Independent Unionist
Encyclopedia
See also Independent (politician)
.
Independent Unionist has been a label sometimes used by candidates in elections in the United Kingdom
, indicating a support for Unionism, retaining the unity of the British state.
It is most popularly associated with candidates in elections for the Parliament of Northern Ireland
. Such candidates supported the positions of Unionism in Northern Ireland
but, for various reasons, could not reconcile to themselves to the Ulster Unionist Party
or other leading groups. It was also used by Unionists in what became the Irish Free State, as they were unionists, but not in Ulster. The label was also used in Scotland, demonstrating an association with ideology of the Unionist Party, the predecessor to the modern Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
.
At the Northern Ireland general election, 1938
Tommy Henderson
and five defeated candidates stood for the "Independent Unionist Association
", which was distinct from other Independent Unionists.
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
.
Independent Unionist has been a label sometimes used by candidates in elections in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, indicating a support for Unionism, retaining the unity of the British state.
It is most popularly associated with candidates in elections for the Parliament of Northern Ireland
Parliament of Northern Ireland
The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended...
. Such candidates supported the positions of Unionism in Northern Ireland
Unionism in Ireland
Unionism in Ireland is an ideology that favours the continuation of some form of political union between the islands of Ireland and Great Britain...
but, for various reasons, could not reconcile to themselves to the Ulster Unionist Party
Ulster Unionist Party
The Ulster Unionist Party – sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or, in a historic sense, simply the Unionist Party – is the more moderate of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland...
or other leading groups. It was also used by Unionists in what became the Irish Free State, as they were unionists, but not in Ulster. The label was also used in Scotland, demonstrating an association with ideology of the Unionist Party, the predecessor to the modern Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party is the part of the British Conservative Party that operates in Scotland. Like the UK party, it has a centre-right political philosophy which promotes conservatism and strong British Unionism...
.
At the Northern Ireland general election, 1938
Northern Ireland general election, 1938
-References:*...
Tommy Henderson
Tommy Henderson
Thomas Gibson Henderson was an Ulster independent Unionist politician. He served in the House of Commons of Northern Ireland from 1925 to 1953 in vigorous opposition to the Unionist governments on all issues other than the partition of Ireland, and is famous for having at one stage spoken for...
and five defeated candidates stood for the "Independent Unionist Association
Independent Unionist Association
The Independent Unionist Association or Independent Unionist Party was a political party in Northern Ireland.The organisation was founded in 1937, shortly before the announcement of the Northern Ireland general election, 1938. It consisted of a disparate group of independent Unionists, and...
", which was distinct from other Independent Unionists.
Notable users of the title
- George Hanna was an early independent Unionist, representing East AntrimEast Antrim (UK Parliament constituency)East Antrim is a Parliamentary Constituency in the House of Commons and also an Assembly constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly. It has voted for Unionist candidates since its re-creation in 1983.-Boundaries:...
in the British House of CommonsBritish House of CommonsThe House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
from 1919. - Tommy HendersonTommy HendersonThomas Gibson Henderson was an Ulster independent Unionist politician. He served in the House of Commons of Northern Ireland from 1925 to 1953 in vigorous opposition to the Unionist governments on all issues other than the partition of Ireland, and is famous for having at one stage spoken for...
represented Belfast ShankillBelfast Shankill (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)Belfast Shankill was a constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland.-Boundaries:Belfast Shankill was a borough constituency comprising part of northern Belfast...
from 1929 to 1953 as an independent Unionist. - James Woods GyleJames Woods GyleJames Woods Gyle was an Independent Unionist politician in Northern Ireland, member of the Parliament of Northern Ireland. He was suspended from the Orange Order in 1934 for seven years, because he visited Joseph Devlin MP for Belfast Central on his deathbed.He was elected in the Northern Ireland...
