Ulster Unionist Party
Encyclopedia
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) – sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party (OUP) or, in a historic sense, simply the Unionist Party – is the more moderate of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland
. Before the split in unionism in the late 1960s, when the former Protestant Unionist Party
began to attract more hardline support away from the UUP, it governed Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972 as the sole major unionist party. It continued to be supported by most unionist voters throughout the period known as the Troubles
.
The UUP has lost support among Northern Ireland's unionist and Protestant community to the Democratic Unionist Party
(DUP) in successive elections at all levels of government since 1999. The party is currently led by Tom Elliott
.
In 2009 the party agreed to an electoral alliance
with the Conservative Party
and the two parties fielded joint candidates for elections to the House of Commons and the European Parliament
under the banner of "Ulster Conservatives and Unionists – New Force
" (UCUNF). Literature and the web site for the 2009 European Parliament election
use "Conservatives and Unionists" as the short name. The party held its European seat but lost all its Westminster seats when their sole MP left the party in protest at the alliance and ran as an Independent
.
since the late 19th century, sometimes but not always dominated by Unionists from Ulster. Modern organised Unionism properly emerged after William Ewart Gladstone
's introduction in 1886 of the first of three Home Rule Bills in response to demands by the Irish Parliamentary Party
. The Irish Unionist Party
was an alliance of Conservatives
and Liberal Unionists
, the latter having split from the Liberal Party
over the issue of home rule. It is this split that gave rise to the current name of the Conservative and Unionist Party
, to which the UUP was formally linked to varying degrees until 1985.
The party had a strong association with the Orange Order
, a Protestant religious institution. The original composition of the Ulster Unionist Council was 25% Orange delegates, however this was reduced through the years. Though most unionist support was based in the geographic area that became Northern Ireland, there were at one time Unionist enclaves throughout southern Ireland. Unionists in Cork and Dublin were particularly influential. The initial leadership of the Unionist Party all came from outside the six counties of Ulster
, with people such as Colonel Saunderson, Viscount (later the Earl of) Midleton and the Dublin-born Sir Edward Carson, members of the Irish Unionist Party. However, after the Irish Convention
failed to reach an understanding on home rule and with the partition of Ireland
under the Government of Ireland Act 1920
, Irish unionism in effect split. Many southern unionist politicians quickly became reconciled with the new Irish Free State
, sitting in its senate or joining its political parties. Unionism's northern wing evolved into the separate Ulster Unionist Party.
The leadership of the UUP was taken by Edward Carson in 1910. Throughout his 11 year leadership he fought a sustained campaign against Irish Home Rule, including the formation of the Ulster Volunteers in 1912. During the various Home Rule crises, Carson moved from being MP for Dublin University to Belfast Duncairn
, however the compromise of Irish partition was felt by Carson to be defeat, so he refused the opportunity to be Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
or even to sit in the Northern Ireland House of Commons. The leadership of the Party and, subsequently, Northern Ireland was taken by Sir James Craig.
the Unionist Party was led by a combination of landed gentry
(Lord Brookeborough
and James Chichester-Clark
), aristocracy
(Terence O'Neill
) and gentrified industrial magnates (Lord Craigavon
and John Miller Andrews — nephew of Viscount Pirrie
). Only its last Prime Minister
, Brian Faulkner
was from a middle-class background.
Lord Craigavon governed Northern Ireland from its inception until his death in 1940 and is buried with his wife by the east wing of Parliament Buildings
. His successor, J. M. Andrews, was heavily criticised for appointing octogenarian veterans of Craigavon's administration to his cabinet
. His government was also believed to be more interested in protecting the statue of Carson at the Stormont Estate than the citizens of Belfast during the Blitz
. A backbench revolt in 1943 resulted in his resignation to be replaced by Sir Basil Brooke
(later Viscount Brookeborough), although he was recognised as leader of the party until 1946.
Brookeborough, despite having felt that Craigavon had held on to power for too long, was Prime Minister for one year longer. During this time he was on more than one occasion called to meetings of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland to explain his actions, most notably following the 1947 Education Act which made the state responsible for the payment of National Insurance
contributions of teachers in Catholic Maintained Schools. Ian Paisley
called for Brookeborough's resignation in 1953 when he refused to sack Brian Maginess
and Sir Clarence Graham, Bt.
who gave speeches supporting Catholic membership of the UUP. He retired in 1963 and was replaced by Terence O'Neill
, who emerged ahead of other candidates, Jack Andrews
and Faulkner.
In the 1960s, identifying with the civil rights
movement of Martin Luther King and encouraged by attempts at reform under O'Neill, various organisations campaigned for civil rights, calling for changes to the system for allocating public housing and the voting system for the local government franchise (which was restricted to rate payers
). O'Neill had pushed through some reforms but in the process the Ulster Unionists became heavily divided. At the 1969 Stormont General Election
UUP candidates stood on both pro and anti-O'Neill platforms, with several independent pro-O'Neill Unionists challenging his critics, whilst the Protestant Unionist Party
of Ian Paisley mounted a hard-line challenge. The result proved inconclusive for O'Neill, who resigned a short time later. His resignation was probably caused by that of James Chichester-Clark
who stated that he disagreed with the timing, but not the principle, of universal suffrage at Local Elections.
Chichester-Clark won the leadership election to replace O'Neill
and swiftly moved to implement many of his reforms. Civil disorder continued to mount, culminating in August 1969 when republicans clashed with Apprentice Boys
in Derry
, sparking days of riots, and decades of violence. Early in 1971 Chichester-Clark flew to London to request further military aid following the murder of three off duty soldiers by the IRA. When this was all but refused, he resigned to be replaced by Brian Faulkner
.
Faulkner's government struggled though 1971 and into 1972, however following Bloody Sunday
the British Government threatened to remove security primacy from the devolved Government. Faulkner reacted by resigning with his entire cabinet, and the Government suspended, and eventually abolished the Northern Ireland Parliament.
The liberal Unionist group the New Ulster Movement
, who had advocated the policies of Terence O'Neill
left and formed the Alliance Party
in April 1970, while the emergence of Ian Paisley
's Protestant Unionist Party
drew off some working-class and more hard-line support.
, which led to the formation of a power-sharing Executive under the Ulster Unionist leader Brian Faulkner
, ruptured the party. In the 1973 elections to the Executive the party found itself divided, a division that did not formally end until January 1974 with the triumph of the anti-Sunningdale faction. Faulkner was then overthrown, and he set up the Unionist Party of Northern Ireland
(UPNI). The Ulster Unionists were now led by Harry West
from 1974 until 1979. In the February 1974 general election
, the party participated in the United Ulster Unionist Coalition (UUUC) with Vanguard and the Democratic Unionists. The result was that the UUUC won 11 out of 12 parliamentary seats in Northern Ireland on a fiercely anti-Sunningdale platform, although they barely won 50% of the overall popular vote. This result was a fatal blow for the Executive, which soon collapsed.
Up until 1974 the UUP was affiliated with the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations
, and Ulster Unionist MPs sat with the Conservative Party
at Westminster
, traditionally taking the Conservative parliamentary whip
. To all intents and purposes the party functioned as the Northern Ireland branch of the Conservative Party. In 1974, in protest over the Sunningdale Agreement
, the Westminster Ulster Unionist MPs withdrew from the alliance. The party remained affiliated to the National Union but in 1985, they withdrew from it as well, in protest over the Anglo-Irish Agreement
. Subsequently, the Conservative Party has organised separately in Northern Ireland, with little electoral success.
