The Ulster Unionist Party is no longer important to the running of Stormont.

There was a time when the Ulster Unionist Party’s big rallies were political entertainment, and for good reason.

David Trimble v Jeffrey Donaldson – The future of power-sharing at Stormont, and perhaps peace, is at stake.

At the time, a group of Stormont executives caused the entire building to collapse.

It’s a big story, but it requires some perspective.

If he had resigned, the DUP would have taken over the health post and things would have continued even without Ulster Labor members.

This weekend the party will hold its annual general meeting in County Tyrone.

He also makes no secret of the fact that opinions remain deeply divided over whether he should remain in the executive branch.

But journalists will no longer be camping out in the open, because the future of the political process no longer depends on this once-great party.

On Thursday, the party’s seventh leader in less than 20 years angrily denied the party was “irrelevant”.

This word is probably too strong, but I can see why it was used.

Doug Beattie was flanked by outgoing Health Secretary Robin Swann and Swann’s likely successor, Mike Nesbitt.

This in itself speaks to the fact that Stormont’s new term is less than three months old.

They sent a challenging message to the other three executive parties.

The party will vote against the Budget in Northern Ireland’s parliament unless the £7.7bn allocation to health is increased.

But this too will have little impact as Sinn Féin, the DUP and the Alliance have the numbers to do it.

At some point, we will have a moment of truth for Robin Swann and his gang.

If the budget allocation does not change, they will withdraw from the executive branch.

This scenario is likely to be discussed at this weekend’s shareholder meeting.

Some, including leader Doug Beatty, are willing to quit the executive and sit on the opposition benches.

But one person likely to oppose such a move is Mike Nesbitt, who is likely to become the party’s next health minister.

One senior party official said: “Putting health into the hands of the DUP is not something we should be considering.”

There is also a possibility that the party may refuse to adhere to the budget allocation without withdrawing.

A more likely outcome is that Robin Swann may finally be persuaded with the promise that additional funding will be provided through a monitoring round later this year when unspent funds are reallocated. is.

But the political scars from this week’s executive session may take some time to heal.

Mr. Swan’s stand alone as an executive facing his first major hurdle sparked a backlash. Even before the meeting ended, text messages to the waiting media began to flow.

All targeted the Health Secretary, who they claimed had voted against a £25m childcare package and long-awaited investment in Lough Neagh.

Questions were therefore prepared for the First Minister and Deputy First Minister at the subsequent press conference.

They couldn’t hide their frustration.

Nor can we misunderstand the political intentions of the DUP Deputy First Minister.

Perhaps it’s because Robin Swann is not only Health Secretary but also a general election candidate hoping to unseat the DUP MP in South Antrim.

With the Fight for Health campaign underway, now is also a good time for Robin Swann to fight for health services. But when asked whether his opposition to the Budget was aimed at winning votes in south Antrim, he quickly hit back and denied any such link.

Robin Swann is effectively pushing ahead with her announcement as Health Secretary, but she is not sitting on her hands.