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The Ulster Unionist Party has selected Sam Nicholson as its candidate for Newry and Armagh in next May’s Assembly election. Nicholson is an architect and businessman from a rural background who previously served as a councillor and Deputy Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council. Party Leader Jon Burrows MLA said the selection fits the kind of unionist politics he believes voters in Newry and Armagh are looking for.
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Speaking after his selection, Nicholson said: “I am proud to have been selected as the Ulster Unionist Party candidate for Newry and Armagh.”
He said his time in local government shaped how he intends to work if elected. “As a councillor and as Deputy Lord Mayor, I represented everyone. That is how I have always worked and it is how I intend to go on working. I am a businessman from a rural background, and I believe that gives me the experience to serve our cities, our towns and the countryside alike.”
Nicholson said: “As an architect I spend my working life planning properly, thinking long term and delivering what I said I would. That is the same approach unionism needs now, and it is what I will bring to Stormont.”
“I have recently become a father, and that has sharpened why I am doing this. I want my child to grow up in a Northern Ireland that offers them a future here, with good jobs, good schools and a health service that works. I want that for every family in Newry and Armagh.”
He added: “I am passionate about this place where I live and work. I want to see our business and agriculture sectors given greater opportunity to grow, and I want people here to have a strong voice making that case.”
“Above all, I want to help build a respectful, vibrant and confident Northern Ireland within the Union, looking positively to the future. That is the politics I believe in, and it is what I am asking people in Newry and Armagh to support.”
Confirming the selection, Mr Burrows said: “I am delighted to confirm Sam Nicholson as our Ulster Unionist Party candidate for Newry and Armagh.”
He said Mr Nicholson had built a strong record in local government. “Sam served as a councillor and as Deputy Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, and he did it with a record of delivery and a reputation for representing everyone who came to him. He is an architect and a businessman from a rural background, and he understands this constituency in all its parts, from our cities and towns to the countryside.”
Mr Burrows also spoke about the direction of unionism. “Unionism is changing, and it needs to. What it requires now is smart, strategic leadership that thinks long term and puts country before party. People across Newry and Armagh want a unionism that is confident, that works with everyone, and that spends its energy on jobs, health, housing and the growth of our business and agriculture sectors rather than on old battles.”
“That is the unionism the Ulster Unionist Party is building, and we are ready to lead it. But change does not happen on its own. If people in Newry and Armagh want a different kind of unionist politics, the way to get it is to vote for it, and to vote for Sam Nicholson.”