Under West's leadership, the party recruited Enoch Powell
, who became Ulster Unionist MP for South Down
. Powell advocated a policy of 'integration', whereby Northern Ireland would be administered as an integral part of the United Kingdom. This policy divided both the Ulster Unionists and the wider Unionist movement, as Powell's ideas conflicted with those supporting a restoration of devolved government to Northern Ireland. The party also made gains upon the break-up of the Vanguard Party
and its merger back into the Ulster Unionists. The separate United Ulster Unionist Party
(UUUP) emerged from the remains of Vanguard but folded in the early 1980s, as did the UPNI. In both cases the main beneficiaries of this were the Ulster Unionists, now under the leadership of James Molyneaux
(1979–95).
led the party between 1995 and 2005. His support (which some nationalists claim to be ambiguous) for the Belfast Agreement
caused a rupture within the Party into pro-agreement and anti-agreement factions. Trimble served as First Minister of Northern Ireland in the power-sharing administration created under the Belfast Agreement
.
The UUP had a Roman Catholic Member of the Legislative Assembly
(MLA) (the Northern Ireland Legislative Assembly), Sir John Gorman until the 2003 election. In March 2005, the Orange Order voted to end its official links with the UUP, while still maintaining the same unofficial links as other interest groups. Mr Trimble faced down Orange Order critics who tried to suspend him for his attendance at a Catholic funeral for a young boy killed by the Real IRA
, in the infamous Omagh bombing
. Trimble and Irish president
Mary McAleese
, in a sign of unity, walked into the church together.
and resigned as party leader soon after. The ensuing leadership election
was won by Sir Reg Empey
.
attempted to create a new assembly group that would have included Progressive Unionist Party
(PUP) leader David Ervine
. The PUP is the political wing of the illegal Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). Many in the UUP, including the last remaining MP, Sylvia Hermon
, were opposed to the move. The link was in the form of a new group called the 'Ulster Unionist Party Assembly Group' whose membership was the 24 UUP MLAs and Mr Ervine. Sir Reg Empey
justified the link by stating that under the d'Hondt method
for allocating ministers in the Assembly, the new group would take a seat in the Executive from Sinn Féin.
Following a request for a ruling from the DUP's Peter Robinson
, the Speaker ruled that the UUPAG was not a political party within the meaning of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000
.
The party did poorly in the Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2007
. The party retained 18 of its seats within the assembly. Sir Reg Empey
was the only leader of one the four main parties not to be re-elected on first preference votes alone in the Assembly elections of March 2007.
In July 2008, the UUP and Conservative Party announced that a joint working group had been established to examine closer ties. On 26 February 2009, the Ulster Unionist Executive and area council of Northern Ireland Conservatives agreed to field joint candidates in future elections to the House of Commons and European Parliament under the name "Ulster Conservatives and Unionists – New Force". The agreement will mean that Ulster Unionist MPs could sit in a future Conservative Government, renewing its own former relationship with the Conservatives and that of the Scottish Unionist Party before its merger to form the current Conservative Party.
The UUP's sole remaining MP, Sylvia Hermon, opposed the agreement, stating she would not be willing to stand under a joint Conservative/Unionist banner. In February 2010, she confirmed that she would not be seeking a nomination as a Conservative and Unionist candidate for the forthcoming general election. On 25 March 2010, she formally resigned from the party and announced that she would be standing as an independent candidate at the general election. As a result, the UUP were left without representation in the House of Commons for the first time since the party's creation.
Following the UK 2010 General Election, Sir Reg Empey resigned as leader. He was replaced by Tom Elliott
as party leader in the subsequent leadership election
. During the leadership election, it emerged that a quarter of the UUP membership came from Fermanagh and South Tyrone
, the constituency of Tom Elliott and a disproportionately high figure. The Irish political magazine, the Phoenix
, described Elliott as a "blast from the past" and that his election signified "a significant shift to the right" by the UUP
Shortly after his election three 2010 General Election candidates have resigned – Harry Hamilton, Paula Bradshaw
and Trevor Ringland
. Bradshaw and Hamilton subsequently joined the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
The party further declined in the 2011 Assembly elections. It lost two seats and won fewer votes than the nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party
(SDLP) (although it won more seats than the SDLP). In addition east of the Bann it lost seats to the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
. It was overtaken by the APNI on Belfast City Council.
Tom Elliott
was criticised for comments he made in his victory speech where he described elements of Sinn Féin
as "scum".
Each Constituency in Northern Ireland forms the boundary of a UUP Constituency Association, which is made up of branches formed along local boundaries (usually District Electoral Areas). There are also four 'representative bodies', the Ulster Women's Unionist Council, the Ulster Young Unionist Council, the Westminster Unionist Association (the party's Great Britain branch) and the Ulster Unionist Councillors Association. Each Constituency Association and Representative Body elects a number of delegates to the Party Executive Committee, which governs many areas of party administration such as membership and candidate selection.
The UUP maintained a formal connection with the Orange Order from its foundation until 2005, and with the Apprentice Boys of Derry
until 1975. Only three of the party's Westminster MPs (Enoch Powell
, Ken Maginnis and Sylvia Hermon
) have not been members of the Orange Order. This was said to be a factor in discouraging Catholic membership of the party. While the party was considering structural reforms, including the connection with the Order, it was the Order itself that severed the connection in 2004. The connection with the Apprentice Boys was cut in a 1975 review of the party's structure as they had not taken up their delegates for several years beforehand.
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...
. Before the split in unionism in the late 1960s, when the former Protestant Unionist Party
Protestant Unionist Party
The Protestant Unionist Party was a unionist political party operating in Northern Ireland from 1966 to 1971. It was set up by Ian Paisley, and was the forerunner of the modern Democratic Unionist Party and emerged from the Ulster Protestant Action movement.The UPA had two councillors elected,...
began to attract more hardline support away from the UUP, it governed Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972 as the sole major unionist party. It continued to be supported by most unionist voters throughout the period known as the Troubles
The Troubles
The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...
.
The UUP has lost support among Northern Ireland's unionist and Protestant community to the Democratic Unionist Party
Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. Founded by Ian Paisley and currently led by Peter Robinson, it is currently the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons of the...
(DUP) in successive elections at all levels of government since 1999. The party is currently led by Tom Elliott
Tom Elliott
Tom Elliott MLA is a Northern Ireland Ulster Unionist MLA and the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and former UDR member...
.
In 2009 the party agreed to an electoral alliance
Electoral alliance
An electoral alliance may take the form of a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc. It is an association of political parties or individuals which exists solely to stand in elections...
with the Conservative Party
Conservative 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...
and the two parties fielded joint candidates for elections to the House of Commons and the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
under the banner of "Ulster Conservatives and Unionists – New Force
Ulster Conservatives and Unionists – New Force
The Ulster Conservatives and Unionists, officially registered as the Ulster Conservatives and Unionists – New Force , is a bipartisan electoral alliance in Northern Ireland between the Ulster Unionist Party and the Northern Ireland branch of the Conservative Party, the latter party also being...
" (UCUNF). Literature and the web site for the 2009 European Parliament election
European Parliament election, 2009 (United Kingdom)
The European Parliament election was the United Kingdom's component of the 2009 European Parliament election, the voting for which was held on Thursday 4 June 2009, coinciding with the 2009 local elections in England. Most of the results of the election were announced on Sunday 7 June, after...
use "Conservatives and Unionists" as the short name. The party held its European seat but lost all its Westminster seats when their sole MP left the party in protest at the alliance and ran as an Independent
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...
.
Party leaders
- Colonel SaundersonEdward James SaundersonEdward James Saunderson PC, JP, DL was an Irish unionist politician.He was born at Castle Saunderson, County Cavan. He was the son of Colonel Alexander Saunderson, Member of Parliament for Cavan , his mother being a daughter of the 6th Baron Farnham...
1905–1906** - Viscount LongWalter Hume Long, 1st Viscount LongWalter Hume Long, 1st Viscount Long PC, FRS, JP , was a British Unionist politician. In a political career spanning over 40 years, he held office as President of the Board of Agriculture, President of the Local Government Board, Chief Secretary for Ireland, Secretary of State for the Colonies and...
