The Ulster Unionist Party leader says he wants to win the confidence of those who do not vote as well as those who vote for other parties.
Political and civil unionism has a responsibility to give the electorate something to vote for, Ulster Unionist leader Jon Burrows has said.
Heading into his first UUP conference as leader, Mr Burrows said he wants to inspire people to come out and vote as well as win back former voters, and to focus Stormont on tackling the most pressing local issues such as housing.
Under a “Stronger Together” strapline referencing both his party and Northern Ireland, Mr Burrows said he will outline his vision to make the country stronger.
In an interview with Press Association Mr Burrows pressed First Minister Michelle O’Neill to take up his challenge of a head to head debate on Irish unity, saying he had a more compelling argument for the United Kingdom.
He also expressed his wish for a peaceful resolution to tension over efforts to see the Orange Order complete its Drumcree parade along the Garvaghy Road in Portadown for the first time in almost 30 years.
In terms of DUP leader Gavin Robinson’s call for unionist co-operation, Mr Burrows said he wanted to see a stronger unionist turn out generally to increase the number of unionist MLAs in the Assembly, and less concern about the “bun fight for First Minister”.
The former senior police officer entered politics in August 2025 after being co-opted as an MLA for North Antrim.
He went on to become leader of the UUP just months later in January 2026 succeeding Mike Nesbitt.
Despite a rocky start to his leadership, losing former leader Doug Beattie from the party and tension with Mr Nesbitt over the health ministry, Mr Burrows said his party is now more united than ever and “has a job of work to do”.
He said he will outline to his party faithful this weekend “pillars of how to develop policy to make Northern Ireland stronger”.
“There is a stronger together theme which is going to be building from early years right through people’s lives, stronger families, stronger communities, stronger justice because I want to develop and deliver a stronger Northern Ireland,” he said.
Mr Burrows emphasised that he wants to see Stormont reformed.
“It’s been down as much as it’s been up, so we need to make sure that no one party can collapse it,” he said.
“I’m up for equalising the title of First and deputy First Minister because we end up in this bun fight between who gets which post but actually they are equal.
“There are changes that we can make to make this place more efficient – how we conduct our business, the things we focus on. We spend far too much time debating Iran, Venezeula and Gaza whilst we don’t deal with the issues facing Northern Ireland.”
Asked about unionist co-operation, Mr Burrows said it was “needed” at Westminster elections after the loss of Lagan Valley, and almost loss of East Londonderry to the “unionist family”.
“But when it comes to an Assembly election, what is far more important is that we grow the unionist vote, maximise transfers, encourage turn out and attract people who haven’t voted unionist for a long time,” he said.
“I have said to Gavin that’s actually far more important – at the minute we can’t win a single vote as a unionist family, the arithmetic is against us.
“The turn out rate is far lower in unionist and loyalist areas than it is in nationalist and republican areas.
“There is a civic and political unionist responsibility to reverse that and create the culture where people get out and vote. We’ve got to give them something to vote for.”
In terms of Drumcree, Mr Burrows said he wanted to see a permanent resolution.
“We have had a horrendous history in this country, there was terrible violence linked to Drumcree and other events, a police officer lost his life, Frank O’Reilly, there were lots of people injured, there were terrible sectarian attacks. I never want to go back to the dark days,” he said.
“I think the Parades Commission dropped the ball, they all need replaced, but I would appeal to everyone in this, keep calm heads and try and find a resolution, and there must be a way of resolving this parade dispute.”
Mr Burrows described difficulties earlier in his leadership as past turbulance.
“The party is united, it’s on the front foot, it’s confident and it’s looking forward to making the case to the people of Northern Ireland,” he said.
“Of course there is sometimes turbulence when you have change. I didn’t come into the party to allow it to stand still. We need to do some things differently, we need to reconnect with the public and give them something to vote for, and that’s what we’re doing.
“We’ve got a job to do, sometimes we’re going to disagree but there are work places up and down the country where people disagree. We’re paid by the public, we’ve got a job to do and it’s our job to do it.”
Asked whether he had entered politics to disrupt, Mr Burrows joked that his mother told him he was “always disruptive”.
He also insisted he is not concerned about what others say about him, adding he had had “a lot worse thrown at me in a previous career”.
“I came in to make change. The next 20 years has got to be better than the last 20 years,” he said.
“What are we doing in this place discussing what happened in Iran instead of debating why it is that we can’t build a house because the waste water system is at capacity, which results in a family having to move away from home, parents who then can’t get the childcare support that they need, schools closing, and villages dying because of that.
“I came in and told the people of this place that it wasn’t good enough, that actually the progress that is made in Northern Ireland is sometimes in spite of what was going on in here instead of because of it … that ruffled a few feathers.”
