removal of the services during a townhall meeting last week, making clear his opposition to the plan recommended by health trust bosses. Mr Nesbitt, who had not yet confirmed whether he was going to push ahead with the withdrawal proposal, responded with a hard-hitting resignation letter.
The Strangford MLA accused Mr Burrows of imposing a “red line” over the proposed hospital reconfiguration plan, adding he was not going to be a minister who learned about his party leader’s views on key issues through the media.
Butler's Background and Appointment
Mr Butler is a former deputy leader of the UUP who worked as a firefighter prior to entering politics. He was accompanied by Mr Burrows as he entered Speaker Edwin Poots’s office at Parliament Buildings to sign the pledge of office just before 1.30pm on Thursday.
Commenting on his appointment, Mr Butler said: “This is an enormous responsibility, but it is one I take on with determination and optimism. There is no time to waste. I am ready to get to work.”
He added: “I want Northern Ireland to have a world-class health service that people can access more quickly. When you are dealing with people’s lives, health and wellbeing, decisions must be guided by clinical evidence, by the experience of those on the front line, by the needs of patients and by the confidence of communities right across Northern Ireland. There should always be one objective: to make things better for everyone. That is exactly the approach I will bring to this role.”
Challenges and Party Support
Mr Butler acknowledged the scale of the challenge: “Too many people are waiting too long for care, too many staff are working under relentless pressure and too many parts of our system are struggling to meet the needs being placed upon them. Those problems will not be solved overnight – and I will not insult people by pretending otherwise – but neither will I accept that they are inevitable. I will bring urgency, curiosity and a willingness to challenge where I believe it is necessary. Improvement and meaningful reform cannot simply be discussed in strategies or measured by changes to structures. People should be able to see and feel the difference in the care they receive.”
Mr Burrows said he has “full confidence” in his party colleague. “I said yesterday that we would move at pace to provide the leadership our health service requires, and today we have done exactly that. He (Mr Butler) has my full confidence and the full backing of our Assembly team. The role of health minister is bigger than any one individual or party. At moments when the Executive has faced its most demanding challenges, this party has stepped forward, and we do so again today. Our commitment to patients, to health and social care staff, and to meaningful reform remains unbroken.”
The row that triggered Mr Nesbitt’s resignation played out only months after another former UUP leader, Doug Beattie, quit the party after he also fell out with Mr Burrows. While there have been suggestions of a major split within the party’s Assembly team over the former senior police officer’s leadership style, the summer also delivered some good news for Mr Burrows with an opinion poll suggesting the UUP had overtaken the DUP as the region’s most popular unionist party.