1906–1910** - Sir Edward Carson 1910–1921**
- James Craig, 1st Viscount CraigavonJames Craig, 1st Viscount CraigavonJames Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon, PC, PC , was a prominent Irish unionist politician, leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland...
1921–1940 - John Miller Andrews 1940–1946
- Basil Brooke, 1st Viscount BrookeboroughBasil Brooke, 1st Viscount BrookeboroughBasil Stanlake Brooke, 1st Viscount Brookeborough, Bt, KG, CBE, MC, PC, HML was an Ulster Unionist politician who became the third Prime Minister of Northern Ireland in 1943 and held office until 1963....
1946–1963 - Captain Terence O'NeillTerence O'NeillTerence Marne O'Neill, Baron O'Neill of the Maine, PC was the fourth Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party...
1963–1969 - Major James Chichester-ClarkJames Chichester-ClarkJames Dawson Chichester-Clark, Baron Moyola, PC, DL was the penultimate Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and eighth leader of the Ulster Unionist Party between 1969 and March 1971. He was Member of the Northern Ireland Parliament for South Londonderry for 12 years beginning at the by-election...
1969–1971 - Brian FaulknerBrian FaulknerArthur Brian Deane Faulkner, Baron Faulkner of Downpatrick, PC was the sixth and last Prime Minister of Northern Ireland from March 1971 until his resignation in March 1972...
1971–1974 - Harry WestHarry WestHenry William West was a politician in Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party from 1974 until 1979.West was born in County Fermanagh and educated at Portora Royal School in Enniskillen...
1974–1979 - James MolyneauxJames MolyneauxJames Henry Molyneaux, Baron Molyneaux of Killead, KBE, PC is a Northern Irish Unionist politician and was leader of the Ulster Unionist Party from 1979 to 1995. He was a leading member and sometime Vice-President of the Conservative Monday Club...
1979–1995 - David Trimble 1995–2005
- Sir Reg EmpeyReg EmpeyReginald Norman Morgan Empey, Baron Empey of Shandon, OBE, – known as Sir Reg Empey prior to 2011 – is a former Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for East Belfast...
2005–2010 - Tom ElliottTom ElliottTom Elliott MLA is a Northern Ireland Ulster Unionist MLA and the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and former UDR member...
2010–
- note:
** denotes leaders of the UUP who were also leaders of the Irish Unionist Parliamentary PartyIrish Unionist PartyThe Irish Unionist Alliance was a Unionist party founded in Ireland in 1891 to oppose plans for Gladstonian and Parnellite Home Rule for Ireland. The party was led for much of its life by Colonel Edward James Saunderson and later by the William St John Brodrick, Earl of Midleton...
.
1880s to 1921
The Ulster Unionist Party traces its formal existence back to the foundation of the Ulster Unionist Council in 1905. Before that, however, there had been a less formally organised Irish Unionist PartyIrish Unionist Party
The Irish Unionist Alliance was a Unionist party founded in Ireland in 1891 to oppose plans for Gladstonian and Parnellite Home Rule for Ireland. The party was led for much of its life by Colonel Edward James Saunderson and later by the William St John Brodrick, Earl of Midleton...
since the late 19th century, sometimes but not always dominated by Unionists from Ulster. Modern organised Unionism properly emerged after William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
's introduction in 1886 of the first of three Home Rule Bills in response to demands by the Irish Parliamentary Party
Irish Parliamentary Party
The Irish Parliamentary Party was formed in 1882 by Charles Stewart Parnell, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish nationalist Members of Parliament elected to the House of Commons at...
. The Irish Unionist Party
Irish Unionist Party
The Irish Unionist Alliance was a Unionist party founded in Ireland in 1891 to oppose plans for Gladstonian and Parnellite Home Rule for Ireland. The party was led for much of its life by Colonel Edward James Saunderson and later by the William St John Brodrick, Earl of Midleton...
was an alliance of Conservatives
Conservative 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...
and Liberal Unionists
Liberal Unionist Party
The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington and Joseph Chamberlain, the party formed a political alliance with the Conservative Party in opposition to Irish Home Rule...
, the latter having split from the Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
over the issue of home rule. It is this split that gave rise to the current name of the Conservative and Unionist Party
Conservative 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...
, to which the UUP was formally linked to varying degrees until 1985.
The party had a strong association with the Orange Order
Orange Institution
The Orange Institution is a Protestant fraternal organisation based mainly in Northern Ireland and Scotland, though it has lodges throughout the Commonwealth and United States. The Institution was founded in 1796 near the village of Loughgall in County Armagh, Ireland...
, a Protestant religious institution. The original composition of the Ulster Unionist Council was 25% Orange delegates, however this was reduced through the years. Though most unionist support was based in the geographic area that became Northern Ireland, there were at one time Unionist enclaves throughout southern Ireland. Unionists in Cork and Dublin were particularly influential. The initial leadership of the Unionist Party all came from outside the six counties of Ulster
Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...
, with people such as Colonel Saunderson, Viscount (later the Earl of) Midleton and the Dublin-born Sir Edward Carson, members of the Irish Unionist Party. However, after the Irish Convention
Irish Convention
The Irish Convention was an assembly which sat in Dublin, Ireland from July 1917 until March 1918 to address the Irish Question and other constitutional problems relating to an early enactment of self-government for Ireland, to debate its wider future, discuss and come to an understanding on...
failed to reach an understanding on home rule and with the partition of Ireland
Partition of Ireland
The partition of Ireland was the division of the island of Ireland into two distinct territories, now Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland . Partition occurred when the British Parliament passed the Government of Ireland Act 1920...
under the Government of Ireland Act 1920
Government of Ireland Act 1920
The Government of Ireland Act 1920 was the Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which partitioned Ireland. The Act's long title was "An Act to provide for the better government of Ireland"; it is also known as the Fourth Home Rule Bill or as the Fourth Home Rule Act.The Act was intended...
, Irish unionism in effect split. Many southern unionist politicians quickly became reconciled with the new Irish Free State
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
, sitting in its senate or joining its political parties. Unionism's northern wing evolved into the separate Ulster Unionist Party.
The leadership of the UUP was taken by Edward Carson in 1910. Throughout his 11 year leadership he fought a sustained campaign against Irish Home Rule, including the formation of the Ulster Volunteers in 1912. During the various Home Rule crises, Carson moved from being MP for Dublin University to Belfast Duncairn
Belfast Duncairn
Belfast Duncairn can refer to:*Belfast Duncairn *Belfast Duncairn *Duncairn, Belfast, an electoral ward in Castle...
, however the compromise of Irish partition was felt by Carson to be defeat, so he refused the opportunity to be Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland was the de facto head of the Government of Northern Ireland. No such office was provided for in the Government of Ireland Act 1920. However the Lord Lieutenant, as with Governors-General in other Westminster Systems such as in Canada, chose to appoint someone...
or even to sit in the Northern Ireland House of Commons. The leadership of the Party and, subsequently, Northern Ireland was taken by Sir James Craig.
The Stormont era
Until almost the very end of its period of power in Northern IrelandNorthern 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...
the Unionist Party was led by a combination of landed gentry
Landed gentry
Landed gentry is a traditional British social class, consisting of land owners who could live entirely off rental income. Often they worked only in an administrative capacity looking after the management of their own lands....
(Lord Brookeborough
Basil Brooke, 1st Viscount Brookeborough
Basil Stanlake Brooke, 1st Viscount Brookeborough, Bt, KG, CBE, MC, PC, HML was an Ulster Unionist politician who became the third Prime Minister of Northern Ireland in 1943 and held office until 1963....
and James Chichester-Clark
James Chichester-Clark
James Dawson Chichester-Clark, Baron Moyola, PC, DL was the penultimate Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and eighth leader of the Ulster Unionist Party between 1969 and March 1971. He was Member of the Northern Ireland Parliament for South Londonderry for 12 years beginning at the by-election...
), aristocracy
Aristocracy
Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
(Terence O'Neill
Terence O'Neill
Terence Marne O'Neill, Baron O'Neill of the Maine, PC was the fourth Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party...
