Nationalism debate:Northern Ireland's so-called 'chuckle brothers' Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness would have found little to smile about during the UUP's debate on the threat of rising nationalism in the UK.
First Minister Ian Paisley was dubbed a "street corner bigot" by assembly member David Burnside, in his speech during the debate. Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness was a "psychopathic mass murderer", according to Mr Burnside.
"I believe they are both a threat to a union," he said. According to Mr Burnside, the First Minister was allying himself with nationalist leaders in Scotland, Wales, Ulster and Ireland.
"The union is under great, great threat," he warned.
"They want to turn the advantages of a local assembly into a coalition of nationalists, an axis to break up the United Kingdom.
Mr Burnside was speaking on a unanimously passed motion that the UUP promote an overarching pan-UK unionism.
He also urged the party to consider forming an opposition at Stormont and "not to be tainted by a SF/DUP government".
Assembly member Danny Kennedy said nationalism had caused more wars and human misery than almost anything else.
He criticised Mr Paisley and Mr McGuinness for their failure to get an adequate financial deal for Northern Ireland from the British Exchequer.
"They promised the mother and father of a financial deal to go along with the mother and father of a political deal.
"The idea of being self-sufficient, best summed up by Sinn Féin's 'ourselves alone', is just not tenable."
According to Mr Kennedy, the murder of Paul Quinn in Cullyhanna in Mr Kennedy's constituency last week highlighted the marriage of convenience between Sinn Féin and the DUP. The parties "are making strenuous efforts to dampen down any thought of political crisis because it is not in their political interest," he said.
"They may loathe each other but they know that they need each other," he added.