Local government elections in Northern Ireland offer voters a "clear choice between delivery or dysfunction", Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie has said.
Launching his party's election manifesto in Belfast, Mr Beattie said councils are "vital, now more than ever, while Stormont remains mothballed".
He said unionist concerns over post-Brexit trade under the Northern Ireland Protocol cannot be ignored, but argued that power-sharing must be restored to "deal with the challenges".
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With Northern Ireland under budgetary pressure, Mr Beattie said: "It is unconscionable that as cuts to services grow deeper, Stormont remains on ice."
The UUP is running 101 candidates across the 11 councils for the election, which takes place on May 18.
At the last local government election in 2019, the party's representation fell to 75 seats with a loss of 13 and just two councillors elected in Belfast.
Mr Beattie told the manifesto launch the election is taking place against the backdrop of the DUP continuing to block forming an Executive in protest against the protocol.
The UK government and European Union recently signed the Windsor Framework in a bid to address issues with the protocol, but the DUP has continued to raise concerns.
Speaking at the Linen Hall Library, Mr Beattie said: "Local government has been a constant. Delivered without breaks, without dramas, through changing times and changing environments.
"I want to see Northern Ireland councils continue to be the heart of decision-making within the communities they represent.
"This is vital, now more than ever, while Stormont remains mothballed.
"This election offers a clear choice between delivery or dysfunction.
"I do not want to see our councils become a series of mini-Stormonts where the toxicity that has frustrated the Assembly and Executive takes root.
"We cannot afford to see local government grind to a halt."
Mr Beattie also said barriers to trade with Great Britain under the protocol were "disastrous" and continue to have a "damaging effect on politics in Northern Ireland".
He said: "The Ulster Unionist Party warned of the dangers from the moment Boris Johnson's proposals emerged on October 2 2019.
"We have been definitive in our opposition throughout and have articulated the many pitfalls of the protocol."
He added: "In the years since, we have consistently played our part in providing alternative solutions and lobbied for change across the United Kingdom and European Union.
“We are now presented with the Windsor Framework. It provides both challenges and opportunities. It also represents what many said was impossible – further movement from the European Union.
"What we can now not afford is for decisions that impact on Northern Ireland to continue to be made over our heads.
"That is why it is the firm belief of the Ulster Unionist Party that the Assembly and Executive must be restored to deal with the challenges still posed by the Windsor Framework and to grasp its opportunities.
"Unionism can use the platform of having ministers and assembly members in place to make further progress on these issues, all while dealing with the growing pressures in our Health Service and other areas.
"It is unconscionable that as cuts to services grow deeper, Stormont remains on ice.
"As well as maintaining our place in the United Kingdom, Unionism has a duty to make Northern Ireland work."
Mr Beattie said his party's manifesto pledges include pressing councils to consider appointing a "prompt payment champion" to address a late payment of invoices affecting small businesses.
Other pledges include pushing to devolve regeneration powers to councils with a focus on "overhauling planning powers, systems and approach".
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