The Ulster Independence Movement was an Ulster nationalist

Ulster nationalism

Ulster nationalism is the name given to a school of thought in Northern Irish politics that seeks the independence of Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom without becoming part of the Republic of Ireland, thereby becoming an independent sovereign state separate from England, Scotland and Wales...

 political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 founded (as the Ulster Independence Committee) on 17 November 1988. The group emerged from the Ulster Clubs

Ulster Clubs

The Ulster Clubs was the name given to a network of unionist organisations founded in Northern Ireland in November 1985. Emerging from an earlier group based in Portadown the Ulster Clubs briefly mobilised wide support across Northern Ireland and sought to co-ordinate opposition to the development...

, after a series of 15 public meetings across Northern Ireland. Led by Hugh Ross

Hugh Ross (politician)

Hugh Ross is a Presbyterian minister and member of the Orange Order, who was previously the leader of the now defunct Ulster Independence Movement .-UIM leadership:...

, a Presbyterian

Presbyterianism

Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...

 minister from Dungannon

Dungannon

Dungannon is a medium-sized town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the third-largest town in the county and a population of 11,139 people was recorded in the 2001 Census. In August 2006, Dungannon won Ulster In Bloom's Best Kept Town Award for the fifth time...

, County Tyrone

County Tyrone

Historically Tyrone stretched as far north as Lough Foyle, and comprised part of modern day County Londonderry east of the River Foyle. The majority of County Londonderry was carved out of Tyrone between 1610-1620 when that land went to the Guilds of London to set up profit making schemes based on...

, the UIC sought to end what it saw as the tyranny of rule from London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 and Dublin and instead set up an independent Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

.

Early development

The UIC initially had a network of 11 branches and first entered the political arena in 1990 when Ross stood in a by-election for the Upper Bann

Upper Bann by-election, 1990

The 1990 by-election in Upper Bann was caused by the death of the sitting Ulster Unionist Party Member of Parliament Harold McCusker on February 2, 1990....

 constituency following the death of sitting MP Harold McCusker

Harold McCusker

James Harold McCusker was a Northern Ireland Ulster Unionist Party politician who served as his party's deputy leader....

. Finishing as fourth out of eleven candidates with 1534 votes (4.3%) (and ahead of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland

Alliance Party of Northern Ireland

The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland is a liberal and nonsectarian political party in Northern Ireland. It is Northern Ireland's fifth-largest party overall, with eight seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly and one in the House of Commons....

 candidate amongst others), the result indicated to the UIC that the potential for an Ulster nationalist party to gain some success was present.

The Committee reconstituted itself in 1994 as a full political party (largely as a reaction to the Downing Street Declaration

Downing Street Declaration

The Downing Street Declaration was a joint declaration issued on 15 December 1993 by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, John Major, and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland, Albert Reynolds at the British Prime Minister office in 10 Downing Street...

), changing its name to the UIM and putting forward Rev. Ross as a candidate in the 1994 elections to the European Parliament

European Parliament election, 1994 (UK)

The European Parliament Election, 1994 was the fourth European election to be held in the United Kingdom. It was held on 9 June, though, as usual, the ballots were not counted until the evening of 12 June. The electoral system was, for the final European election, First Past the Post in England,...

 (one of three pro-independence candidates to stand). Ross proved the most successful of the three, gaining 7,858 first preference votes (a 1.4% share) and retained his deposit. In the aftermath of this election a general meeting of pro-independence groups and individuals was organised by Rev Ross after overtures were sent out to David Kerr, Robert Mooney (the other two Ulster nationalist candidates in the European election) and the Ballymena-based Ulster Party. Mooney did not turn up but Kerr and Agnes McLeister of the Ulster Party agreed to pool resources and join forces with Ross's movement.

1996 Forum election

Buoyed by the relative success of the previous election and the influx of new affiliates the UIM put up 40 candidates in 18 seats in the Northern Ireland Forum

Northern Ireland Forum

The Northern Ireland Forum was a body set up in 1996 as part of a process of negotiations that eventually led to the Belfast Agreement in 1998....

 elections of 1996, representing its most high profile election campaign. With every seat contested as well as the regional list (which was headed by Ross) Kerr was placed as a candidate in North Belfast with McLeister in North Antrim, whilst other candidates who had or would go on to have a higher profile included Willie Frazer

Willie Frazer

William "Willie" Frazer is the founder and leader of Families Acting for Innocent Relatives in Northern Ireland. He was also a leader of the Love Ulster campaign.-Background:...

 in Newry and Armagh (who subsequently organized Families Acting for Innocent Relatives

Families Acting for Innocent Relatives

Families Acting for Innocent Relatives is a non-governmental organisation founded in 1998 in South Armagh, Northern Ireland. It describes itself as a "non-sectarian, non-political organisation" that works "in the interests of the innocent victims of terrorism in South Armagh."-Leadership:FAIR is...

 and Love Ulster

Love Ulster

Love Ulster was a campaign conducted in Northern Ireland in 2005-08 on behalf of unionist victims of the Troubles, organised by the County Armagh Protestant victims' group Families Acting for Innocent Relatives , led by Willie Frazer.-History:...

