Stormont is a “precious asset” but if it collapses again it is “gone for good”, the new leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) has warned.
Mike Nesbitt, who delivered his keynote speech to the party’s annual conference in Belfast remotely as he is recovering from Covid-19, told delegates he wants the UUP’s approach to be built on hope, “the hope we had in 1998 with the Agreement”.
He said there is “no better alternative” to devolution and that “we should do all we can to protect it and allow it to thrive”.
This is Mr Nesbitt’s second stint as party leader, previously holding the position between 2012 and 2017. He succeeded Doug Beattie, who quit unexpectedly last month citing “irreconcilable differences” with party officers “combined with the inability to influence and shape the party going forward”.
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Mr Beattie was not present at the conference but was thanked by Mr Nesbitt for his work. He said he did not want to “dwell on the whys and wherefores” of his predecessor’s departure.
The new party leader used his speech to appeal to Unionists for improved co-operation on a cross-party basis at Stormont, which he described as “the acid test of this mandate”.
“The days when Unionism could rely on its traditional voter base for success are long gone – and not coming back,” he said. “So, we need to do more than wrap ourselves in the Union Flag and sing God Save the King.”
Ms Nesbitt, a former broadcast journalist who is also Stormont’s health minister, urged those opposed to devolution to “pause and reflect” and consider being ruled by a “London government hell bent on delivering austerity plus”.
“What additional influence would the Government of Ireland exert on our affairs from Dublin?” he asked. “It seemed to me when Stormont was restored in February that maybe in our political psyche we needed to take devolution to the edge of the cliff – to the point of irreversible destruction – only to realise there is no better alternative.
“It is my firm view that if Stormont collapses again, it is gone for good. Any new agreement would require a negotiation on the scale of 1998 and frankly, I doubt if that could be done in the modern age, where social media and alternative truths are so disruptive.”
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Mr Nesbitt also dismissed calls for “unionist unity” between rival unionist parties in the wake of Sinn Féin’s electoral success at Westminster, Stormont and council level.
While many are “crying out” for the move, the UUP differs is in its “vision and strategy” to maintain its place within the United Kingdom, he said.
“People call us moderate. People call us liberal. People call us progressive. What I call us is the party of common sense,” he added. “So, where common sense dictates a course of action, I’ll support it, because it will strengthen our position in the United Kingdom – and for the avoidance of doubt, that includes sensible, practical co-operation with the Republic of Ireland.”
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