) and gentrified industrial magnates (Lord Craigavon
James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon
James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon, PC, PC , was a prominent Irish unionist politician, leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland...
and John Miller Andrews — nephew of Viscount Pirrie
William Pirrie, 1st Viscount Pirrie
William James Pirrie, 1st Viscount Pirrie, KP, PC was a leading Irish shipbuilder and businessman. He was chairman of Harland and Wolff, shipbuilders, between 1895 and 1924, and also served as Lord Mayor of Belfast between 1896 and 1898...
). Only its last Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland was the de facto head of the Government of Northern Ireland. No such office was provided for in the Government of Ireland Act 1920. However the Lord Lieutenant, as with Governors-General in other Westminster Systems such as in Canada, chose to appoint someone...
, Brian Faulkner
Brian Faulkner
Arthur Brian Deane Faulkner, Baron Faulkner of Downpatrick, PC was the sixth and last Prime Minister of Northern Ireland from March 1971 until his resignation in March 1972...
was from a middle-class background.
Lord Craigavon governed Northern Ireland from its inception until his death in 1940 and is buried with his wife by the east wing of Parliament Buildings
Parliament Buildings (Northern Ireland)
The Parliament Buildings, known as Stormont because of its location in the Stormont area of Belfast is the seat of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Northern Ireland Executive...
. His successor, J. M. Andrews, was heavily criticised for appointing octogenarian veterans of Craigavon's administration to his cabinet
Andrews ministry
The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which existed from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended...
. His government was also believed to be more interested in protecting the statue of Carson at the Stormont Estate than the citizens of Belfast during the Blitz
Belfast Blitz
The Belfast Blitz was an event that occurred on the night of Easter Tuesday, 15 April 1941 during World War II. Two hundred bombers of the German Air Force attacked the city of Belfast in Northern Ireland. Nearly one thousand people died as a result of the bombing and 1,500 were injured. In terms...
. A backbench revolt in 1943 resulted in his resignation to be replaced by Sir Basil Brooke
Basil Brooke, 1st Viscount Brookeborough
Basil Stanlake Brooke, 1st Viscount Brookeborough, Bt, KG, CBE, MC, PC, HML was an Ulster Unionist politician who became the third Prime Minister of Northern Ireland in 1943 and held office until 1963....
(later Viscount Brookeborough), although he was recognised as leader of the party until 1946.
Brookeborough, despite having felt that Craigavon had held on to power for too long, was Prime Minister for one year longer. During this time he was on more than one occasion called to meetings of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland to explain his actions, most notably following the 1947 Education Act which made the state responsible for the payment of National Insurance
National Insurance
National Insurance in the United Kingdom was initially a contributory system of insurance against illness and unemployment, and later also provided retirement pensions and other benefits...
contributions of teachers in Catholic Maintained Schools. Ian Paisley
Ian Paisley
Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, PC is a politician and church minister in Northern Ireland. As the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party , he and Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness were elected First Minister and deputy First Minister respectively on 8 May 2007.In addition to co-founding...
called for Brookeborough's resignation in 1953 when he refused to sack Brian Maginess
Brian Maginess
William Brian Maginess, QC was a member of the Government of Northern Ireland, who was widely seen as a possible successor to Lord Brookeborough as Prime Minister of Northern Ireland....
and Sir Clarence Graham, Bt.
Clarence Graham
Sir Clarence Johnston Graham, 1st Baronet was a businessman and an Ulster Unionist Party politician in Northern Ireland.-Background:...
who gave speeches supporting Catholic membership of the UUP. He retired in 1963 and was replaced by Terence O'Neill
Terence O'Neill
Terence Marne O'Neill, Baron O'Neill of the Maine, PC was the fourth Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party...
, who emerged ahead of other candidates, Jack Andrews
Jack Andrews
Sir John Lawson Ormrod Andrews KBE, DL was a member of both the Northern Ireland House of Commons and the Senate of Northern Ireland....
and Faulkner.
In the 1960s, identifying with the civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
movement of Martin Luther King and encouraged by attempts at reform under O'Neill, various organisations campaigned for civil rights, calling for changes to the system for allocating public housing and the voting system for the local government franchise (which was restricted to rate payers
Rates
Rates is a Portuguese parish and town located in the municipality of Póvoa de Varzim. In the census of 2001, it had a population of 2,539 inhabitants and a total area of 13.88 square kilometres.-History:...
). O'Neill had pushed through some reforms but in the process the Ulster Unionists became heavily divided. At the 1969 Stormont General Election
Northern Ireland general election, 1969
-References:*...
UUP candidates stood on both pro and anti-O'Neill platforms, with several independent pro-O'Neill Unionists challenging his critics, whilst the Protestant Unionist Party
Protestant Unionist Party
The Protestant Unionist Party was a unionist political party operating in Northern Ireland from 1966 to 1971. It was set up by Ian Paisley, and was the forerunner of the modern Democratic Unionist Party and emerged from the Ulster Protestant Action movement.The UPA had two councillors elected,...
of Ian Paisley mounted a hard-line challenge. The result proved inconclusive for O'Neill, who resigned a short time later. His resignation was probably caused by that of James Chichester-Clark
James Chichester-Clark
James Dawson Chichester-Clark, Baron Moyola, PC, DL was the penultimate Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and eighth leader of the Ulster Unionist Party between 1969 and March 1971. He was Member of the Northern Ireland Parliament for South Londonderry for 12 years beginning at the by-election...
who stated that he disagreed with the timing, but not the principle, of universal suffrage at Local Elections.
Chichester-Clark won the leadership election to replace O'Neill
Ulster Unionist Party leadership election, 1969
The 1969 Ulster Unionist Party leadership election was the first contested election in the Party's sixty-four year history.In 1963 Terence O'Neill had succeeded Lord Brookeborough as Party Leader and Prime Minister of Northern Ireland by emerging rather than by winning a ballot, despite having...
and swiftly moved to implement many of his reforms. Civil disorder continued to mount, culminating in August 1969 when republicans clashed with Apprentice Boys
Apprentice Boys of Derry
The Apprentice Boys of Derry is a Protestant fraternal society with a worldwide membership of over 80,000, founded in 1814. They are based in the city of Derry, Northern Ireland. However, there are Clubs and branches across Ireland, Great Britain and further afield...
in Derry
Derry
Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...
, sparking days of riots, and decades of violence. Early in 1971 Chichester-Clark flew to London to request further military aid following the murder of three off duty soldiers by the IRA. When this was all but refused, he resigned to be replaced by Brian Faulkner
Ulster Unionist Party leadership election, 1971
The Ulster Unionist Party leadership election of 1971 was caused by the resignation of James Chichester-Clark, after he had failed to persuade the British Government to provide his government with more resources to quell the growing civil unrest.-Candidates:...
.
Faulkner's government struggled though 1971 and into 1972, however following Bloody Sunday
Bloody Sunday (1972)
Bloody Sunday —sometimes called the Bogside Massacre—was an incident on 30 January 1972 in the Bogside area of Derry, Northern Ireland, in which twenty-six unarmed civil rights protesters and bystanders were shot by soldiers of the British Army...
the British Government threatened to remove security primacy from the devolved Government. Faulkner reacted by resigning with his entire cabinet, and the Government suspended, and eventually abolished the Northern Ireland Parliament.
The liberal Unionist group the New Ulster Movement
New Ulster Movement
The New Ulster Movement was a political pressure group in Northern Ireland.The organisation was established in early 1969 under the Chairmanship of Brian Walker, and soon had a membership of around 8,000 people...
, who had advocated the policies of Terence O'Neill
Terence O'Neill
Terence Marne O'Neill, Baron O'Neill of the Maine, PC was the fourth Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party...
left and formed the Alliance Party
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....
in April 1970, while the emergence of Ian Paisley
Ian Paisley
Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, PC is a politician and church minister in Northern Ireland. As the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party , he and Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness were elected First Minister and deputy First Minister respectively on 8 May 2007.In addition to co-founding...
