Everything about Ulster Unionists totally explained
The
Ulster Unionist Party (
UUP, sometimes referred to as the
Official Unionist Party or
OUP or, in a historic sense, simply the
Unionist Party) is the more moderate of the two main
unionist political parties in
Northern Ireland. Prior to the split in Unionism in the late 1960s, when the
Protestant Unionist Party began to attract more hard line support away from the UUP, it governed Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972 as the sole Unionist party. It continued to be supported by most unionist voters throughout the period known as
the Troubles. The party is currently led by
Sir Reg Empey.
The UUP has lost support among Northern Ireland's
unionist and
Protestant community to the more 'hardline'
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in successive elections at all levels of government since 1999. A telling sign of this decline in support is that 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.
Party leaders
» note: ** denotes leaders of the UUP who were also leaders of the Irish Unionist Parliamentary Party.
History
1880s to 1921
The Ulster Unionist Party traces its formal existence back to the foundation of the
Ulster Unionist Council in 1905. Prior to that, however, there had been a less formally organised
Irish Unionist Party since the late 19th century, sometimes but not always dominated by Unionists from Ulster. Modern organised Unionism properly emerged after
William 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 50% 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 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 Stormont era
Until almost the very end of its period of power in
Northern Ireland 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 Criagavon and
John Miller Andrews - nephew of
Viscount Pirrie). Only its last
Prime Minister,
Brian Faulkner was from a middle-class background, albeit privileged.
Craig governed Northern Ireland from its inception until his death in 1940. He was given the second state funeral in Northern Ireland's history, and is buried with his wife by the east wing of
Parliament Buildings. His successor, JM Andrews, was heavily criticised for appointing octogenarian veterans of Craig's administration to his cabinet. His government was also believed to be more interested in protecting the statue of Carson than the citizens of Belfast during the
Blitz. A backbench revolt in 1943 resulted in his resignation to be replaced by Sir Basil Brooke, although he was recognised as leader of the party until 1946.
Brooke, despite having felt that he held on to power for too long, was Prime Minister for one year longer than Craig. 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 Education Act which made the state responsible for the payment of
National Insurance contributions of teachers in Catholic maintained schools.
Ian Paisley called for Brooke's resignation in 1953 when he refused to sack
Brian Maginess and Sir
Clarence Graham who gave speeches supporting Catholic membership of the UUP.
He was replaced in 1963 by
Terence O'Neill.
In the 1960s, identifying with the
civil rights movement of
Martin Luther King and encouraged by attempts at reform under O'Neill, the Northern
Civil Rights Movement campaigned for legislation that would end discrimination against Catholics in a small number of areas, mostly the allocation of public housing and the local government franchise (which was restricted to
rate payers). However, the increase in violence between unionists and the newly formed
Provisional Irish Republican Army led some to believe Northern Ireland was faced with what seemed to be a threat of civil war. This violence escaled throughout the late 1960s. 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 hardline 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 suspended, and eventually abolished the Northern Ireland Parliament.
Some liberal Unionists, 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 hardline 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 Agreement, 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 didn't 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 the province. The party also made gains upon the breakup 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 (1979-1995).
The Trimble Leadership
David Trimble 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 murdered 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.
2005 General Election
The party fared poorly in the 2005 general election, losing five of its six Westminster seats — 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 Bann and resigned as party leader soon after. The ensuing
leadership election was won by Sir
Reg Empey.
2005 - present
In May 2006 UUP leader
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), a paramilitary organisation that carried out many murders during the Troubles and equivalent to the
Provisional Irish Republican Army for the
Sinn Féin Party. 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 Assembly Party Group' whose membership was the 24 UUP MLAs and Mr Ervine. Sir
Reg Empey justified the link by stating that under the d'Hondt rules for allocating ministers in the Assembly, the new group would take a seat in the Executive from Sinn Féin, with their links to the IRA.
Following a request for a ruling from the DUP's
Peter Robinson, the Speaker ruled that the UUPAG wasn't a political party within the meaning of the
Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.
2007
The Ulster Unionist party did poorly in the
Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2007. The party retained 18 of its seats within the assembly.
|
Party |
Leader |
Candidates |
Seats |
Change from 2003
|
1st Pref Votes |
1st Pref % |
Change from 2003
|
Executive seats |
| Reg Empey |
38 |
18 |
−9 |
103,145 |
14.9 |
−7.7 |
2 |
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 Womens 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 hadn't 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.
(External Link
)
Policy summary
As a party reflecting the centrist ground of Unionist opinion, the broad policy outlook of the Ulster Unionist Party reflects the society in which it works and aims to develop and strengthen Northern Ireland's role as a partner within the United Kingdom. Under Sir Reg Empey's leadership, the party has stressed the need for social cohesion and a "Fair Society". It has stated it'll make tackling
poverty and
homelessness a priority in any future Northern Ireland administration.
Constitutional affairs
Constitutional Monarchist
Pro-devolution with a strong attachment to British Parliamentary Traditions
Supports in principle 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
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 Council (NSMC)
British/Irish relations
Established British Irish Council
Justice and security
Opposed Patten Report (1999) and subsequent changes to RUC
Against 50:50 recruitment in the Police Service of 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.
Social affairs
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. (External Link)
Ethnic minorities
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 Website contains content in most of Northern Ireland's ethnic minority languages, including Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Hindi, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi and Urdu.
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 Paper to bring together the various strands of government policy towards rural communities in the Province.
Culture
Established Ulster-Scots Agency
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. (External Link)
Environment
Proposes independent Environmental Protection Agency and Marine Act for coastal protection
Supports reduced fossil fuel dependency and increased renewable energy use
Aims to complete all Area of Special Scientific Interest designations by 2010
Health
The party supports free personal care for the elderly (External Link) and has stated it'll make its implementation a priority in any future Northern Ireland administration.
Economic affairs
Regionalist approach seeks maximum investment in Northern Ireland economy
Foreign affairs
Supports the "War on Terrorism"
Voted for the 2003 invasion of Iraq at Westminster
Europe
Euro-sceptic centrist
Opposes European Constitution
Favours retention of the Pound Sterling, opposes UK entry into the Euro
Wider world
Atlanticist
Expresses support for involvement of Northern Ireland citizens in UK diplomacy and United Nations
Supports North Atlantic Treaty Organization alliance with the United Kingdom's NATO allies
General interest in international development issues
Spokespersons
Party spokespersons as of July 2007 were:
| Policy Issue |
|
| Social Development |
Cllr Michael Copeland
|
| Agriculture and Rural Development |
|
| Regional Development |
|
| Education and Employment & Learning |
|
| Finance and Personnel |
|
| Environment |
|
| Health |
|
| Culture, Arts and Leisure |
|
| Enterprise, Trade and Investment |
|
| Tourism and consumer affairs |
|
| Rights & Equality |
|
| Finance and Personnel |
|
| Children's issues |
|
| Parading Issues |
Cllr Michael Copeland
|
| Policing Issues |
|
| Regional Development |
|
| Victims' Issues |
|
Presidents
???? Sir George A Clarke
1990 Sir Josias Cunningham
2000 Martin Smyth
2004 Lord Rogan
2006 Robert John White
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 Bates
1921: Wilson Hungerford
1941: Billy Douglas
1963: Jim Bailie
1974: Norman Hutton
1983: Frank Millar Jr
1987: Jim Wilson
1998: David Boyd
200?: Alastair Patterson
2004: Lyle ReaFurther Information
Get more info on 'Ulster Unionists'.
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