Stormont needs to launch a loyalist forum to fully represent the views of working class Protestants who increasingly see 'Loyal Ulster' as the coldest political icebox for them in the Union.
Okay, the days of Shankill Shinner Syndrome are still a long way off – when working class Prods will turn out in their thousands to 'Votail Sinn Féin' because the Unionist parties have snubbed loyalism.
The body which contributed most to bringing loyalism in from the cold was the old Northern Ireland Forum for Political Dialogue, which sat between 1996 and 1998 and was the forerunner of the current Assembly.
While the Shinners adopted their outdated abstentionist stance towards the Forum, the two main parties representing the range of loyalist death squads took their seats.
Ironically, the rot in loyalism began when Gary McMichael – son of murdered UFF brigadier John – failed to win an Assembly seat in Lagan Valley in 1998.
The gulf between working class republicanism and working class loyalism could not now be wider. Sinn Féin is the largest nationalist party in the Assembly, while loyalists have to wait cap in hand for whatever crumbs fall from the table of the now liberal and middle class DUP.
And it is not just a question of who can represent the views of the UVF and UDA in the Stormont Chamber, but who will become the voice of the entire working class loyalist community?
The Ulster Unionists are on their last legs politically and were always seen as the party of 'Big House Unionism'.
The DUP needed to steal middle class voters to beat the Shinners – no more tramping round loyalist council estates with 'kick the pope' bands thundering out the Sash, Derry's Walls and yelling 'No Surrender'!
And republicans should not dismiss the plight of loyalism as merely 'a Prod problem'. It is clear dissident republicans want to provoke a backlash from loyalist death squads.
The chances of this happening increase if the loyalist community lacks effective political representation at Stormont, especially as the credit crunch cuts bite deeper.
The danger is that loyalist frustration over a lack of social housing could trigger riots over the marching season.
Accusing fingers have been pointed at Unionist parties that they deliberately allowed Protestant homes along interface areas – especially in Belfast – to lie derelict to prevent Catholic families from moving into what was once thriving loyalist estates.
With loyalist political parties in terminal decline like the UUP, forming yet another movement is a waste of time. Loyalists don't need a party vehicle – they need a political voice.
Back channels and secret talks are all very well, but they take time and are very slow. The Loyalist Forum will mean direct, face to face talking between MLAs and senior civil servants.
When it comes to getting benefits and conditions for the Catholic working class, the Shinners are streets ahead of Unionists.
Time is not on Stormont's side. How long will MLAs, especially from the Unionist community, sit on their asses and wait while loyalists watch thousands of pounds being poured into nationalist districts thanks to the Shinners' hard work?
At some point, if this is allowed to continue, the loyalist bubble will burst.
Memo to the Stormont Executive – get that fecking Forum up and running now. Remember how the Catholic civil right movement was hijacked by the Provos.
Unionists need to be aware a similar loyalist civil rights organisation is not taken over by the death squads.
