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Robin Swann: UUP leader has 'decision to make over health minister'

Liam McBurney/PA Media Robin SwannLiam McBurney/PA Media
The UUP's Robin Swann is set to run for a Westminster seat in South Antrim in the next general election

UUP leader Doug Beattie has said he has a decision to make over Robin Swann's position as health minister.

Mr Swann was appointed on Saturday when power-sharing government in Northern Ireland was restored.

However, he is planning to run as a candidate in the UK general election, which is due to happen in the next 12 months.

Concerns have been raised over whether Mr Swann can act as health minister while campaigning to become an MP.

If he was successful, the health minister would have to give up his role and his seat in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Mr Beattie told BBC Radio Ulster's Talkback that he may have to look at options including withdrawing Mr Swann from the running to become MP for South Antrim or preparing another candidate as health minister.

However, a UUP spokesperson said on Monday afternoon that the party was not considering removing Mr Swann as health minister or as a parliamentary candidate.

"There is no change," they said.

"An election may not happen until January, we have put the best person in to deal with health."

Oliver McVeigh/PA Media Doug BeattieOliver McVeigh/PA Media
There has been no decision made as Swann's health post came at the last minute, Doug Beattie says

Speaking to Talkback, Mr Beattie said a major reason Mr Swann was chosen as health minister was because he previously held the role in 2022, when power-sharing government collapsed.

"I have to hit the ground running, I chose to hit the ground running and that is with Robin Swann who knows the brief," he said.

"That does not mean that it doesn't give me the opportunity to start preparing somebody to step in if that's the case.

"I've a decision to make in the medium term, I will make that decision but we need to start hitting the ground running."

Mixed messages about whether the party would receive the health brief has also confused matters, Mr Beattie said.

"We didn't know until the last minute we were going to end up with health," he added.

"Bear this in mind please, we only selected Robin on Saturday.

"I didn't know we would have to hit the road running with health, I didn't know we'd have to choose Robin."

Mr Beattie added that no final decision has yet been made, and there are no "immediate answers" to the question.

"I think it's unfair for people to think that I have all these decisions at my fingertips now when actually we only did the selection on Saturday and the decision to go in was on Friday."