Lady Sylvia Hermon said today she was considering running for the leadership of the UUP.
She said she had to think of her two young children, as well as her husband Jack, the former RUC chief constable who is suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
"But I care for the party. I care desperately for the future of Northern Ireland so I will think carefully over the weekend and decide at the beginning of the week what I am going to do," she said.
On RTE's This Weekprogramme, she said there were lots of reasons for the UUP's disastrous election performance, particularly the failure of the republican movement to decommission and the party's dreadful campaign.
She reserved particular criticism for its election slogan, "Decent people...vote Ulster Unionist". "It offended a lot of people who would naturally be Alliance or would naturally be SDLP."
Lady Hermon said she had been disappointed that David Trimble had not notified her in advance of his resignation. However, she described him as a man of great personal integrity.
PA