Mr David Trimble is confident he will see off an effective motion of "no confidence" in his leadership of the Ulster Unionist Assembly party at a meeting at Stormont this morning. Frank Millar, London Editor, reports.
The move - spearheaded by Mr David Burnside MP and Assembly members Mr Fred Cobain and Mr Danny Kennedy - is designed to fatally damage Mr Trimble's authority and persuade Sir Reg Empey, previously a minister in the power-sharing executive, to declare himself a candidate for the party leadership.
The party's rules require Mr Trimble to submit himself for re-election at the annual meeting of the ruling Ulster Unionist Council (UUC) due to be held on March 27th.
The trio wrote to the UUP chief whip Mr David McClarty on Friday asking him to arrange a vote to test "confidence" in Mr Trimble's leadership of the Assembly party.
And supporters of the move were predicting last night that as many as 10 or 12 of the UUP's 24 Assembly members could vote against Mr Trimble in any secret ballot.
However this was rubbished by sources close to Mr Trimble, even as party managers questioned whether the chief whip would accede to the request and whether Mr Trimble's opponents could then force a vote on the issue.
The Irish Times understands that the UUP Assembly party has no specific rules for dealing with such a situation.
One party veteran said the rules of the UUC made it clear that the elected leader of the party is automatically deemed leader in the House of Commons and any devolved Assembly of which he is a member.
The leadership appeared undecided last night as to its precise response to this challenge, with some advisers suggesting it could come down to the strength of feeling expressed at today's meeting and calculations as to whether Mr Trimble might be more damaged by being seen to resist a test of his authority.
At the same time those sources close to Mr Trimble made it clear that he would disregard any outcome at Stormont and expect to win against any challenger at the annual general meeting on March 27th.
It is also understood Mr Trimble does not believe Sir Reg will stand against him and that, in that event, Mr Burnside is most likely to stand in protest against his leadership but with no expectation of winning.
Sir Reg - once Mr Trimble's most loyal lieutenant and a key negotiator of the Belfast Agreement - has maintained a public silence despite his endorsement as a potential unity candidate by Mr Burnside, Lord Kilclooney (previously Mr Trimble's deputy, Mr John Taylor) and, at the weekend, by the former party leader Lord Molyneaux.
Calling for "an immediate change of management" in the party, Lord Molyneaux confirmed that he, too, would support Sir Reg at the head of the new "corporate leadership" team being promoted by Mr Burnside.
With Mr Burnside ruling himself out as a serious leadership contender, this would open the way for the Rev Martin Smyth MP to lead the party's five MPs at Westminster.
In his statement Lord Molyneaux said: "The truth is that a segment of our party is sleep-walking into extinction - blind to the stark verdict of the November election.
"That was the revenge of a betrayed electorate. Unless there is an immediate change of management there will be no return to power in my lifetime. As a party we cannot exist on hopes that something will turn up."