ULSTER UNIONISTS and the British Conservative party have endorsed an electoral pact that will see the parties combine to fight every Northern constituency in EU and Westminster elections.
The rival DUP has criticised the agreement as a threat to unionist unity which will help both Sinn Féin and the SDLP hold on to Westminster seats that would otherwise he in unionist hands.
The agreement commits them to run agreed candidates in next year's European election and the next British parliamentary election.
The two parties broke from a formal alliance in the aftermath of the Anglo-Irish Agreement signed by Margaret Thatcher and Garret FitzGerald in 1985 which unionists opposed. Lord Trimble, UUP leader Sir Reg Empey's predecessor, claimed his aim was to place his party at the centre of British politics at Westminster.
This latest announcement, unionists believe, gives some effect to that policy.
Welcoming the development, Conservative leader David Cameron said: "For too long Northern Ireland has been outside of the mainstream of politics in the UK.
"This new political force will help change that, and allow everyone in Northern Ireland to participate fully in political life both in Northern Ireland and throughout the United Kingdom."
Alliance Assembly member Stephen Farry claimed the move was a "bizarre" one for the Tory leader who was trying to refashion the party's image.
"Through this pact, he has linked his party to identity politics and tribal headcounts rather than dealing with the issues and building a modern, shared society," Dr Farry said.
"The Conservatives are now signed up to a message that what matters above all else is that unionists are returned in elections irrespective of the issues."
DUP Assembly member Michelle McIlveen also questioned the move, saying: "I would remind them that the DUP is actively working to unite the unionist community and further secure Northern Ireland's place inside the United Kingdom."
However, Sir Reg said: "Our main aim is to give us a genuine link into the politics of the rest of the UK. When we have for years had others building with the South [ of Ireland], we need to build real political links with the UK."
Sir Reg rejected criticism from another DUP member that his agreement with the Conservatives would split the unionist vote.
David Simpson, the Upper Bann Assembly member and the MP who defeated David Trimble in the last Westminster election, accused the UUP of guaranteeing Sinn Féin would hold the Fermanagh-South Tyrone seat while SDLP deputy leader Alasdair McDonnell would retain South Belfast.
Sir Reg countered: "Mr Simpson should remember the DUP were the original vote splitters . . . when they were formed in the 1970s and all that unfolded after that."