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Ulster Unionists are a party of the Union: working for an honest sharing of power and a fair, inclusive agenda for all

Speakers from the European Agricultural meeting held in Fivemiletown last Friday night - Tom Elliot, Phelim O'Neill - Northern Ireland Meat Exporters Association, Harry Sinclair - Deputy President Ulster Farmers Union and Jim Nicholson MEP.

Ten years ago the Ulster Unionist party took the lead for Unionism and negotiated an Agreement which laid the foundations for a political process which allowed former opponents to share Northern Ireland.

But the purpose of that Agreement was about more than just a cessation of violence. It was also about setting out a route map from the past to a new future for all of us.

We have a duty to our successors---a duty to leave things better than we found them.

It was that sense of duty which motivated the Ulster Unionists to see what part we could play in addressing the problems which had dogged Northern Ireland for far too long.

Today, sadly, there are still forces in our society who want to keep us shackled to the past.

*Renegade republicans still believe that violence is the answer.

*Loyalist elements refuse to disarm and move on.

* Sinn Fein and the DUP seem to believe that power should be carved-up rather than shared out.

We believe in a Union which is of benefit to everyone here. We believe in a social and economic agenda which addresses collective need rather than just party need.

We believe in a Northern Ireland in which community politics means something more than carving up territory.

And we believe in an Assembly which has the confidence and goodwill to prove that devolution really can make things better for the people. The recent performance of Stormont shows how much more work has to be done.

But the Ulster Unionist Party also believes that the time has come to take our full and rightful place at the centre of our nation's politics. We are determined that there will, at last, be a level playing field for those who believe in the Union.

And it is because we believe that Unionism is a two-way process that we have strengthened our links with a Conservative Party which promotes and champions our place within the United Kingdom.

You will see evidence of that tomorrow at our Party Conference, which will be addressed by me and by David Cameron.

We intend that all in Northern Ireland will have the opportunity, for the first time, to participate as equals in a vote for a national government, bringing to an end years of democratic deficit.

If our ongoing discussions with the conservatives prove successful, the people of Northern Ireland will be able to choose their own government nationally as well as locally. This has never before been achieved.

Join us in our campaign to make Northern Ireland the place we know it can be: a place for all of us.

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Ulster Unionist Party
First Floor, 174 Albertbridge Road,
Belfast BT5 4GS
Tel: 028 9046 3200
Fax: 028 9045 6899