THE ULSTER UNIONIST Party has confirmed that it will campaign for the United Kingdom to stay in the EU, pitting it against the Democratic Unionist Party.
The UUP’s executive today passed a motion saying that it is against a ‘Brexit’. Despite this, the motion also states that it respects that right of party members who vote to leave.
The motion reads:
The Ulster Unionist Party believes that on balance Northern Ireland is better remaining in the European Union, with the UK government pressing for further reform and a return to the founding principle of free trade, not greater political union. The party respects that individual members may vote for withdrawal on the 23 June.
The decision to campaign against leaving the EU puts the UUP at odds with the DUP who announced last month that they would be campaigning to leave.
Party leader Arlene Foster made the announcement last month after David Cameron’s EU deal was revealed, saying that “on balance” they will be recommending a vote to leave.
Foster said that her party “has always been Eurosceptic in its outlook” and that,
In our view we see nothing in this deal that changes our outlook.
Sinn Féin, the SDLP and the Alliance Party are all recommending that the UK stay in the EU.
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