Mike Nesbitt made a brave electoral move

At the very least it offers a chance to have a frank discussion about what unionism is.

To the former UUP councillor Carol Black, unionism appears to be about being a member of a Protestant denomination. She suggests that reaching out to non-Protestants cancels out Mike’s unionism. But such a narrow concept of unionism is unBritish and is incompatible with a rapidly changing Northern Ireland, Catholics are soon to outnumber Protestants. Modern Britishness is not about religion or ethnicity, it’s about the values of tolerance and fairness as we see and hear every day on the BBC.

At the very best, Nesbitt’s move could be a solvent on our deep freeze politics.

What is encouraging people to vote for every unionist on March 2 but an unspoken electoral pact? Such a sectarian head-count only entrenches the politics of hate and mistrust.

Nesbitt’s move could also be a solvent on the Sinn Fein-DUP monopoly.

How can you be in opposition to the DUP and Sinn Fein if you transfer your second vote to the DUP?

If opposition politics is to work people have to vote for either the parties in government or opposition, opposition politics can’t work if people vote for unionists who are both in government and opposition.

Speaking from personal experience, I know many unionists who vote for SDLP in south Belfast in Westminster and local elections.

As the ex-SDLP aide John Mckernan said, Margaret Ritchie and Mark Durkan have benefitted hugely from a unionist vote.

However, I do see two big drawbacks to what we’ve just seen from Nesbitt.

Firstly, whilst the theory and logic is good, the delivery has been bad. It seems rushed and there appears to be no comprehensive strategy or communication among the UUP and between the UUP and SDLP.

Lastly, as Eamonn Mallie recently tweeted, it doesn’t matter if you’re Terence O’Neill or Ian Paisley, a unionist who goes liberal does not last long.

I commend Mike Nesbitt for his move, it is brave. But the question is, are the electorate brave enough to go into the voting booth on March 2 and break with nearly a century of voting tradition? I hope so.

Brian John Spencer, Belfast