In comments to the UUP South Down Association, Party Vice-Chair and former MEP Jim Nicholson said:

“Unionism can no longer afford to bury their heads in the sand.  Wish list politics delivers nothing and simply being told what you want to hear will only last a very short time.  The recent votes in the House of Commons on the Windsor Framework showed clearly just how influential Unionist MPs really are currently. 

“The Windsor Framework was as much about resetting relationships between London and Brussels as it was about dealing with any problem that exists with the Protocol.  Yes, there was some welcome movement, but there are still problems to be fixed and the DUP’s seven tests have not been met. 

“The reality is there will be both challenges and opportunities.  While I was opposed to the Protocol and I am still opposed to many elements of the Windsor framework, Unionists can no longer afford to sit back and allow Sinn Fein to continue to paint Stormont as a failed entity.  Unionists need Stormont back to prove them wrong and maybe the time has come for Unionists to believe again and start to show confidence. 

“Thirty-eight years ago, when Margaret Thatcher signed the Anglo-Irish Agreement, it was a serious wakeup call.  Yet we seem to have learned very little.  I do not want a return to Direct Rule.  We have had enough of that and need to influence our future directly from Stormont.  

“Let us not continue to dwell in the past, but take the opportunity to build a Northern Ireland that can work and deliver.”