) and Kenny McClinton

Kenny McClinton

Kenneth McClinton is a Northern Irish pastor and sometime political activist. During his early years McClinton was an active member of the Ulster Defence Association...

 and Clifford Peeples

Clifford Peeples

Clifford Peeples is a Northern Irish pastor who has been associated with Ulster loyalist activity...

 in West Belfast (a pastor who was later jailed for terrorist related offences).

Despite this higher profile campaign the UIM's vote dropped as loyalist

Ulster loyalism

Ulster loyalism is an ideology that is opposed to a united Ireland. It can mean either support for upholding Northern Ireland's status as a constituent part of the United Kingdom , support for Northern Ireland independence, or support for loyalist paramilitaries...

 communities were now represented by the Ulster Democratic Party

Ulster Democratic Party

The Ulster Democratic Party was a small loyalist political party in Northern Ireland. It was established in June 1981 as the Ulster Loyalist Democratic Party by the Ulster Defence Association to replace their New Ulster Political Research Group...

 and Progressive Unionist Party

Progressive Unionist Party

The Progressive Unionist Party is a small unionist political party in Northern Ireland. It was formed from the Independent Unionist Group operating in the Shankill area of Belfast, becoming the PUP in 1979...

. Alongside this the party was still not the only Ulster nationalist option, however, as they finished behind Ulster's Independent Voice in North Belfast and Strangford, whilst beating them in West Belfast and tying exactly with them in North Down. The UIM polled 2125 votes (0.3%) across Northern Ireland and no representation was secured.

Results

Constituency	Votes	%
Belfast East Belfast East (Assembly constituency) Belfast East is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973...	114	0.3
Belfast North Belfast North (Assembly constituency) Belfast North is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973...	41	0.1
Belfast South Belfast South (Assembly constituency) Belfast South is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973...	108	0.3
Belfast West Belfast West (Assembly constituency) Belfast West is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973...	43	0.1
East Antrim East Antrim (Assembly constituency) East Antrim is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Forum in 1996. Since 1998, it has elected members to the current Assembly....	86	0.3
North Antrim North Antrim (Assembly constituency) North Antrim is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973...	167	0.4
South Antrim South Antrim (Assembly constituency) South Antrim is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973...	89	0.2
North Down North Down (Assembly constituency) North Down is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973...	49	0.1
South Down South Down (Assembly constituency) South Down is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973...	130	0.3
Fermanagh and South Tyrone Fermanagh and South Tyrone (Assembly constituency) Fermanagh and South Tyrone is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973...	189	0.4
Foyle Foyle (Assembly constituency) Foyle is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Forum in 1996. Since 1998, it has elected members to the current Assembly....	65	0.1
Lagan Valley Lagan Valley (Assembly constituency) Lagan Valley is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Forum in 1996. Since 1998, it has elected members to the current Assembly....	164	0.4
East Londonderry East Londonderry (Assembly constituency) East Londonderry is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Forum in 1996...	100	0.3
Mid Ulster Mid Ulster (Assembly constituency) Mid Ulster is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973...	263	0.6
Newry and Armagh Newry and Armagh (Assembly constituency) Newry and Armagh is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Forum in 1996. Since 1998, it has elected members to the current Assembly....	173	0.3
Strangford Strangford (Assembly constituency) Strangford is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Forum in 1996...	57	0.1
West Tyrone West Tyrone (Assembly constituency) West Tyrone is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Forum in 1996...	107	0.3
Upper Bann Upper Bann (Assembly constituency) Upper Bann is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Forum in 1996...	180	0.4
Regional list	2,125	0.3

Subsequent activity

Party activity continued after the signing of the Belfast Agreement

Belfast Agreement

The Good Friday Agreement or Belfast Agreement , sometimes called the Stormont Agreement, was a major political development in the Northern Ireland peace process...

, with the UIM playing a role in the unsuccessful 'No' campaign against it. The party fielded two candidates in the Northern Ireland Assembly

Northern Ireland Assembly

The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...

 of 1998 but failed to win either seat. Seeing their chances becoming increasingly diminished the UIM formally abandoned their role as a political party in January 2000 and instead reconstituted as a 'ginger group

Ginger group

A ginger group is a formal or informal group within, for example, a political party seeking to inspire the rest with its own enthusiasm and activity....

'. This came in the wake of a Channel 4

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

 programme, "The Committee", since discredited, which alleged links between the UIM and loyalist killings, allegations that damaged their credibility and saw a number of members leave the group.

The UIM is all but dead now, even as a think tank, although some of its former members have continued as members of the Ulster Third Way

Ulster Third Way

The Ulster Third Way is the Northern Ireland branch of the Third Way and is organised by David Kerr, who had previously campaigned as an 'independent Unionist' as well as for the British National Front.As well as sharing the Third Way's aims U3W is committed to securing independence...

.