's Protestant Unionist Party
Protestant Unionist Party
The Protestant Unionist Party was a unionist political party operating in Northern Ireland from 1966 to 1971. It was set up by Ian Paisley, and was the forerunner of the modern Democratic Unionist Party and emerged from the Ulster Protestant Action movement.The UPA had two councillors elected,...
drew off some working-class and more hard-line support.
1972–1995
In June 1973 the Unionists won a majority of seats in the new Northern Ireland Assembly, but the party was divided on policy. The Sunningdale AgreementSunningdale Agreement
The Sunningdale Agreement was an attempt to establish a power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive and a cross-border Council of Ireland. The Agreement was signed at the Civil Service College in Sunningdale Park located in Sunningdale, Berkshire, on 9 December 1973.Unionist opposition, violence and...
, which led to the formation of a power-sharing Executive under the Ulster Unionist leader Brian Faulkner
Brian Faulkner
Arthur Brian Deane Faulkner, Baron Faulkner of Downpatrick, PC was the sixth and last Prime Minister of Northern Ireland from March 1971 until his resignation in March 1972...
, ruptured the party. In the 1973 elections to the Executive the party found itself divided, a division that did not formally end until January 1974 with the triumph of the anti-Sunningdale faction. Faulkner was then overthrown, and he set up the Unionist Party of Northern Ireland
Unionist Party of Northern Ireland
The Unionist Party of Northern Ireland was a political party founded by Brian Faulkner in September 1974.-Formation:The party emerged following splits in the Ulster Unionist Party in 1973 and 1974 over the British government's white paper Northern Ireland Constitutional Proposals, the Northern...
(UPNI). The Ulster Unionists were now led by Harry West
Harry West
Henry William West was a politician in Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party from 1974 until 1979.West was born in County Fermanagh and educated at Portora Royal School in Enniskillen...
from 1974 until 1979. In the February 1974 general election
United Kingdom general election, February 1974
The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,...
, the party participated in the United Ulster Unionist Coalition (UUUC) with Vanguard and the Democratic Unionists. The result was that the UUUC won 11 out of 12 parliamentary seats in Northern Ireland on a fiercely anti-Sunningdale platform, although they barely won 50% of the overall popular vote. This result was a fatal blow for the Executive, which soon collapsed.
Up until 1974 the UUP was affiliated with the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations
National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations
The National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations was a federation of the voluntary wing of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom....
, and Ulster Unionist MPs sat with the Conservative Party
Conservative 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...
at Westminster
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
, traditionally taking the Conservative parliamentary whip
Whip
A whip is a tool traditionally used by humans to exert control over animals or other people, through pain compliance or fear of pain, although in some activities whips can be used without use of pain, such as an additional pressure aid in dressage...
. To all intents and purposes the party functioned as the Northern Ireland branch of the Conservative Party. In 1974, in protest over the Sunningdale Agreement
Sunningdale Agreement
The Sunningdale Agreement was an attempt to establish a power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive and a cross-border Council of Ireland. The Agreement was signed at the Civil Service College in Sunningdale Park located in Sunningdale, Berkshire, on 9 December 1973.Unionist opposition, violence and...
, the Westminster Ulster Unionist MPs withdrew from the alliance. The party remained affiliated to the National Union but in 1985, they withdrew from it as well, in protest over the Anglo-Irish Agreement
Anglo-Irish Agreement
The Anglo-Irish Agreement was an agreement between the United Kingdom and Ireland which aimed to help bring an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland...
. Subsequently, the Conservative Party has organised separately in Northern Ireland, with little electoral success.
Under West's leadership, the party recruited Enoch Powell
Enoch Powell
John Enoch Powell, MBE was a British politician, classical scholar, poet, writer, and soldier. He served as a Conservative Party MP and Minister of Health . He attained most prominence in 1968, when he made the controversial Rivers of Blood speech in opposition to mass immigration from...
, who became Ulster Unionist MP for South Down
South Down (UK Parliament constituency)
South Down is a Parliamentary Constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons.-Boundaries:The county constituency was first created in 1885 from the southern part of Down...
. Powell advocated a policy of 'integration', whereby Northern Ireland would be administered as an integral part of the United Kingdom. This policy divided both the Ulster Unionists and the wider Unionist movement, as Powell's ideas conflicted with those supporting a restoration of devolved government to Northern Ireland. The party also made gains upon the break-up of the Vanguard Party
Vanguard Progressive Unionist Party
The Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party , informally known as Ulster Vanguard, was a unionist political party which existed in Northern Ireland between 1973 and 1978...
and its merger back into the Ulster Unionists. The separate United Ulster Unionist Party
United Ulster Unionist Party
The United Ulster Unionist Party was a unionist political party which existed in Northern Ireland between 1975 and 1984.It emerged from a division in the Vanguard Progressive Unionist Party in the late 1970s...
(UUUP) emerged from the remains of Vanguard but folded in the early 1980s, as did the UPNI. In both cases the main beneficiaries of this were the Ulster Unionists, now under the leadership of James Molyneaux
James Molyneaux
James Henry Molyneaux, Baron Molyneaux of Killead, KBE, PC is a Northern Irish Unionist politician and was leader of the Ulster Unionist Party from 1979 to 1995. He was a leading member and sometime Vice-President of the Conservative Monday Club...
(1979–95).
The Trimble Leadership
David TrimbleDavid Trimble
William David Trimble, Baron Trimble, PC , is a politician from Northern Ireland. He served as Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party , was the first First Minister of Northern Ireland , and was a Member of the British Parliament . He is currently a life peer for the Conservative Party...
led the party between 1995 and 2005. His support (which some nationalists claim to be ambiguous) for 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...
caused a rupture within the Party into pro-agreement and anti-agreement factions. Trimble served as First Minister of Northern Ireland in the power-sharing administration created under 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...
.
The UUP had a Roman Catholic Member of the Legislative Assembly
Member of the Legislative Assembly
A Member of the Legislative Assembly or a Member of the Legislature , is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to the legislature or legislative assembly of a sub-national jurisdiction....
(MLA) (the Northern Ireland Legislative Assembly), Sir John Gorman until the 2003 election. In March 2005, the Orange Order voted to end its official links with the UUP, while still maintaining the same unofficial links as other interest groups. Mr Trimble faced down Orange Order critics who tried to suspend him for his attendance at a Catholic funeral for a young boy killed by the Real IRA
Real Irish Republican Army
The Real Irish Republican Army, otherwise known as the Real IRA , and styling itself as Óglaigh na hÉireann , is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation which aims to bring about a united Ireland...
, in the infamous Omagh bombing
Omagh bombing
The Omagh bombing was a car bomb attack carried out by the Real Irish Republican Army , a splinter group of former Provisional Irish Republican Army members opposed to the Good Friday Agreement, on Saturday 15 August 1998, in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Twenty-nine people died as a...
. Trimble and Irish president
President of Ireland
The President of Ireland is the head of state of Ireland. The President is usually directly elected by the people for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office, but the President does exercise certain limited powers with absolute...
Mary McAleese
Mary McAleese
Mary Patricia McAleese served as the eighth President of Ireland from 1997 to 2011. She was the second female president and was first elected in 1997 succeeding Mary Robinson, making McAleese the world's first woman to succeed another as president. She was re-elected unopposed for a second term in...
, in a sign of unity, walked into the church together.
