THE UUP leader, Mr David Trimble, has again refused to say If he will support Mr Major's government if it loses its House of Commons majority.
With a senior Tory MP now seriously ill and Mr Major's majority likely to disappear, the Ulster Unionists could be in a pivotal position in the final parliamentary session before the general election.
But Mr Trimble was giving nothing away yesterday when he addressed a Conservative fringe meeting sponsored by the Freedom Association. Asked directly about his intentions, the UUP leader said "My answer is that we will look at each issue that comes before the House on its merits."
Mr Trimble was outspoken in his criticism of the British government's handling of the "peace process". Monday's bomb attack on army headquarters at Lisburn showed, he said, that "the reality has always been a sham".
And while he stopped far short of demanding ministerial resignations, Mr Trimble told his audience "know that people like [Mr Michael] Ancram and Sir Patrick Mayhew are acting against the instinct of this party. So we need a re-think there."
He called for "a sensible programme based on democratic principles, based on the fact that the greater number of the people in Northern Ireland see their future in the United Kingdom".