The UUP has no future as an independent political party and should dissolve

I wish to emphasise that my letter printed on August 9 (Unionists are to blame for the decision to give council officers sweeping new bonfire powers) was written on behalf of the South Belfast Conservatives.
By The Newsroom
Published 16th Aug 2017, 08:13 BST
Updated 12th Sep 2017, 12:23 BST

Casual readers may have assumed that it was written by a Ulster Unionist Party supporter.

However, it should be abundantly clear from Councillor Richard Holmes’ contribution in the same edition (bonfires are part of SF culture war, and now the party controls Belfast due to DUP accepting boundary plans) that the UUP has given up all desire to distinguish itself meaningfully from the DUP.

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His criticism of that party focuses on issues of narrow party interest, rather than the profound mistakes which have cost unionism its majority in the Assembly.

The UUP needs to recognise that it has no future as an independent political party. It is a relic of the Home Rule crisis.

It should dissolve and its members join the NI Conservatives – or indeed the DUP or Alliance, where I suspect many of them truly belong.

We are the only ones capable of challenging the DUP and giving unionism the leadership it so desperately needs.

Adam Moore, South Belfast Conservatives, BT6

Related topics:UUPUnionistsDUPBelfast