2005 General Election
The party fared poorly in the 2005 general election, losing five of its six Westminster seats — previously seven; one MP had previously defected to the DUP. Only the Labour Party lost more seats in 2005. David Trimble himself lost his seat in Upper BannUpper Bann (UK Parliament constituency)
Upper Bann is a Parliamentary Constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons. The current Member of Parliament for Upper Bann is David Simpson.-Boundaries:...
and resigned as party leader soon after. The ensuing leadership election
Ulster Unionist Party leadership election, 2005
The 2005 Ulster Unionist Party leadership election began on 7 May 2005 when David Trimble resigned as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party following his party's poor performance in the 2005 general election when it lost all but one of its seats, including Trimble's own...
was won by Sir Reg Empey
Reg Empey
Reginald Norman Morgan Empey, Baron Empey of Shandon, OBE, – known as Sir Reg Empey prior to 2011 – is a former Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for East Belfast...
.
2005 – present
In May 2006 UUP leader Reg EmpeyReg Empey
Reginald Norman Morgan Empey, Baron Empey of Shandon, OBE, – known as Sir Reg Empey prior to 2011 – is a former Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for East Belfast...
attempted to create a new assembly group that would have included 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...
(PUP) leader David Ervine
David Ervine
David Ervine was a Northern Irish politician and the leader of the Progressive Unionist Party .-Biography:...
. The PUP is the political wing of the illegal Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). Many in the UUP, including the last remaining MP, Sylvia Hermon
Sylvia Hermon
Sylvia Eileen Hermon, Lady Hermon is a Northern Irish politician. Since 2001, she has been the Member of Parliament for the constituency of North Down, first elected for the Ulster Unionist Party , but now an independent...
, were opposed to the move. The link was in the form of a new group called the 'Ulster Unionist Party Assembly Group' whose membership was the 24 UUP MLAs and Mr Ervine. Sir Reg Empey
Reg Empey
Reginald Norman Morgan Empey, Baron Empey of Shandon, OBE, – known as Sir Reg Empey prior to 2011 – is a former Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for East Belfast...
justified the link by stating that under the d'Hondt method
D'Hondt method
The d'Hondt method is a highest averages method for allocating seats in party-list proportional representation. The method described is named after Belgian mathematician Victor D'Hondt who described it in 1878...
for allocating ministers in the Assembly, the new group would take a seat in the Executive from Sinn Féin.
Following a request for a ruling from the DUP's Peter Robinson
Peter Robinson (politician)
Peter David Robinson is the current First Minister of Northern Ireland and leader of the Democratic Unionist Party...
, the Speaker ruled that the UUPAG was not a political party within the meaning of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000
Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000
The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that sets out how political parties, elections and referendums are to be regulated in the United Kingdom...
.
The party did poorly in the Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2007
Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2007
The third elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly were held on 7 March 2007 when 108 new members were elected. The election saw endorsement of the St Andrews Agreement and the two largest parties, the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin, along with the Alliance Party, increase their...
. The party retained 18 of its seats within the assembly. Sir Reg Empey
Reg Empey
Reginald Norman Morgan Empey, Baron Empey of Shandon, OBE, – known as Sir Reg Empey prior to 2011 – is a former Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for East Belfast...
was the only leader of one the four main parties not to be re-elected on first preference votes alone in the Assembly elections of March 2007.
| Party | Leader | Candidates | Seats | Change from 2003 |
1st Pref Votes | 1st Pref % | Change from 2003 |
Executive seats |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reg Empey Reg Empey Reginald Norman Morgan Empey, Baron Empey of Shandon, OBE, – known as Sir Reg Empey prior to 2011 – is a former Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for East Belfast... |
38 | 18 | −9 | 103,145 | 14.9 | −7.7 | 2 |
In July 2008, the UUP and Conservative Party announced that a joint working group had been established to examine closer ties. On 26 February 2009, the Ulster Unionist Executive and area council of Northern Ireland Conservatives agreed to field joint candidates in future elections to the House of Commons and European Parliament under the name "Ulster Conservatives and Unionists – New Force". The agreement will mean that Ulster Unionist MPs could sit in a future Conservative Government, renewing its own former relationship with the Conservatives and that of the Scottish Unionist Party before its merger to form the current Conservative Party.
The UUP's sole remaining MP, Sylvia Hermon, opposed the agreement, stating she would not be willing to stand under a joint Conservative/Unionist banner. In February 2010, she confirmed that she would not be seeking a nomination as a Conservative and Unionist candidate for the forthcoming general election. On 25 March 2010, she formally resigned from the party and announced that she would be standing as an independent candidate at the general election. As a result, the UUP were left without representation in the House of Commons for the first time since the party's creation.
Following the UK 2010 General Election, Sir Reg Empey resigned as leader. He was replaced by Tom Elliott
Tom Elliott
Tom Elliott MLA is a Northern Ireland Ulster Unionist MLA and the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and former UDR member...
as party leader in the subsequent leadership election
Ulster Unionist Party leadership election, 2010
An election for the leadership of the Ulster Unionist Party was held on 22 September 2010.-Background:Following poor results in the UK general election, 2005, the UUP held a leadership election, in which Reg Empey was successful...
. During the leadership election, it emerged that a quarter of the UUP membership came from Fermanagh and South Tyrone
Fermanagh and South Tyrone
Fermanagh and South Tyrone can refer to:*Fermanagh and South Tyrone *Fermanagh and South Tyrone...
, the constituency of Tom Elliott and a disproportionately high figure. The Irish political magazine, the Phoenix
The Phoenix (magazine)
The Phoenix is Ireland's best selling political and current affairs magazine. Inspired by the British magazine Private Eye, and a source of investigative journalism in Ireland...
, described Elliott as a "blast from the past" and that his election signified "a significant shift to the right" by the UUP
Shortly after his election three 2010 General Election candidates have resigned – Harry Hamilton, Paula Bradshaw
Paula Bradshaw
Paula Bradshaw was the Ulster Conservatives and Unionists – New Force parliamentary candidate for Belfast South in the 2010 United Kingdom General Election...
and Trevor Ringland
Trevor Ringland
Trevor Maxwell Ringland, MBE is a solicitor, former rugby union winger and Unionist politician. After attending Larne Grammar School Ringland studied law at Queen's University Belfast.-Rugby career:...
. Bradshaw and Hamilton subsequently joined 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....
The party further declined in the 2011 Assembly elections. It lost two seats and won fewer votes than the nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party
Social Democratic and Labour Party
The Social Democratic and Labour Party is a social-democratic, Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. Its basic party platform advocates Irish reunification, and the further devolution of powers while Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom...
(SDLP) (although it won more seats than the SDLP). In addition east of the Bann it lost seats to 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....
. It was overtaken by the APNI on Belfast City Council.
| Party | Leader | Candidates | Seats | Change from 2007 |
1st Pref Votes | 1st Pref % | Change from 2007 |
Executive seats |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Elliott Tom Elliott Tom Elliott MLA is a Northern Ireland Ulster Unionist MLA and the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and former UDR member... |
29 | 16 | −2 | 87,258 | 13.2 | −1.7 | 1 |
Tom Elliott
Tom Elliott
Tom Elliott MLA is a Northern Ireland Ulster Unionist MLA and the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and former UDR member...
was criticised for comments he made in his victory speech where he described elements of Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
as "scum".
Structure
The UUP is still organised around the Ulster Unionist Council, which was from 1905 until 2004 the only legal representation of the party. Following the adoption of a new Constitution in 2004, the UUP has been an entity in its own right, however the UUC still exists as the supreme decision making body of the Party. In autumn 2007 the delegates system was done away with, and today all UUP members are members of the Ulster Unionist Council, with entitlements to vote for the Leader, party officers and on major policy decisions.Each Constituency in Northern Ireland forms the boundary of a UUP Constituency Association, which is made up of branches formed along local boundaries (usually District Electoral Areas). There are also four 'representative bodies', the Ulster Women's Unionist Council, the Ulster Young Unionist Council, the Westminster Unionist Association (the party's Great Britain branch) and the Ulster Unionist Councillors Association. Each Constituency Association and Representative Body elects a number of delegates to the Party Executive Committee, which governs many areas of party administration such as membership and candidate selection.
