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Robin Swann to step down as Ulster Unionist leader

Pacemaker Robin SwannPacemaker

Robin Swann has said he will not be seeking re-election as Ulster Unionist Party leader at its next annual general meeting.

Mr Swann said that he had been reflecting on his position as leader and the impact "it has on my role as a husband and a father".

"I have concluded that one is taking up the lion's share of my time to the detriment of the other," he said.

Mr Swann, who is from Kells, will remain as an MLA for North Antrim.

The next annual general meeting of the Ulster Unionist Party is due to take place in Spring 2020.

Mr Swann, 48, has been leader of the Ulster Unionist Party for more than two years, taking over from Mike Nesbitt in 2017.

"It has been an honour and a privilege to lead the Ulster Unionist Party and I am grateful for having had the opportunity to do so," he added.

"The Ulster Unionist Party faces its challenges, but I am determined in my remaining time as leader to bring forward the changes required to make it a competitive electoral force once again.

"I believe that it is more important than ever for the Ulster Unionist Party to fight back to help secure and strengthen support for the union.

"I will continue to serve the party loyally and faithfully as our assembly member in North Antrim, an area which has been devastated by recent job losses."

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The Ulster Unionist Party has been facing electoral decline in recent years.

In 2017, it lost six seats in the assembly election, before going on to lose its two MPs at Westminster in the general election several months later.

Mr Swann said he considered resigning after the European election results in May.

The party's candidate, Danny Kennedy, came sixth, after UUP support plummeted by more than 30,000 votes from its result in 2014.

The party lost 13 councillors in the local government elections in May and, in particular, polled very poorly in Belfast City Council where it saw its seats drop from seven to just two.

In a tweet, Democratic Unionist Party leader Arlene Foster praised Mr Swann, saying "our families sacrifice a huge amount, but they must always come first".

"I have worked well with Robin and hope his successor can be part of a fully functioning assembly alongside all parties," she added.

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood tweeted he was sorry Mr Swann had stood down as leader but was glad to hear he was not leaving politics.