Unionists face call to reform or face extinction

THE Ulster Unionist Party must put its own house in order or face political extinction, a party strategist warned last night.

Alex Kane, an adviser to several Ulster Unionist Assembly members, called on colleagues to consider issues, including David Trimble’s leadership, if the UUP is to re-establish itself as the leading unionist voice.

In a speech to the south Belfast Ulster Unionist Association’s Breda branch, Mr Kane said the party had to face up to the reality that it was now attracting less than one in six of the 600,000 pro-union votes available in the North.