The Conservative Party's Northern Ireland spokesman, Mr Quentin Davies, says May elections to the Stormont Assembly should proceed as scheduled and that he sees "no constitutional basis" for their postponement.
Mr Davies' surprise intervention again puts him at odds with Mr David Trimble, and coincides with fresh Sinn Féin charges that the Ulster Unionist leader is attempting to block the election and so undermine the Belfast Agreement.
Mr Trimble has questioned the point of holding elections if the Assembly remains suspended. However Mr Davies says he sees no point in "putting off the evil day" and cites yesterday's UUP boycott of multi-party talks in Belfast in support of his view that the parties are unlikely to agree "a comprehensive settlement" of all the outstanding issues before the elections are held.
That assessment is not accepted by 10 Downing Street or the Northern Ireland Office, where cautious optimism is building that Thursday's talks between the Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, and the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, could prove significant in the search for agreement on "acts of completion" which might permit the early restoration of Northern Ireland's devolved structures.
However with Downing Street already signalling it would be difficult to postpone the elections, Mr Davies' opposition would seem to further reduce the likelihood of Mr Blair introducing the necessary legislation to do so at Westminster.
The election issue is certain to loom large in Mr Ahern's talks in Dublin today with the Sinn Féin president, Mr Gerry Adams, as it will tomorrow with the SDLP leader, Mr Mark Durkan, and on Thursday in London with Mr Trimble.
But with the Conservatives now adding their weight to the bandwagon for elections already favoured by Sinn Féin, the DUP, SDLP and the Irish Government, Mr Trimble's focus will be on the detail of any proposed deal between Mr Blair and Mr Adams over IRA "acts of completion" and reciprocal moves on demilitarisation, policing and other issues by the British government.
One serious possibility being canvassed in Ulster Unionist circles is that Mr Trimble might publicly oppose any such deal, or at least deem it insufficient, and contest the election without a commitment to return to the power-sharing executive.
Downing Street has been encouraged in the ongoing negotiation by the belief that UUP Assembly members calculate their best electoral chance lies in the successful return of devolution. The worry for Mr Blair will be that Mr Davies' comments will further incline Mr Trimble to stay his hand until the election outcome is clear, with the risk that a majority unionist bloc could emerge committed to a renegotiation of the entire Belfast Agreement.
Asked about the possibility that the "hardliners" might gain the upper hand, Mr Davies told The Irish Times: "It is for the Secretary of State to take the decision about suspension. I can see no constitutional basis for postponing elections. If there is one, I have yet to hear what it is."
Between now and May, Mr Davies said, it was "vital that every possible preparation" was made for the limited six-week "window of opportunity" which would arise following elections. He also warned: "Otherwise, if after six weeks - even after the elections - there is no agreement on a new Executive, then the institutions are suspended again, the whole of the peace process will be a laughing stock and will lose credibility disastrously, and we may never have another chance."