, a member of both houses of the Parliament of Northern IrelandParliament of Northern IrelandThe Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended...
and a contemporary of Henderson, was an independent Unionist throughout his political career. - James BrownJames Brown (Northern Ireland politician)James Brown was a Unionist politician and journalist in Northern Ireland.Brown stood as an independent Farmers and New Industries candidate in South Down at the Northern Ireland general election, 1938...
contested the Northern Ireland general election, 1945 under this label. - Norman PorterNorman PorterNorman Porter was a loyalist politician in Northern Ireland.A lay preacher, an Orangeman, an Apprentice Boy and a member of the Royal Black Institution, Porter became the leader of the National Union of Protestants in Northern Ireland in 1948. Ian Paisley joined the Union in about 1950, but left...
was elected for Belfast CliftonBelfast Clifton (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)Belfast Clifton was a constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland.-Boundaries:Belfast Clifton was a borough constituency comprising part of northern Belfast...
in the 1953 electionNorthern Ireland general election, 1953-References:*...
on this ticket. - Lloyd Hall-ThompsonLloyd Hall-ThompsonRobert Lloyd Hall-Thompson TD , known as Lloyd Hall-Thompson, was a Unionist politician in Northern Ireland.Born in Belfast, Hall-Thompson was the son of Samuel Hall-Thompson, and grandson of Rt. Hon. Robert Thompson MP. He studied at Campbell College in Belfast and joined the Ulster Unionist...
would later hold the same seat as an independent Unionist. - George ForrestGeorge Forrest (politician)George Forrest was a Unionist politician in Northern Ireland who served as MP for Mid Ulster from 1956 until his death...
won the Mid Ulster by-election, 1956Mid Ulster by-election, 1956The by-election held in Mid Ulster on 8 May 1956 was called because both candidates in the Mid Ulster by-election, 1955 were disqualified. Tom Mitchell was disqualified from assuming office because he was a convicted felon. Charles Beattie was awarded the seat but he was also disqualified because...
as an independent Unionist before switching to the Ulster Unionist PartyUlster Unionist PartyThe Ulster Unionist Party – sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or, in a historic sense, simply the Unionist Party – is the more moderate of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland...
. - Ian Smith stood unsuccessfully as an Independent Unionist candidate in the 1963 Kinross and West Perthshire by-electionKinross and West Perthshire by-election, 1963The Kinross and West Perthshire by-election of 7 November 1963 was a by-election to the House of Commons. It was unique among by-elections since 1918 in that one of the candidates was the sitting Prime Minister, Sir Alec Douglas-Home; he had been nominated for the constituency after disclaiming a...
in ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, which was won by the then Conservative and Unionist Party leader and Prime Minister of the United KingdomPrime Minister of the United KingdomThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, Alec Douglas-HomeAlec Douglas-HomeAlexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT, PC , known as The Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963 and as Sir Alec Douglas-Home from 1963 to 1974, was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1963 to October 1964.He is the last...
. - Bertie McConnellBertie McConnellRobert Dodd McConnell, known as Bertie McConnell is a former Army officer and politician in Northern Ireland.McConnell was born in Bangor, County Down, and served in the British Army in World War II. During the war, he lost his sight....
was elected to the NI Parliament under this banner in 1969. - Hugh SmythHugh SmythCllr Hugh Smyth is a former leader of the Progressive Unionist Party. He is a long-serving member of Belfast City Council and former Lord Mayor of Belfast. He is also the longest-serving member of the council, having represented the Upper Shankill areas since 1973...
served in both the Northern Ireland Assembly (1973)Northern Ireland Assembly (1973)The Northern Ireland Assembly was a legislative assembly set up by the Government of the United Kingdom on 3 May 1973 to restore devolved government to Northern Ireland with the power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive made up of unionists and nationalists....
and the Northern Ireland Constitutional ConventionNorthern Ireland Constitutional ConventionThe Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention was an elected body set up in 1975 by the UK Labour government of Harold Wilson as an attempt to deal with constitutional issues surrounding the status of Northern Ireland....
as an independent unionist. - Frank MillarFrank MillarFrank Millar was a Northern Irish unionist politician.Millar worked in the shipyards, where he became a shop steward, before becoming a founder member of Ulster Protestant Action in 1956....
