Conservative leader David Cameron got a rapturous reception today at the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) conference after hailing his support for the union between Northern Ireland and Britain.
Mr Cameron was keynote speaker at the UUP annual conference in Belfast to mark the decision of the two parties to form a new political alliance which will see candidates fielded in Northern Ireland on a joint ticket.
And while Mr Cameron underlined his desire to move away from the orange and green politics of the past, he overturned Conservative rhetoric of the past to insist he had a selfish and strategic interest in Northern Ireland.
"Northern Ireland has made great strides forward over the past 15 years," he said.
"The paramilitary campaigns have ended. New investment has come in. Devolution has been restored.
"For the first time in over a generation we can all look forward to a shared future underpinned by democracy and the rule of law.
"As Prime Minister I will always honour Britain's international obligations.
"I will continue to work closely and constructively with our nearest neighbours in the Republic of Ireland and I will always uphold the democratic wishes of people here in respect of their constitutional future."
Mr Cameron sparked applause from his audience when he added: "But I will never be neutral when it comes to expressing my support for the Union.
"So, today, let us pledge ourselves to come together as Conservatives and Unionists in a new and dynamic political force in Northern Ireland.
"For the good of our parties.
"But, above all, for the good of the people and our United Kingdom."
UUP leader Sir Reg Empey later told the conference that the new alliance with the Conservatives offered the chance to forge a dynamic new unionism which would strengthen Northern Ireland links with rest of the UK.
The Ulster Unionist sitting MEP Jim Nicholson will be the first to stand on the joint ticket when he defends his seat in the European elections next June. The parties also intend to fight the next Westminster election together, fielding joint candidates across Northern Ireland.
The new alliance was formally backed by the UUP executive last month and Sir Reg said the decision would bolster the union.
He added: "An Ulster Unionist-Conservative relationship which shifts Northern Ireland from the 'edge of the Union' to the very heart of the United Kingdom — that's what the Conservative Party believes in and that's what the Ulster Unionist Party believes in."
Northern Ireland Assembly member Declan O'Loan of the SDLP said the UUP pact with the Conservative Party was a move into the past.
"This move seems to me characteristic of the nostalgia that I believe the UUP has for a past that is never coming back," he said.
"It is a pretence to think that the future of Northern Ireland can be found in conjunction with a party whose appeal is that it might become the government of the United Kingdom.
"The future for unionism is to work out its development on this island and find its partners in the north and south of Ireland."
PA