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).
Sir Jeffrey Mark Donaldson is a British former politician,who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 2021 to 2024,and leader of the DUP in the UK House of Commons from 2019 to 2024. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lagan Valley from 1997 to 2024.
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.
North Down is a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons. The current MP is Alex Easton,elected at the 2024 United Kingdom general election.
Paul Berry is a Northern Irish Independent Unionist politician,serving as an Armagh City,Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Councillor for the Cusher DEA since 2014.
Stephen Anthony Farry is a Northern Irish politician who has served as the deputy leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland since December 2016 and as Member of Parliament (MP) for North Down from 2019,until he lost his seat to independent unionist Alex Easton at the 2024 general election.
Independent Unionist has been a label sometimes used by candidates in elections in the United Kingdom,indicating a support for British unionism.
Thomas Buchanan is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician,serving as a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for West Tyrone since 2003. Buchanan is the DUP Spokesperson for Victims Rights and Groups Liaison. He is also one of the DUP's members of the Northern Ireland Policing Board.
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 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.
Emma Little-Pengelly is a Northern Irish barrister and Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician serving as the deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland since February 2024. She has been a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Lagan Valley since May 2022,when she was co-opted (appointed) to replace then-DUP party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson,who declined to take up his seat following the 2022 election.
Alan Chambers is a Northern Irish unionist politician who was acting Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly between 2022 and 2024. Chambers has been an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for North Down since 2016. He currently serves as Chairperson of the Assembly's Audit Committee.
The 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election was held on 5 May 2022. It elected 90 members to the Northern Ireland Assembly. It was the seventh assembly election since the establishment of the assembly in 1998. The election was held three months after the Northern Ireland Executive collapsed due to the resignation of the First Minister,Paul Givan of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP),in protest against the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Andrew Muir is a Northern Irish politician who has served as Minister of Agriculture,Environment and Rural Affairs since February 2024. He is an Alliance Party Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for North Down. He was appointed as an MLA following incumbent Alliance MLA Stephen Farry's election as MP for North Down in the 2019 UK general election,and elected in the constituency in the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election.
Sorcha-Lucy Eastwood is a Northern Irish politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Lagan Valley since 2024. A member of the Alliance Party,she previously served as a member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Lagan Valley from 2022 until her election to the House of Commons.
Eóin Tennyson is a Northern Irish Alliance Party politician who has served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Upper Bann since the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election.
Diane Forsythe is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician,serving as a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for South Down since 2022. Forsythe as the first female unionist MLA to represent the area. Forsythe is the DUP's Spokesperson for Communities,Childcare and Early Years.
Phillip Brett is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician,serving as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Belfast North since 2022. Brett is the infrastructure spokesperson for the DUP.
Connie Egan is a Northern Irish politician who is an Alliance Party Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). She was elected as an MLA in the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election for North Down.
The 2024 general election in Northern Ireland was held on 4 July 2024,with all 18 Northern Irish seats in the House of Commons contested. The general election occurred after the recently completed constituency boundaries review.
