UUP leader Doug Beattie has insisted there will be no united Ireland for generations as he accused rivals of using Brexit's Protocol as an "election slogan". Launching his party manifesto ahead of May's Assembly elections, Mr Beattie said he believes there will be no constitutional change during his lifetime or the lifetime of his children.
He said problems with the Northern Ireland Protocol need resolved but uncertainty over the fate of the contentious trading barriers would not prevent his party re-entering government post-election. Making his pitch to voters, the Upper Bann representative described the UUP as a pro-Union party that will "do more than just say no".
The Stormont Executive collapsed in February when the DUP pulled Paul Givan out of the First Minister post in protest over the protocol. The DUP has since warned it will not return to power-sharing until its complaints about Irish Sea checks on goods are addressed.
