The DUP said today that it does not matter who succeeds David Trimble as Ulster Unionist Party leader because "politics has moved on".
DUP deputy leader Peter Robinson said the "the unionist community has put its faith in the Democratic Unionist Party".
"I don't actually think it's that important - politics has moved on in Northern Ireland," he said.
"I wouldn't involve myself in choosing a leader for the Ulster Unionist Party. They'd be trying to work out whether I was trying to sell them a pup or not.
"Why would I concern myself with whether the Ulster Unionist Party take a reject from the Westminster election or somebody who is so unelectable that they were appointed to the House of Lords?"
The UUP now has one MP, compared to nine Democratic Unionists. Former party leader Mr David Trimble stepped down after his party lost four of its five Commons seats, including his own in Upper Bann.