The UUP maintained a formal connection with the Orange Order from its foundation until 2005, and with the Apprentice Boys of Derry
Apprentice Boys of Derry
The Apprentice Boys of Derry is a Protestant fraternal society with a worldwide membership of over 80,000, founded in 1814. They are based in the city of Derry, Northern Ireland. However, there are Clubs and branches across Ireland, Great Britain and further afield...
until 1975. Only three of the party's Westminster MPs (Enoch Powell
Enoch Powell
John Enoch Powell, MBE was a British politician, classical scholar, poet, writer, and soldier. He served as a Conservative Party MP and Minister of Health . He attained most prominence in 1968, when he made the controversial Rivers of Blood speech in opposition to mass immigration from...
, Ken Maginnis and Sylvia Hermon
Sylvia Hermon
Sylvia Eileen Hermon, Lady Hermon is a Northern Irish politician. Since 2001, she has been the Member of Parliament for the constituency of North Down, first elected for the Ulster Unionist Party , but now an independent...
) have not been members of the Orange Order. This was said to be a factor in discouraging Catholic membership of the party. While the party was considering structural reforms, including the connection with the Order, it was the Order itself that severed the connection in 2004. The connection with the Apprentice Boys was cut in a 1975 review of the party's structure as they had not taken up their delegates for several years beforehand.
Youth wing
The UUP's youth wing is the Ulster Young Unionist Council, first formed in 1949. Many of its members have stayed with the party, such as the present leader of the UUP. Others have left to start other Unionist parties. Having disbanded twice, in 1974 and 2004, the Council was re-constituted by young activists in March 2004. This resulted in the young unionists (YU) becoming a representative body of the UUP and subject to its revamp of their Constitution.Constitutional affairs
- Constitutional monarchist
- Pro-devolution with a strong attachment to British parliamentary traditions
- Supports in principle the idea of power-sharing with democratic nationalist parties in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
- Seeks to promote and strengthen the constitutional union between Northern Ireland, England, Scotland, and Wales within the constitutional framework of the United Kingdom
- Seeks to develop friendly relations between all the peoples of the British Isles
- Supportive of a positive, co-operative relationship between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland
North/South and British/Irish relations
- The party has been supportive of constructive co-operation between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, since the latter renounced its territorial claim upon Northern Ireland as part of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement
- Participated in North/South Ministerial CouncilNorth/South Ministerial CouncilThe North/South Ministerial Council is a body established under the Belfast Agreement to co-ordinate activity and exercise certain governmental powers across the whole island of Ireland...
(NSMC) - Established British Irish Council
Justice and security
- Opposed the Patten Report (1999) and the subsequent changes to RUC
- Against 50:50 recruitment in the Police Service of Northern IrelandPolice Service of Northern IrelandThe Police Service of Northern Ireland is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary which, in turn, was the successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary in Northern Ireland....
(PSNI) - Favours retention of full-time reserve to keep up police numbers
- Supports strong UK anti-terrorist legislation, identity cards, anti-social behaviour orders and a statutory Victims Charter for victims of crime
- Demands Assets Recovery Agency actions against both loyalist and republican paramilitaries
- Demands the abolition of Parades Commission, on the grounds that it restricts Freedom of Assembly
Culture, social affairs and ethnic minorities
- UUP social policy places an emphasis on social cohesion, on the role of the family, and on the eradication of poverty and homelessness from Northern Ireland society
- Under Sir Reg Empey's leadership, the party has stressed the need to help integrate ethnic minorities into Northern Irish life
- The UUP supported the allocation of additional resources by the police to tackle Hate Crime against ethnic minorities
- The party's website contains content in most of Northern Ireland's ethnic minority languages, including Arabic, BengaliBengali languageBengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
, Chinese, HindiHindiStandard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
, Polish, Portuguese, PunjabiPunjabi languagePunjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
and UrduUrduUrdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an... - Established Ulster-Scots AgencyUlster-Scots AgencyThe Ulster-Scots Agency is a cross-border body in Ireland which seeks "promote the study, conservation and development of Ulster-Scots as a living language; to encourage and develop the full range of its attendant culture; and to promote an understanding of the history of the Ulster-Scots...
Agriculture
- The party has proposed a series of measures aimed at addressing the economic, social and environmental needs of rural communities. It has called for a Rural White PaperWhite paperA white paper is an authoritative report or guide that helps solve a problem. White papers are used to educate readers and help people make decisions, and are often requested and used in politics, policy, business, and technical fields. In commercial use, the term has also come to refer to...
to bring together the various strands of government policy towards rural communities in the Province
Education
- The party promotes a series of measures to reduce the "brain drain" of educated young Northern Ireland people to the mainland UK, Republic of Ireland and further afield
Environment
- Proposes independent Environmental Protection Agency and Marine Act for coastal protection
- Supports reduced fossil fuelFossil fuelFossil fuels are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years...
dependency and increased renewable energyRenewable energyRenewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
use - Aims to complete all Area of Special Scientific InterestArea of Special Scientific InterestAn Area of Special Scientific Interest or ASSI is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in Northern Ireland. ASSIs are the equivalent of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the rest of the United Kingdom....
designations by 2010
Health
- The party supports free personal care for the elderly and has stated it will make its implementation a priority in any future Northern Ireland administration
Economic affairs
- RegionalistRegionalism (politics)Regionalism is a term used in international relations. Regionalism also constitutes one of the three constituents of the international commercial system...
approach seeks maximum investment in Northern Ireland economy
Foreign affairs and Europe
- Supports the "War on TerrorismWar on TerrorismThe War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
" - Voted for the 2003 invasion of Iraq2003 invasion of IraqThe 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
at WestminsterParliament of the United KingdomThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London... - Atlanticist
- Expresses support for involvement of Northern Ireland citizens in UK diplomacy and the United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
- Supports North Atlantic Treaty Organization alliance with the United Kingdom's allies
- Supports close relations with the CommonwealthCommonwealth of NationsThe Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
- General interest in international development issues
- Euro-sceptic centrist
- Opposes European Constitution
- Favours retention of the Pound SterlingPound sterlingThe pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
, opposes UK entry into the EuroEuroThe euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
Current ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive
| Portfolio | Name |
|---|---|
| Department for Regional Development Department for Regional Development The Department for Regional Development is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive... |
Danny Kennedy Danny Kennedy Danny Kennedy MLA is a unionist politician in Northern Ireland a former deputy leader of the Ulster Unionist Party Assembly Group and current Minister for Regional Development.-Background:... MLA |
Party spokesmen
| Responsibility | Name |
|---|---|
| Agriculture and Rural Development | Tom Elliott Tom Elliott Tom Elliott MLA is a Northern Ireland Ulster Unionist MLA and the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and former UDR member... MLA |
| Children's Issues | Roy Beggs Jnr MLA |
| Culture, Arts and Leisure | David McNarry David McNarry David McNarry MLA is a Unionist politician from Northern Ireland. He stood for the Ulster Unionist Party in North Down in the 1982 Assembly elections but failed to be elected. He is now a UUP MLA for Strangford, elected in 2003 and re-elected in 2007. He is currently UUP chief whip... MLA |
