Peter Robinson is one of Northern Ireland's best known and most highly respected unionist leaders. He has been the Member of Parliament for East Belfast for twenty-six years. Peter was the youngest MP in the United Kingdom when he was elected in 1979. No other MP in the history of Parliamentary democracy has served the constituency for as long a period. We contend Peter is not only the longest serving but also the best MP East Belfast has ever had.

Peter Robinson has been the voice of unionism in East Belfast and indeed for the wider unionist community for many years and has been instrumental in the present unionist revival which has come as a result of DUP leadership and strategy. While the UUP under David Trimble and Reg Empey caved into Sinn Fein/IRA Peter Robinson consistently refused to yield to the IRA's terms and stood out as one of the few who warned of the ploy to develop the Republican Agenda through the Belfast Agreement. In the years that followed he charted a course to lead unionism from the crisis the UUP had generated onto firmer ground.

Now, only eighteen months since the DUP gained the leadership of unionism the pan-nationalist front has been smashed, the London/Dublin/ Washington support for nationalism and which put pressure on unionism has been turned around and the IRA is under pressure never experienced by it before. The days of push-over unionism are over. There can be no return to the bad old days of incompetent UUP leadership.

It is vital that East Belfast keeps in place its wisest, strongest and best respected advocate. In doing this East Belfast will return for the whole Province an adept champion and trusted defender of the unionist cause.