McCrea fails in leadership bid

Mr McCrea went head to head with Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA Tom Elliott in front of Party members at the Waterfront Hall on Wednesday night.

Each candidate had 15 minutes to put their case to the Party faithful. This was followed by a 15 minute Q&A session after which the members made their decision on who they wanted to lead the Party into the next election.

In the end Mr Elliott secured the leadership with 643 votes to 294.

Speaking after the election, Mr McCrea paid tribute to Mr Elliot and said he looked forward to working with him.

"Tom is a good man and a dedicated politician and I have always believed him to be a good candidate to lead the party," said Mr McCrea. "Over the last number of weeks I have gotten to know him better, and at times even learned from him.

"As the selected man by the Party I look forward to continuing to honour the Party's will and working under Tom as he embraces the position," continued Mr McCrea.

"Both candidates offered a varied and differing skill set and that has got the Party talking – I think there may be exciting new directions for the UUP to come."

Following his election Mr Elliot said he felt "privileged" to have been elected as leader by Ulster Unionist members.

He also paid tribute to former leader Sir Reg Empey and added: "For me, I am delighted to be taking on the role and look forward to the challenge ahead. The Ulster Unionist Party has a tradition of honest, hardworking politics putting the interests of Northern Ireland first. This is something which I promise to continue through working on the ground, in our constituencies and in Government."

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