Letter: The way to best secure Northern Ireland's future within the UK is to make the province work

In it, he calls for the ‘lesser’ unionist parties to have as their sole objective ‘maximising unionist MPs’ and that there should be a summit meeting between DUP-UUP-TUV and ‘important civic unionist influencers’ - grand words, but could it work?

Experience of previous attempts at creating a ‘pan-unionist front’ would suggest not, or would such an approach have any appeal outside of those who will vote unionist in any case? I would doubt it.

In fact, presenting such a narrow vision of unionism will in all likelihood cost unionism seats.

The reality is, the Union’s future doesn’t lie solely in the hands of unionist voters, or unionist MPs or MLAs, it will be decided by all those with a vote - as a senior member of the UUP at the time of Lord Trimble’s leadership, Mr McNarry should know this.

The way to best secure NI's future within the UK is to make the province work - to fix healthcare and education, to provide well paid jobs and fix our creaking infrastructure.

In other words, make NI somewhere people from all communities and backgrounds want to live. Do that, and the Union will look after itself.

Alex Swan, ex-UUP councillor