ULSTER Unionist leader Mike Nesbitt plans to work in partnership with the SDLP to create a "viable replacement" to Stormont’s ruling parties.
Outlining his vision of "new middle ground politics" at his party’s annual conference on Saturday, Mr Nesbitt said a vote for him would translate into a vote for SDLP leader Colum Eastwood and vice-versa.
The Ulster Unionist leader told around 300 delegates at Belfast’s Ramada Hotel that scrutiny of the executive was not synonymous with criticism but it meant "taking a close look at the words and deeds" of the DUP-Sinn Féin dominated government.
It was the former UTV anchorman’s fifth conference speech as leader and his first since his party helped form Stormont’s first official opposition for 40 years.
The Ulster Unionists' new role as the assembly’s largest opposition party was a recurring theme in Mr Nesbitt’s speech. He welcomed his SDLP counterpart’s presence at the conference and while acknowledging that the two may not see eye-to-eye on all issues, the UUP leader said they share the "common aim of making Northern Ireland work".
He said his party’s political enemies regarded an Ulster Unionist Party that was "outside the executive, free to criticise and offer alternatives" as a threat.
"Especially, an Ulster Unionist Party working well with the SDLP," he added.
Mr Nesbitt criticised the DUP’s assembly election campaign tactic of warning that Martin McGuinness could be elected first minister.
"Of course, the irony is this, when you vote Arlene, you’re basically guaranteed you get Marty – politically, they’re joined at the hip," he said.
"Maybe next time, we can persuade people if you vote Mike, you get Colum. If you vote Colum, you get Mike. If you vote for the middle ground, you get better."
The UUP leader said he wished to move to a "post-sectarian society" and a "post-peace process society" and was also critical of funding for community groups with paramilitary connections.
He noted how its was his predecessors in the UPP who said “just because you have a past does not mean you cannot have a future”.
“But that future has to be a 180 degree transformation of the past,” he said.
“I am talking about people who have shown energy and commitment, which they have used in the most awful, illegal and destructive ways. It is our responsibility to encourage those who still have energy and commitment to use it positively, for the benefit of their community.”
But the Strangford MLA said there should zero tolerance of those who exercised unwanted control over communities, lined their own pockets or damaged the international reputation of Northern Ireland through racketeering and organised crime.
“If working class unionist communities had wanted these gatekeepers to represent and lead them, they would have voted for them,” he said. “The gatekeepers would share the blue benches of the assembly but they don’t – although they may have proxies in the biggest party.”
Mr Nesbitt said he had little confidence in the elements of last year’s Fresh Start agreement dealing with paramilitarism.
“We do not want annual reports on progress towards the disbandment of paramilitary groups,” he said. “We want disbandment today, with sanctions for non-compliance.”
The Ulster Unionist leader criticised the executive for its response to June’s referendum vote, saying the DUP and Sinn Féin had no post-Brexit vision.
“No one doubts Northern Ireland will be the most affected nation or region of the United Kingdom by withdrawal from the European Union, yet extraordinarily, we are still the least prepared, because of the paralysis of our DUP-Sinn Féin government,” he said.
The Strangford MLA said the referendum result was final and that the focus must be on maximising opportunities for all the people of Northern Ireland.
