The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded as the Ulster Unionist Council in 1905,emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson,it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule movement. Following the partition of Ireland,it was the governing party of Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972. It was supported by most unionist voters throughout the conflict known as the Troubles,during which time it was often referred to as the Official Unionist Party (OUP).
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist,loyalist,British nationalist and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley,who led the party for the next 37 years. It is currently led by Gavin Robinson,who initially stepped in as an interim after the resignation of Jeffrey Donaldson. It is the second-largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly,and won five seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom at the 2024 election. The party has been mostly described as right-wing and socially conservative,being anti-abortion and opposing same-sex marriage. The DUP sees itself as defending Britishness and Ulster Protestant culture against Irish nationalism and republicanism. It is also Eurosceptic and supported Brexit.
The Northern Ireland Assembly,often referred to by the metonym Stormont,is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom,and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive. It sits at Parliament Buildings at Stormont in Belfast.
James Hugh Allister is a Northern Irish politician and barrister who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for North Antrim since the 2024 general election. He founded the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) in 2007 and has led the party since its formation. Prior to his election to Westminster,Allister was a member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for North Antrim,having been first elected in the 2011 Assembly election.
East Antrim is a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons. It is currently represented by Sammy Wilson of the Democratic Unionist Party.
South Antrim is a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons. The current MP is Robin Swann (UUP)
Seán Neeson is a politician in Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland between 1998 and 2001,and a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for East Antrim from 1998 to 2011.
Wallace Hamilton Browne,Baron Browne of Belmont,is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician,who has been a Member of the House of Lords since 2006,and was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for East Belfast from 2007 to 2011.
David Hilditch was a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician who was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for East Antrim from 1998 to 2023.
Diane Jean Dodds,Baroness Dodds of Duncairn,,is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician in Northern Ireland. She served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Northern Ireland constituency from 2009 to 2020. She previously sat in the Northern Ireland Assembly from 2003 to 2007 as MLA for West Belfast. In 2020,Dodds returned to the Assembly as MLA for Upper Bann and is the DUP's Spokesperson for Education and Skills. She is married to Lord Dodds,and as such she is styled as "The Right Honourable The Lady Dodds of Duncairn".
The 2007 Northern Ireland Assembly election was held on Wednesday,7 March 2007. It was the third election to take place since the devolved assembly was established in 1998. The election saw endorsement of the St Andrews Agreement and the two largest parties,the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin,along with the Alliance Party,increase their support,with falls in support for the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP).
Fred Cobain,MBE is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician from Northern Ireland,serving as a Belfast City Councillor for the Castle DEA since 2019. He was previously an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Belfast North from 1998 until 2011.
Roger Hutchinson is a former Northern Irish unionist politician and church minister who was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for East Antrim from 1998 to 2003.
The Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. In common with all other Northern Irish unionist parties,the TUV's political programme has as its sine qua non the preservation of Northern Ireland's place within the United Kingdom. A founding precept of the party is that "nothing which is morally wrong can be politically right".
Daniel de Burgh Kinahan is a British army officer and former Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician,serving as Veterans Commissioner for Northern Ireland since 2020.
The 2011 Northern Ireland Assembly election took place on Thursday,5 May,following the dissolution of the Northern Ireland Assembly at midnight on 24 March 2011. It was the fourth election to take place since the devolved assembly was established in 1998.
The 2016 Northern Ireland Assembly election was held on Thursday,5 May 2016. It was the fifth election to take place since the devolved assembly was established in 1998. 1,281,595 individuals were registered to vote in the election. Turnout in the 2016 Assembly election was 703,744 (54.9%),a decline of less than one percentage point from the previous Assembly Election in 2011,but down 15 percentage points from the first election to the Assembly held in 1998.
The fourth Northern Ireland Assembly was the unicameral devolved legislature of Northern Ireland following the 2011 assembly election on 5 May 2011. This iteration of the elected Assembly convened for the first time on 12 May 2011 in Parliament Buildings in Stormont,and ran for a full term.
The 2015 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland was held on 7 May 2015 and all 18 seats were contested. 1,236,765 people were eligible to vote,up 67,581 from the 2010 general election. 58.45% of eligible voters turned out,an increase of half a percentage point from the last general election. This election saw the return of Ulster Unionists to the House of Commons,after they targeted 4 seats but secured 2.
Patricia O'Lynn is a Northern Irish academic,educator,and politician who was an Alliance Party Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from 2022 to 2023. She was elected as an MLA in the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election for North Antrim.