was elected to both the Northern Ireland Constitutional ConventionNorthern Ireland Constitutional ConventionThe Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention was an elected body set up in 1975 by the UK Labour government of Harold Wilson as an attempt to deal with constitutional issues surrounding the status of Northern Ireland....
and the Northern Ireland Assembly (1982) as an independent Unionist. - Dorothy DunlopDorothy DunlopDorothy Dunlop is a former Ulster Unionist and Conservative politician.Dunlop worked in the Arts Council in London and the for BBC Northern Ireland...
campaigned under this label before joining the Conservative PartyConservative Party (UK)The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
. - William BleakesWilliam BleakesWilliam Bleakes was a Unionist and Conservative councillor and Assembly member in the Lisburn area.Bleakes was first elected to Lisburn Borough Council in 1977 as a United Ulster Unionist Party councillor for 'Area B' With the UUUP in decline, he switched to the Ulster Unionist Party and was...
used the term following his departure from the Conservatives. - Fraser AgnewFraser AgnewWilliam Alexander Fraser Agnew, known as Fraser Agnew, is a politician in Northern Ireland.After growing up in Ballyclare, Agnew studied at the University of Ulster, Jordanstown, Belfast Technical College and the College of Business Studies...
, Boyd DouglasBoyd DouglasAlbert Boyd Douglas, known as Boyd Douglas is a politician in Northern Ireland.Douglas attended Strabane Agriculture College before working as a farmer...
and Denis WatsonDenis Watson (politician)Denis Watson is a former politician in Northern Ireland.Watson worked as a financial consultant and became the Grand Master of the County Armagh Orange Lodge. He was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1998 as an independent Unionist representing Upper Bann...
used the title before forming the United Unionist CoalitionUnited Unionist CoalitionThe United Unionist Coalition, formerly known as the United Unionist Assembly Party, was formed by three unionist members of the Northern Ireland Assembly who were elected as "independent unionists" in 1998. They were Fraser Agnew, Boyd Douglas and Denis Watson...
. - Pauline ArmitagePauline ArmitagePauline Armitage is a former politician in Northern Ireland.Based in Coleraine, Armitage joined the Young Unionists in 1969. She served in the Ulster Defence Regiment before being elected to Coleraine Borough Council for the Ulster Unionist Party in 1985...
briefly used the designation before joining the UK Unionist PartyUK Unionist PartyThe UK Unionist Party was a small unionist political party operating in Northern Ireland from 1995 to 2008. It was nominally formed by Robert McCartney, formerly of the Ulster Unionist Party, to contest a by-election the North Down by-election, 1995 and then further constituted to contest the 1996...
. - Roger HutchinsonRoger HutchinsonRoger Hutchinson is a former politician in Northern Ireland.After attending Larne Technical College, Hutchinson became a religious minister. He also joined the Orange Order. He moved into business in 1990....
sat as an Independent Unionist following his expulsion from the Northern Ireland Unionist PartyNorthern Ireland Unionist PartyThe Northern Ireland Unionist Party was a small political party in Northern Ireland. It was formed in January 1999 as a splinter party from the UK Unionist Party . This split was caused by disagreement between the five UKUP members of the Northern Ireland Assembly...
. - Ivan DavisIvan Davis (politician)Ivan Davis is a Unionist politician in Northern Ireland.Born in Lisburn, Davis was elected to Lisburn Borough Council in 1973, representing the Democratic Unionist Party . He was also elected to represent South Antrim at the Northern Ireland Assembly election, 1982.In 1987, Davis resigned from...
ran as independent Unionist after failing to secure selection as UUP candidature for the Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2003Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2003The second elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly, which at the time of the elections had been suspended for just over a year, were held on Wednesday 26 November 2003. Six members were elected by Single Transferable Vote from each of Northern Ireland's eighteen Westminster Parliamentary...
. He has subsequently returned to the UUP.