Letter: Without 'lesser unionist parties' like TUV/Reform, voters who reject the Irish Sea border would have no one to vote for

Having read the letter in Saturday's paper by a number of former UUP politicians calling for unionist co-operation in the Westminster election, could I make the following observations? (‘There is a revolution in wider unionism taking place that might come with a small price,’ May 7)

Firstly, a proposal for such co-operation was proposed by the TUV back last summer, according to the Belfast Telegraph of April 10. It was rejected by the DUP. Indeed, if the BT report is accurate, the main mover in this rejection was the current DUP leader, Gavin Robinson. It would also appear, by virtue of the fact that they have already picked Westminster candidates, that the UUP has no real stomach for co-operation with fellow unionists either.

Secondly, in reality there are only two parties fighting for votes in this upcoming election, those who will operate the Irish Sea border with increasing EU ascendancy in increasing areas of our day-to-day lives, and those who will not. Granted, those who operate the protocol come in a variety of guises, ranging from the Irish republicans of Sinn Fein/IRA and SDLP, to Alliance, which while proclaiming neutrality on the constitutional question, follows the republican line on the Irish Sea border, to the UUP and DUP, who, while proclaiming their loyalty to the Crown and their opposition to the protocol, work hand in glove with the the other parties to operate the self-same Union-dismantling protocol. The bottom line is that, while all of the above parties operate under different flags, in reality they are different wings of a Union-dismantling pro-protocol coalition, and unionist voters should be under no illusion but that a vote for any of the above parties is a vote for the gradual dissolution of the Union, economically, and increasingly in other areas, as EU law gathers more and more sway. Sadly, at the moment, the only clear way to vote against the Irish Sea border is to vote for TUV/Reform candidates.

Thirdly, in basically telling the 'lesser unionist parties' to stand aside and give the unionist 'big beasts' a clear run, the letter writers display a dismissive arrogance that ignores the fact the 'lesser unionist parties' gained around 65,000 votes in the last assembly elections. And more importantly, the unionist 'big beasts' are currently protocol implementers. Sadly, without 'lesser unionist parties' like the TUV/Reform, those voters who are not prepared to accept the Irish Sea border would have no one to vote for.

Like many unionists, I would be delighted if this transpired, but I fear it a unionist unity pipedream.

Tom Ferguson, Ballymoney