The Ulster Unionist Party is facing its toughest election ever because of its leaders' participation in government with Sinn Féin, a high profile critic of the Belfast Agreement claimed tonight.
South Belfast MP, the Reverend Martin Smyth warned the party was facing its hardest electoral challenge because of its involvement in the power sharing government in the absence of IRA disarmament.
Mr Smyth told a meeting of the anti-Agreement pressure group Union First in Templepatrick, Co Antrim: "We are putting ourselves before the electorate having been in government with Sinn Féin for a year without decommissioning - something we told them we would not do the last time we asked for their vote.
"Whatever happened to the principle of `jumping together'? We jumped a long time ago but the IRA has not budged."
The former Orange Order chief told Union First members the International Commission on Decommissioning had been a "complete failure, producing nothing substantive".
He complained all the people of Northern Ireland had had on the issue of paramilitary weapons was a "couple of inspections" by the independent arms inspectors, Martti Ahtisaari and Cyril Ramaphosa.
The Ulster Unionist MP noted Mr Ramaphosa seemed to be "distracted" by allegations within the African National Congress about his involvement in plots to oust the South African President Thabo Mbeki.
With the UUP facing desperate battles to hold onto its seats in West Tyrone, Fermanagh and South Tyrone and North Belfast against SDLP and Sinn Féin, he told the rally it was vital unionists "get their act together" in time for the general and local government elections. "At a time when nationalism is well organised and ready for a fight, all unionists have a responsibility to turn out and vote.
"Whilst I understand that for electoral advantage some wish to co-operate with parties which are not avowedly unionist, lessons of history tell us that it does not make sense to betray our unionist friends in order to placate our enemies."
There was veiled criticism of moves to deselect Assembly member Peter Weir as the UUP's Westminster candidate in North Down after his suspension from the party for defying the leadership over its participation in government with Sinn Féin.
The South Belfast MP told Union First it was "deeply unfortunate" that those who had once called for party unity were now concentrating on undermining UUP colleagues.
"There must be a realisation that nearly half the party and a significant number of our candidates hold a fundamentally different view on the political situation," he said.
"Under these circumstances our campaign should take that into account or our difficulties could be significantly increased."
PA