Senior Ulster Unionist sources have expressed concern about the formation of a powerful pressure group within the party which they fear will ultimately challenge the leadership.
Union First, which has the support of five UUP MPs and the former party leader, Lord Molyneaux, was launched at a press conference in Belfast yesterday. It denied aiming to oust the party leader, Mr David Trimble, and said it was committed only to voicing grassroots concerns about the peace process.
However, senior UUP sources loyal to Mr Trimble are unconvinced. Union First is demanding the leadership hold a ballot of the 900-member Ulster Unionist Council on allowing Sinn Fein into the new executive.
The group's trustees are the five dissident MPs, Mr Willie Ross, Mr Willie Thompson, Mr Jeffrey Donaldson, Mr Roy Beggs and Mr Clifford Forsythe. Three of the UUP's four honorary secretaries - Ms Arlene Foster, Mr David Brewster and Mr Jim Rodgers - are on its steering committee, as is the chairman of the Young Unionists, Mr Peter King.
The group says it has the support of at least 30 UUP councillors across the North.
Union First's aims include denying any position in the Stormont executive for those not committed to exclusively peaceful means and opposing any executive role in the North for the Dublin Government.
Mr Brewster expressed concern that his party appeared to have an almost normal relationship with Sinn Fein, with meetings taking place regularly between the parties. There had been no debate in the UUP about this, he said.
If the leadership refused to hold a ballot on allowing Sinn Fein into government it would show it was scared of the outcome. Union First members said they simply wanted to ensure Mr Trimble's stated view that Sinn Fein could not enter government without decommissioning.
There is great antipathy towards the group among Trimble supporters. One described it as "a ragbag collection of prima donnas and has-beens". The UUP MP, Mr Ken Maginnis, described Union First as "self-indulgent and foolish".
But Mr Donaldson said: "Ken is entitled to his opinion and so are the people who formed this group. I hope Ken's not attempting to deny them that. This is not about personalities, not about who leads the party, it is not about undermining David Trimble. It is about grassroots unionists putting forward ideas." Mr Sean Farren of the SDLP described the new group as "old-fashioned and out of touch". He claimed the only difference between Union First and the DUP was "the DUP are honest about their intentions". Mr Farren added: "These people are trying to turn the new Stormont into what the old Stormont was. Their agenda is unionist first, not agreement first."
Sinn Fein challenged Union First to publicly debate the peace process with republicans. It said the vast majority of people had voted for the agreement and the group was adopting a "backward" position.
The Alliance leader, Mr Sean Neeson, described Union First as "a front for elderly unionist dinosaurs opposed to the agreement" who seemed determined to block progress in the Assembly.
However, the UK Unionist party said UUP grassroots had made it clear to the leadership they would not accept Sinn Fein in government until the IRA had substantially decommissioned.