The Ulster Unionist and Democratic Unionist parties have taken a completely different approach to dissident voices within their ranks down the years.
Individuals who find themselves at odds with the DUP hierarchy – including such once prominent figures as Jim Allister, Alan Kane, the Rev William Beattie, the Rev Ivan Foster, George Graham and Ethel Smyth – tend to vanish from the political scene without trace.
Leadership challenges are unheard of, votes of confidence at executive level never arise and the culture of the party is based on a placid acceptance of existing policies.
The Ulster Unionists, in sharp contrast, have spent much of the last five years knifing each other in a very public way.
No key decision taken by the party ever seems to be binding, and the losing side in every vote simply resorts to an anachronistic rule book to keep the debate running.
A robust exchange of views can be healthy within politics but the Ulster Unionists have managed to take matters to a ridiculous level.
A major overhaul of the internal organisation of the Ulster Unionist Party is long overdue.
David Trimble, in general terms, may have transformed the image of unionism on the international stage but his failure to reform the machinery of his party continues to haunt him.
Even the smallest local authority has standing orders which prevent it wasting time through repeatedly discussing almost identical proposals.
However, every few months, the Ulster Unionist Council still assembles yet again to effectively review its attitude to the Good Friday Agreement.
Orange Order delegates, who in many cases are aligned to the DUP in all but name, are allowed to maintain a privileged position within the same council.
Senior MPs, including the party's president, refuse to follow the Ulster Unionist whip at Westminster but apparently cannot be subjected to any sustainable form of discipline.
Earlier this week Mr Trimble survived a no confidence motion before his own constituency association which had little obvious connection with Upper Bann and dealt with issues which had already been resolved by the Ulster Unionist Council.
The inevitable result of the exploitation of all these procedural loopholes is that Mr Trimble is made to look increasingly like a wounded general.
He has made a central contribution towards the cause of progress but it is difficult to see how he can go on facing one artificially-manufactured crisis after another.
The Ulster Unionist Party requires a structure which respects the authority of its leadership.
If it cannot provide this, the credibility of both its pro and anti-agreement wings will continue to decline.
