Yes, the Conservative Party has made mistakes in the past regarding Northern Ireland. But I don't believe that we should allow those mistakes to determine or direct our future; or blind us to the possibility that we can build an entirely new relationship of benefit to unionism.

The Labour Party was, for decades, regarded as the party of a United Ireland.

Yet it was a Labour Government which helped to cajole Sinn Fein into accepting a partitionist settlement. And let us not forget that Sinn Fein/IRA had its own brutal legacy in Northern Ireland, but both the UUP and DUP now sit around the same Executive table.

The Ulster Unionist Party exists to promote the Union. We believe in the socio-economic/ cultural/political/democratic/historical benefits of that Union and in the geographical and constitutional integrity of the United Kingdom.

I happen to believe that David Cameron shares those values.

He probably doesn't need a single UUP vote or seat to get him into Number 10, so when he says he is passionate about the Union, I am inclined to believe him.

When he says he wants to be Prime Minister of the whole United Kingdom, I am inclined to believe him. And when he says he values Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom, I am inclined to believe him.

That's why I agreed to talk to him about how our two parties could co-operate together to see if we can find a way to attract and maximise the overall pro-Union vote. This isn't about a merger or a swallowing-up. It's about the building of a pan-UK unionism.

Your Morning View talks about "the two main unionist parties reaching an accommodation..."

I do not rule that out and never have ruled that out. My primary purpose, as leader of the UUP, is the protection and promotion of the Union. I will do all that I can and explore every available option necessary to fulfil that purpose.

The Union is a two-way process. It has to be about something more than unionists here steering their own policies in isolation. If the suggestion is that unionists cannot trust the Conservative Party to adopt policies which were "conducive to making NI's status within the UK more solid and binding," then surely there is logic and strategic sense in trying to steer them in the right direction?

"Ourselves Alone" is the language of those who would keep Northern Ireland separate and distant; a place apart within the United Kingdom.
The Conservative Leader has clearly stated his view that the Union is the best constitutional framework for everybody in the United Kingdom. I agree with him.

When we watch the present financial crisis unfold, the need for Northern Ireland to have real influence at the centre of power has never been greater.

When I hear Martin McGuinness say that no unionist will ever exercise power unless it is shared with Sinn Fein, I have to ask why we should accept that we cannot aspire to a role within our national government?

As unionists, we shouldn't have our future determined by republicans.
These are some of the reasons why I am talking with the Conservatives, in an attempt to see if we can offer a new electoral opportunity to voters in Northern Ireland. When those discussions conclude and when my party Executive has made a judgment, I will happily inform your readers of the outcome.

Sir Reg Empey