Mike Nesbitt to run for UUP leadership

Mr Nesbitt became leader in 2012, but stepped down in 2017

Mike Nesbitt is to run to become Ulster Unionist leader, seven years after he first stood down from the position.

Mr Nesbitt won a contest in 2012 to become leader, but stepped down in 2017 after disappointing assembly election results.

The UUP found itself without a leader after Doug Beattie stepped down last week, citing “irreconcilable differences” with party officers.

Nominations for the role close at 16:30 BST this Friday.

If Mr Nesbitt is selected to become the leader, he will be the first person to have held the top job in the UUP twice.

He is currently the assembly member (MLA) for Strangford and in June he was appointed as Stormont’s Health Minister, a role he is expected to retain if he is ratified as leader.

It is understood he will be the only MLA to put his name forward for nomination, meaning the party’s deputy leader Robbie Butler and East Antrim MLA John Stewart - who had both been mentioned as possible candidates - will not run for the leadership.

In a statement, Mr Butler said that a "revised and refreshed leadership team of the UUP, led by Mike Nesbitt, is an exciting opportunity".

He added, "working together we can revitalise both party and politics".

Analysis: The comeback kid?

Is Mike Nesbitt the new comeback kid of Northern Ireland politics?

Last week, my colleague Gareth Gordon said if he had money to bet, he’d place it on Mike Nesbitt taking the UUP crown.

Not for the first time he looks on course to be proven correct, but others may wonder why Mr Nesbitt wants to have another go at leading a party that in recent days has been described by some as un-leadable.

He was already leader between 2012 and 2017, but chose to stand down after leading his party into an assembly election which delivered dismal results.

Seven years on his campaign slogan “Vote Mike get Colum” - an ill-fated attempt to promote the official opposition with the SDLP - is still memorable for the wrong reasons.

He comes from the progressive wing of the party and those who disliked Doug Beattie’s style may be just as uneasy about Mr Nesbitt’s possible return.

But his decision to run again is more likely down to there being few other options, as opposed to any long-running desire.

And he is likely to advocate for the party to reassess its structures and make tough choices in order to survive electorally.

That’s no mean feat when he already has his hands full making tough choices as health minister.