Stewart Dickson said: “This election was neither needed nor wanted. On the doorsteps people are telling us how angry they are that real issues are being ignored as rival parties retreat to tribal politics.
“Calls for a border poll are an attempt to move the focus away from the real issues, like health and employment, that impact on people on a day to day basis.
“The border will not move one inch because of this election and should not be used to stir up fear amongst voters. The Good Friday Agreement clearly secures the future of the border in the hands of the people right across this island.
“Sinn Féin’s manifesto call for a border poll is a poor effort to cover their failure to deliver a united Ireland by 2016, while previous DUP support was an attempt to call Sinn Féin’s bluff.
“Voters will see through this scaremongering and realise that we need a functioning Executive – to set a budget, to address the crisis in our health service and school budgets, to provide job security to many public and community sector workers, and deliver a coherent plan to address Brexit. This election is a chance to make a change. For good.”