In this session of the Assembly, she occasionally voted against the party line, supporting a Democratic Unionist Party motion for Sinn Féin MLAs to be excluded from the Executive. In November 2001, she was suspended from the UUP, at the same time that Peter Weir was expelled from the party, after the two voted against party leader David Trimble's re-appointment as First Minister.
During this Assembly session, she occasionally voted contrary to her party’s stance, backing a Democratic Unionist Party motion that would exclude Sinn Féin MLAs from the Executive. In November 2001, both she and Peter Weir were suspended from the UUP for voting against their leader David Trimble's re-election as First Minister.