"The message to those who might seek to dominate us is simple - no surrender." - SDLP Minister Margaret Ritchie tells Peter Robinson and the DUP to back off.
"We, the Ulster Unionist Party, helped the DUP into their current position. Our internal war was a gift to them. Our public spats were a gift to them. Our seeming inability to run a coherent campaign was a gift to them. Ladies and gentlemen, those days are over."
- Sir Reg Empey draws a line under the past.
"I believe it is time for us to form the opposition at Stormont, and not to be tainted by being associated with a Sinn Féin-DUP government."
- UUP Assembly member David Burnside strikes a chord with conference delegates.
"They may loathe each other, but they know that they need each other."
- deputy UUP leader Danny Kennedy on the state of relations between Sinn Féin and the DUP.
"Dabbling with the health service budget in a manner akin to Thatcherism is a dangerous step."
- Minister for Health Michael McGimpsey on Peter Robinson's budget.
"For the first time in many years there's a real point to being a member of the UUP. We're talking real politics now."
- a young delegate offers his assessment.