I would like to be told what the raison d’etre is for a unionist party in the 21st century.

The Belfast Agreement guarantees that there will be no change to the status of Northern Ireland without a referendum. So why does every election in NI have to be turned into a sectarian headcount? Where is the grave threat to the union that needs to be guarded against?

Would it not be an idea to create a united party of people with similar ideas for how to improve life in Northern Ireland? How about a united front of social democrats, or liberals, or conservatives?

The UUP link up with the Tories had potential but in truth it wasn’t about creating a conservative option in Northern Ireland that the whole community could support. If they had any interest at all in Catholic voters the alliance would have emphasized conservatism (which actually has some relevance to people) and downplayed the old sectarian slogans and symbols. After all you will not see a union jack on the election posters of any of the mainstream unionist parties on the island of Great Britain.