Ulster Unionist leader Steve Aiken has pledged his party will formally attend the annual Belfast Pride parade for the first time when it resumes following the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr Aiken acknowledged his party has work to do to attract more women, young people and the LGBT community.
The UUP has never joined the Pride parade formally as a party, but some elected reps have attended in previous years in a personal capacity.
In 2019 a group of Ulster Unionists attending the parade displayed a banner with a rainbow-coloured Union flag.
Mr Aiken said the party had intended to take part last year before it was cancelled due to the pandemic, but he pledged they will attend on the next occasion.
"The Ulster Unionist Party will be parading at Belfast Pride, and I'll be there," he told Belfast Live.
"Under my leadership, I can guarantee you, providing it goes ahead, and I do hope it does go ahead, I'll be there with the banner, marching."
He defended the party having a "conscience position" for matters such as same-sex marriage, which was legalised in Northern Ireland last year by Westminster during Stormont's hiatus following the RHI scandal.
Mr Aiken said he personally supports same-sex marriage, and the UUP having a free vote on such matters helped him join the party and enter politics.
The South Antrim MLA said he wants to make the UUP "much more representative of the people of Northern Ireland".
"We need more women members. We need younger members coming through. We need to be reaching out to more people in the LGBTQ community," he said.
"All those things are things that we need to be doing, and that is part of a leadership journey, and that's a journey that I am on, and I want to keep that path going."
