Ulster Unionist MLA for East Antrim John Stewart has responded to reports that the First Minister will travel to Cardiff tomorrow to sign a joint declaration on self determination.

John Stewart said:

"Whatever is signed in Cardiff means absolutely nothing unless Parliament says otherwise. Sovereignty rests at Westminster, the constitution is not a devolved matter, and no memorandum signed at a press conference changes that by a single word.

"Look at what this actually is. A declaration between three party leaders. Michelle O'Neill has no authority to sign anything on behalf of Northern Ireland or this Executive without the deputy First Minister and Executive agreement, and she has not sought either. In Wales, Plaid Cymru runs a minority government and parties that support the Union hold a majority of seats in the Senedd. In Scotland, the SNP is a minority government. Strip away the staging and this is the SNP, Plaid Cymru and Sinn Féin saying they want out of the United Kingdom. They are entitled to say that. They are not entitled to say it in anyone's name but their own.

“What is sad is that it is happening in our name at all. Under the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement that people here actually voted for, the First Minister and deputy First Minister stood jointly and had to be elected by this Assembly on a cross-community vote. Neither could take office without consent from both traditions. The DUP had that torn up at St Andrews in 2006 rather than face a vote that meant endorsing a Sinn Féin partner in office. Once Sinn Féin edged ahead in 2022, the title followed automatically.

“That single change is why every election since has been turned into a sectarian headcount between the two largest parties. Voters are told to back one bloc to keep the other out of a title that carries no extra power whatsoever, and every argument about health, housing and the economy gets drowned out in the process. It is why the Ulster Unionist Party wants this reformed into an Office of Joint First Ministers, reflecting in name what the office already is in law. One office, held equally.

“This is smoke and mirrors. Back home people want delivery. Cardiff tomorrow gives them nothing of it.”