Letter: ​Unionist parties must hold summit meeting on mergers as a matter of urgency

It expresses similar sentiments to the open letter from Lord Kilclooney, Jim Wilson, Bob Stoker, David Campbell and myself detailed in the News Letter (The unionist parties should field agreed candidates in the coming election, May 4).

We called for the lesser unionist parties to have as their sole objective 'maximising unionist MPs'. Disappointingly good advice went unheeded and political unionism remains despairingly divided as ever.

Apart from Alex Easton's stunning victory in North Down, no party leadership can draw on vindication for the splits that lost Lagan Valley, nearly lost others and only swapped around individuals.

Yet, weeks after the July 4 election post-mortem which presumably took place, there are no signs of the parties looking inward to reassess what exactly are the principles and objectives of unionism today and beyond.

A merged party between the DUP and UUP could contribute to reducing friction and division across the unionist family. But judging from his previous form this is unlikely to materialise under the Doug Beattie diktat.

Clearly a summit meeting between the DUP-UUP-TUV and important civic unionist influencers has first to happen.

Political leaderships have a duty to establish respect at home, in London, across the UK and internationally.

There can be no question that supporters here deserve to know where the parties stand on consolidating unionist interests.

An all-inclusive understanding of future intentions on mergers or permanent separation needs to be reached as a matter of urgency. Then and only then will unionism be confident in its role.

David McNarry, former UUP and UKIP assembly member for Strangford