My resignation of the whip of the Ulster Unionist Party has been a profoundly difficult decision to take. My entire political life has been spent working to build up a successful, inclusive Unionist party and I have never belonged to any other Unionist party. For none of us who have resigned the whip — Rev Martin Smyth, David Burnside, and myself, with support from the former party leader, Lord Molyneaux — has it been some spur of the moment decision. We have been left with no choice by our party leadership: we cannot, and will not, prop up any more appeasement of the Provisional IRA.

The immediate cause of our difference with David Trimble is the UUP’s attitude to the British and Irish Governments’ Joint Declaration. This, in keeping with most other things that have happened since David signed the Good Friday agreement, is one long list of concessions to Sinn Fein/IRA. For that’s the way “politics” in Northern Ireland has worked since 1998. The Ulster Unionist leadership have done everything asked of them by that agreement. Much of it, including the release of murderers on to our streets, has been extremely painful.

But then on top of that, in response to constant pressure from Republicans and the Irish Government, demands have been extorted from Unionism far in excess of what was agreed five years ago. Now the Joint Declaration takes us into even more dangerous territory, with the Irish Government given a key role in the workings of the Northern Ireland Assembly, a fundamental breach of a Unionist principle.

On top of this, the future of the locally recruited Royal Irish Regiment is thrown in doubt and many fear its demise just like the RUC before it. Add to this the proposed amnesty for IRA terrorists “on the run” from justice and you have an idea of just how one-sided this process has become.

This failure of tactical nous by the UUP has been matched by a complete failure of the Republican movement to do the one thing asked of it, and disarm. Yet with the collapse of the assembly and the cancellation of elections, it has been democrats like myself who have had to pay for this arrogant refusal of unrepentant terrorists finally to become politicians.

The IRA is being allowed far too easily to put its sins behind it, but such is the unwillingness of Sinn Fein to make this process work on any terms other than its own, that it hasn’t even made a gesture to help David Trimble out. In consequence, the UUP, which began this process with ten MPs has been reduced to just three, the smallest party in parliament along side the sinking SDLP. David Trimble cannot claim that his policy is supported by a majority of Unionists.

It is essential that we remove Sinn Fein’s veto on political progress. Politics in the Province have been suspended since the IRA spy ring at Stormont brought the issue of Sinn Fein’s unwillingness to become a normal political party to a head. In the absence of Sinn Fein agreeing to reform, a “pause button” has been pressed. Which is odd because when the constitutional, and more electorally popular, DUP dissents from a political development, it’s criticisms are ignored.

For the “peace process” to work, there has to be an agreement that commands Unionist support as well as nationalist. For the UUP to work, it has to be led in a direction that a broad consensus of its members is content to follow. No longer can Unionism negotiate in a weak and dysfunctional state. Our goal is to realign Unionists into a force capable of defending the Union, and repairing the damage already done. It is questionable whether David Trimble can deliver this.

The author is MP for Lagan Valley