The next leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) will be the former senior police officer Jon Burrows.

Mr Burrows, who represents North Antrim in the Northern Assembly, was the only candidate to put his name forward for the leadership by the close of nominations at 5pm on Thursday.

In a statement, the party confirmed Mr Burrows had “successfully met the nomination threshold of 35 signatures from at least nine constituency associations” and would stand as a candidate for UUP leader.

The party would now move to the “next stage of the leadership transition”, with its management board due to meet “to agree the next steps and finalise arrangements for leadership engagements and for the extraordinary general meeting”, scheduled for January 31st, when Mr Burrows is expected to be ratified as party leader.

Outgoing leader, Minister of Health Mike Nesbitt, will remain as leader “until a new leader is formally ratified”, the party said.

Mr Nesbitt announced earlier this month that he intended to stand down to give his successor time to settle in advance of the next Assembly elections, due in May 2027.

Mr Burrows left the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) in 2021 after 22 years and held senior roles, including area commander in Derry and head of the force’s discipline branch.

Since leaving policing in 2021, he has become a regular commentator on policing and justice issues in the Northern media.

He joined the UUP last year and was co-opted into the party’s Assembly team in August.

Announcing his candidacy last week, Mr Burrows said he was an “unapologetic unionist” and wanted to “arrest stagnation” and attract more women and young people to the party.

At the same press conference, Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA, Diana Armstrong – the UUP’s only woman Assembly member – announced she would run alongside him for the position of deputy leader.

Mr Burrows rejected criticism that he was running for the leadership even though he was unelected, saying he believed he had sufficient internal support from party members.

“We need to recognise talent and leadership, and public service, and energy and drive. I have shown those skills and attributes before in public service, and I’ll show them again.

“It is absolutely legitimate that I stand, we have a Deputy First Minister who is unelected. We have Ministers who form our Executive who are unelected. Those are the rules,” he said

Earlier on Thursday, Lagan Valley MLA and outgoing deputy leader Robbie Butler announced he would not stand for the leadership, saying, though he had “significant support”, it had become apparent “the direction many within the party now wish to pursue would be under a different leadership style and new focus”.