The Ulster Unionist candidate in next week's Westminster by-election, Mr David Burnside, has said that he has not just shouted his support for the Union, he has worked hard to win friends for it in Britain.
The UUP candidate was speaking at a campaign rally in Templepatrick, Co Antrim, last night ahead of the South Antrim by-election on Thursday, September 21st. The seat was previously a safe UUP one. The Rev William McCrea of the DUP is challenging it.
Also addressing the rally were a Daily Telegraph leader-writer, Mr Dean Godson; Mr John Lloyd, assistant editor of the New Statesman; and Prof Paul Bew of Queen's University Belfast.
Mr Burnside said: "With the constitutional unravelling of the UK by Tony Blair and the present government, unionists must seize every opportunity to ally with friends and supporters in Great Britain.
"I have striven for years, through being a founder patron of the Friends of the Union, and in recent years as director of the unionist information office, to present the unionist cause to mainland British audiences.
"I have tried to cultivate friends and supporters in Fleet Street as well as figures like Lord Tebbit. This proves that I have not just shouted about the Union but worked to maintain and increase support for our cause.
"Unionism must not end up as a narrow inward-looking party of protest which talks big, delivers nothing and is essentially a turnoff to the pro-British people on the mainland whom we are trying to retain a union with."
In an analysis of the current state of unionism Prof Paul Bew said the loss of unionist support for the Belfast Agreement showed that unionist leaders needed to develop new ideas and strategies.
"It is not enough to say that the agreement is a partitionist settlement and unionists should go home contented. Many ordinary unionists are not buying this argument so those in favour of the agreement must take a more active approach.
"There has to be a battle of ideas across a wide front. The only grand unionist narrative of what has happened must not be the DUP one of betrayal."
About 150 people attended the meeting including two UUP MPs, Mr Jeffrey Donaldson and Mr Cecil Walker. Mr Godson said Mr Burnside was "an articulate and powerful voice" for unionists who was greatly respected by a wide range of politicians in London.
He would make an excellent MP and already had "a strong ambassadorial past" on behalf of the UUP. He correctly identified issues many ordinary British people were concerned about such as the threat to the RUC; the equality agenda which was really about "erasing British culture"; and the setting up of the Bloody Sunday inquiry which angered many ex-British servicemen.
Mr Lloyd said Mr Burnside was a man with extraordinary persuasive ability.