THE LEADERS of the Conservatives and the Ulster Unionists are today expected to outline their joint vision of Northern Ireland’s place within the United Kingdom.
David Cameron will address the annual conference of the UUP in Belfast in support of a new electoral arrangement between the two parties which he believes will allow Northern Ireland a more central position within the union.
The two parties have concluded a pact which will see agreed candidates fighting every seat in Northern Ireland.
Mr Cameron’s presence at the UUP conference is the most visible demonstration of the repaired relations between the two parties since Margaret Thatcher signed the Anglo-Irish Agreement in 1985 which was bitterly resented by unionists.
Ulster Unionist leader Sir Reg Empey is expected to use his address to proclaim that Mr Cameron would not be “neutral” on Northern Ireland’s place within the UK if elected prime minister at the next Westminster election.
He will tell delegates at one of the largest UUP conferences in recent years that the new Ulster Unionist-Conservative relationship will shift Northern Ireland away from a peripheral position in the UK and allow it the opportunity for less sectarian politics.
Both speeches are expected to underscore the importance of the constitutional integrity of the United Kingdom in the face of demands for greater regional autonomy within the union.
The conference will also provide a platform for MEP Jim Nicholson, who will defend his seat in next June’s EU parliamentary election.