The Ulster Unionists at last have a rallying cry - an inclusive Northern Ireland at the centre of British politics
PERHAPS MAKING one's grand entrance at a Northern party conference to a pop tune by a band called The Killers was something of an oversight, but not a very big one. It was a small concern amid some very grand things.
Notable qualities of this Ulster Unionist Party conference included its harmony, its scale - more people than the DUP rallied to its annual meeting - and, crucially, its star attraction with a big idea.
The mood music was always harmonious, aided by the luscious string quartet at the lunch interval, and a far cry from the discordant days before Jeffrey and Arlene and the others quit Trimble for the DUP.
Ulster Unionists, at last, have a rallying cry. A new and inclusive Northern Ireland at the centre of British politics, aligned to a party (potentially) of government.
It's an idea that appeals greatly to a great swathe of ordinary unionists who want little more than a sense of security within the union and the peace to get on with life. Sir Reg hopes that David Cameron can help him provide just that.
The Tory prime minister-in-waiting went down a storm with what was the most energised Ulster Unionist conference in years.
Looking to a Union with Northern Ireland at the centre rather than "on the ledge", Cameron offered little Ulster a seat at the top table.
He portrayed a truly united UK as the world's fifth-biggest economy with the best military forces, a strong presence within the EU and the holder of a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
The bonds of the relationship between province and mainland had been tempered by fire in times of war, he said.
He tied in references to both Ian Gow and Airey Neave, murdered in the Troubles, as great Conservatives and defenders of the union.
Their struggle was the cause of democrats and unionists together.
Appealing to so-called garden-centre Prods - the "soft" unionist who rarely bothers to vote - that the new relationship between Tories and unionists will enable more people to participate in non-sectarian politics, from the council chamber right the way up to the British cabinet table, he offered unionists a chance to be involved in all issues of UK policy, not just the devolved bits.
"Semi-detached status needs to end," he preached. How they loved it - and there was more. Tribute was paid to Reg Empey's leadership. None of the advances of the Belfast Agreement would have been secured without the steadfastness of the UUP, he said. "I salute you for what you did." He was in Belfast "for the union, for democracy and for the UUP". Their two parties will be the only party standing in every seat in every part of the UK on a joint manifesto.
It allowed Sir Reg to claim: "This opens the door to the normalisation of unionism within the UK." Their DUP opponents were portrayed as narrow, sectarian and in tow with the Shinners.
Afterwards the flat-screen TVs in the bars and restaurants relayed the BBC news pictures of the leaders of the Ulster Unionists and the Conservative Party, arms raised in triumph before an enthusiastic audience.
Maybe it will work. Maybe the recovery has indeed started.