“The biggest mistake I have made in what passes for my political career was my support for the Belfast Agreement.  I should have gone with my gut instinct in 1998 and turned a deaf ear to the ‘wouldn’t-it-be-great-if-it-was-like-this-all-the-time’ propaganda.  Twelve years on and it is quite clear that unionism has been thoroughly weakened by the out-workings of this process.  Both the DUP and UUP are trapped in a system which can only inflict further damage upon their core beliefs.  What we have at Stormont is a travesty of democracy, an undermining of majority opinion and, worst of all, a laughing stock.  And, most dangerous of all, the longer it remains as it is then the worse it will be for unionism and the Union”.
 
This clear analysis of the present position of Ulster could have between written by anyone who shares the TUV opinion on the consequences of the Belfast, St. Andrews and Hillsborough stitchups.  It wasn’t – it is a straight quote of what Alex Kane published in his Newsletter column on the 22nd February this year.  I believe that this article reflects the views of tens of thousands of the Unionist population in Northern Ireland.
 
The outcome of the General Election, however, reveals in very harsh terms the gulf between understanding the nature of our problems and the need to remove from office those Unionist politicians who keep the charade on the world stage.
 
The confusion among our people as to the best way out of this mess is evident.        
 
They know what is wrong; they can’t decide on the direction they have to go and they are still clinging to the hope that their present representatives will take up a firm stance and stick to it.  Those who believed that at the last two elections for Europe and Westminster were gravely mistaken, and nothing has changed, or will change, under the present leadership of UUP or DUP. 
 
I take great encouragement from the increasing anger I hear on the ground for more and more people now see that the DUP are playing a political game, and losing every time because when the crunch comes, like the UUP before them, they always fold, and then claim, despite the clear facts, that they have won.  More and more people have seen through the false claims.  The result is that they don’t trust politicians anymore and that is why they don’t vote.  Further I believe that many will never vote for those who have let them down so badly.  Those folk also know, and those who do vote know, however, that not voting is very dangerous for the Union.  They are in a cleft stick and they are looking for someone to support, especially where and when republicans can’t win.
 
That is why, despite the disappointments of the last two years, I am convinced that we can win next year in both the Council and Stormont elections.  We have a clear understanding of the times we live in.  We know what must be done to secure our future and we are prepared to do it.  We will not lose sight of the end result that Republicanism seeks – we will not be misled by fair words, and therefore we can and will oppose and defeat their assaults on Northern Ireland.
 
We will not cave in to either threat or blandishment – nor will we be bought by gold or the trappings of a powerless position or office.  We know that tens of thousands, like Mr. Kane, accept that our analysis is correct.
 
We can, and will, work from now until May to convince those people to act and free Ulster from the monstrous system of Government with which we are saddled.
 
Start talking to your friends and neighbours now and we will take the first steps to the redemption of our land next May.