The Conservative Party will refuse to support the British government's postponement of the Northern Ireland Assembly elections in Monday's House of Commons vote.
This was confirmed last night by the party's spokesman, Mr Quentin Davies, who described Mr Tony Blair's decision to cancel the May 29th poll as "an abomination".
Mr Davies's resumed criticism of Mr Blair's decision points, not merely to a widening rift between the Conservatives and the Labour government, but also to growing tensions between the Tory front-bench spokesman and Ulster Unionist leader Mr David Trimble.
Mr Davies refused to disclose his party's voting intentions ahead of his speech at the beginning of Monday's all-day debate on the postponement legislation published yesterday. However, unionist sources claimed the shadow cabinet had decided the party would abstain rather than vote against the Bill.
The Ulster Unionists will regard a Conservative abstention as a reversal for Mr Davies, whose denunciation of the postponement decision when it was confirmed in the Commons startled some senior colleagues.
While Mr Blair announced his decision at a Downing Street press conference, Mr Davies told Northern Ireland Secretary Mr Paul Murphy: "The government have shown that they do not take their own constitutional rules seriously and that devolution does not benefit from any objective constitutional framework."
This divergence from Mr Trimble's support for the election postponement prompted renewed speculation among leading Ulster Unionists about the security of Mr Davies's position as a member of Mr Ian Duncan Smith's shadow cabinet.
The shadow Northern Ireland Secretary is also believed to be highly sceptical of ongoing discussions between Mr Duncan Smith and Mr Trimble about a possible realignment of the Conservative and Ulster Unionist parties.
However, while the unionists may hope to see him replaced, Mr Davies displayed every confidence in his continuing authority to speak for the Conservatives.
He told The Irish Times: "If electoral commitments are just to be treated as the plaything of the government . . . one of the great achievements of the Belfast Agreement will be set at naught."
Describing the current situation as "very grave", Mr Davies said the government's "extremely foolish" decision could mean the postponement of elections for a long time and the end of the agreement, or elections in the autumn probably more likely to produce the sort of result feared in the first place.
The Taoiseach confirmed yesterday that the IRA's failure to include commitments by Mr Gerry Adams in its formal position during the most recent phase of the North talks had halted progress towards holding the elections this month.