| Education | Basil McCrea Basil McCrea Basil McCrea MLA is a unionist politician in Northern Ireland. He was elected in 2007 to the Northern Ireland Assembly as a Ulster Unionist Party member for Lagan Valley. He unsuccessfully contested the 2005 UK General Election in Lagan Valley for the UUP... MLA |
| Employment and Learning | David McClarty David McClarty Councillor David McClarty, MLA is an Independent Unionist politician from Northern Ireland.He is from Coleraine and was educated at Coleraine Academical Institution and Magee College... MLA |
| Enterprise, Trade and Investment | Leslie Cree Leslie Cree Alderman Leslie Cree, MBE, MLA is a Unionist politician from Northern Ireland.He is an Ulster Unionist Party MLA for North Down.... MLA |
| Environment | Roy Beggs, Jr. MLA |
| Finance and Personnel | David McNarry David McNarry David McNarry MLA is a Unionist politician from Northern Ireland. He stood for the Ulster Unionist Party in North Down in the 1982 Assembly elections but failed to be elected. He is now a UUP MLA for Strangford, elected in 2003 and re-elected in 2007. He is currently UUP chief whip... MLA |
| Health | John McCallister John McCallister John McCallister, MLA is a Northern Ireland Unionist politician who, in 2007, was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly as an Ulster Unionist Party member for South Down.... MLA |
| Parading Issues | Fred Cobain Fred Cobain Fred Cobain, MBE is a Unionist politician from Northern Ireland and was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly from 1998 until 2011.Cobain was first elected to Belfast City Council in 1985. He served as Lord Mayor of Belfast in 1990-1991... MLA Cllr Michael Copeland Michael Copeland Alderman Michael Copeland is a Unionist politician from Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.Copeland was educated at Lisnasharragh Primary School, Lisnasharragh Secondary School, Castlereagh College and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst becoming a lieutenant of the Ulster Defence Regiment, HM... |
| Policing Issues | Fred Cobain Fred Cobain Fred Cobain, MBE is a Unionist politician from Northern Ireland and was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly from 1998 until 2011.Cobain was first elected to Belfast City Council in 1985. He served as Lord Mayor of Belfast in 1990-1991... MLA |
| Regional Development | Fred Cobain Fred Cobain Fred Cobain, MBE is a Unionist politician from Northern Ireland and was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly from 1998 until 2011.Cobain was first elected to Belfast City Council in 1985. He served as Lord Mayor of Belfast in 1990-1991... MLA |
| Rights and Equality | Dermot Nesbitt Dermot Nesbitt Dermot Nesbitt is a politician from Northern Ireland.Nesbitt studied economics at Queens University Belfast and joined the Ulster Unionist Party... |
| Social Development | Billy Armstrong Billy Armstrong Billy Armstrong is an Ulster Unionist politician in Northern Ireland.He served as Assembly Member for Mid Ulster from 1998 until 2011, when he was succeeded by his daughter, Sandra Overend. He was a member of the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee, the Committee for Enterprise, Trade &... MLA |
| Victims' Issues | Derek Hussey Derek Hussey Derek Robert Hussey is a Ulster Unionist politician from Northern IrelandHussey was educated at Omagh Model School, Omagh Academy and Stranmillis College, Belfast. He previously was a teacher at Castlederg High School.In 1989 he was elected as councillor on Strabane District Council... |
Presidents
- 1905 James HamiltonJames Hamilton, 2nd Duke of AbercornJames Hamilton, 2nd Duke of Abercorn KG, CB, PC , styled Viscount Hamilton until 1868 and Marquess of Hamilton from 1868 to 1885, was a British nobleman and diplomat...
- 19?? James CraigJames Craig, 1st Viscount CraigavonJames Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon, PC, PC , was a prominent Irish unionist politician, leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland...
- 19?? John Miller Andrews
- 1947 Herbert DixonHerbert Dixon, 1st Baron GlentoranHerbert Dixon, 1st Baron Glentoran OBE PC was a Northern Ireland Unionist politician.He was born in Belfast, the fourth son of Sir Daniel Dixon, 1st Baronet, and educated at Harrow and Sandhurst, being commissioned into the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, with which regiment he served in the Second...
- 195? Lord BrookboroughBasil Brooke, 1st Viscount BrookeboroughBasil Stanlake Brooke, 1st Viscount Brookeborough, Bt, KG, CBE, MC, PC, HML was an Ulster Unionist politician who became the third Prime Minister of Northern Ireland in 1943 and held office until 1963....
- 1950
- 1963 Clarence GrahamClarence GrahamSir Clarence Johnston Graham, 1st Baronet was a businessman and an Ulster Unionist Party politician in Northern Ireland.-Background:...
- 1964
- 1969 Jack AndrewsJack AndrewsSir John Lawson Ormrod Andrews KBE, DL was a member of both the Northern Ireland House of Commons and the Senate of Northern Ireland....
- 1973? James G. Cunningham
- 1980 George Anthony Clark
- 1990 Josias CunninghamJosias CunninghamSir Josias Cunningham, DL was a Northern Irish stock broker, farmer and politician.-Early life:Josias Cunningham, known as "Joe", the grandson of Samuel Cunningham, was born into a well-off family of stock brokers, the family firm being...
- 2000 Martin SmythMartin SmythReverend William Martin Smyth is a Northern Irish unionist politician, and was Ulster Unionist Party Member of Parliament for Belfast South from 1982-2005...
- 2004 Lord Rogan
- 2006 Robert John WhiteRobert John WhiteRobert John White, known as John White, is an Ulster Unionist politician in Northern Ireland.White was Mayor of Coleraine from 1977 to 1980, having been Deputy Mayor from 1973. He was elected to the council at every election from 1973 to 1993....
General secretaries
A list of General Secretaries of the Ulster Unionist Council. From 1998 until 2007, the post was "Chief Executive of the Ulster Unionist Party".- 1905: T. H. Gibson
- 1906: Dawson BatesDawson BatesSir Richard Dawson Bates, 1st Baronet, OBE, PC, JP, DL , also known as Sir Dawson Bates , was an Ulster Unionist Party member of the Northern Ireland House of Commons....
- 1921: Wilson HungerfordWilson HungerfordSir Alexander Wilson Hungerford , known as Wilson Hungerford, was a Unionist politician in Northern Ireland.Born in Belfast, Hungerford was employed by the Irish Unionist Party from 1912. In 1921, he became Secretary of the Ulster Unionist Council, serving until 1941, and was also Secretary of the...
- 1941: Billy DouglasBilly Douglas (politician)William Douglas, known as Billy Douglas, was a prominent unionist activist in Northern Ireland.Douglas served in the British Army during World War I, under Herbert Dixon. When Dixon was elected for Belfast Pottinger at the UK general election, 1918, he appointed Douglas as his secretary...
- 1963: Jim BailieJim BailieJames O. Bailie, known as Jim Bailie, was a prominent unionist activist in Northern Ireland.Bailie trained as a Conservative Party election agent before joining the staff of the Ulster Unionist Party, in 1942...
- 1974: Norman Hutton
- 1983: Frank Millar JrFrank Millar JrFrank Millar is a Northern Irish journalist and former unionist politician.The son of Frank Millar, also a unionist politician, he was known as "Frank Millar Jr" during his early political career...
- 1987: Jim WilsonJim Wilson (UK politician)Jim Wilson is a Northern Irish politician.Born in County Antrim, Wilson attended Belfast College of Technology before becoming a marine engineer. He was elected to Newtownabbey Borough Council in 1975 for the Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party, and joined the Ulster Unionist Party the following...
- 1998: David Boyd
- 200?: Alastair Patterson
- 2004: Lyle Rea
- 2005: Will Corry
- 2007: Jim WilsonJim Wilson (UK politician)Jim Wilson is a Northern Irish politician.Born in County Antrim, Wilson attended Belfast College of Technology before becoming a marine engineer. He was elected to Newtownabbey Borough Council in 1975 for the Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party, and joined the Ulster Unionist Party the following...
(acting)
See also
- :Category:Ulster Unionist Party politicians
- List of Northern Ireland Members of the House of Lords
- List of Ulster Unionist Party MPs
- Ulster Unionist Chief WhipUlster Unionist Chief WhipThis is a list of people who served as Chief Whip of the Ulster Unionist Party in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the Parliament of Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Assembly.-Parliament of the United Kingdom:...
- 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...
- Conservatives in Northern IrelandConservatives in Northern IrelandThe Conservatives Northern Ireland is the section of the Conservative and Unionist Party of the United Kingdom that operates in Northern Ireland...
- Conservatives in Northern Ireland
External links
- Ulster Unionist Party (official website)