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 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.
Michael Nesbitt,MLA is a Northern Irish politician and former broadcaster currently serving as the Minister of Health since 28 May 2024. He has been the Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) since 30 August 2024 following his successful candidacy in the 2024 leadership election after previously serving in the role from 2012 to 2017. Nesbitt has been a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Strangford since 2011.
Independent Unionist has been a label sometimes used by candidates in elections in the United Kingdom,indicating a support for British unionism.
William Bradshaw Bell,OBE,JP,was an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician from Northern Ireland,and a former Lord Mayor of Belfast. Bell was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Lagan Valley from 1998 to 2007.
David McClarty was a Northern Irish unionist politician who served as an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP),later an Independent Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for East Londonderry from 1998,until his death in 2014.
John McCallister is a former Northern Irish Unionist politician who was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for South Down from 2007 to 2016.
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 2005 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland was held on 5 May 2005 and all 18 seats in Northern Ireland were contested. 1,139,993 people were eligible to vote,down 51,016 from the 2001 general election. 63.49% of eligible voters turned out,down 5.1 percentage points from the last general election.
The election for the leadership of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) was held on 31 March 2012. The UUP holds an election for the office of Leader each year at its Annual General Meeting,which is normally returns the incumbent unopposed. The contested election was triggered after incumbent Leader Tom Elliott,elected in 2010,unexpectedly announced on 8 March 2012 that he would not be seeking re-election. Nominations closed on 16 March 2012.
A by-election for the UK House of Commons constituency of Mid Ulster in Northern Ireland was held on 7 March 2013. The election was triggered by the resignation of Martin McGuinness,who had been elected to the seat in 1997 as the Sinn Féin candidate. The election was won by Francie Molloy,also of Sinn Féin.
NI21 was a short-lived political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 2013 by former Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) MLAs,Basil McCrea and John McCallister. Although it explicitly supported Northern Ireland staying part of the United Kingdom,it planned to designate as "other" rather than "unionist" in future Stormont elections. It presented itself as a "cross-community party" and promoted a Northern Irish national identity for the 21st century. The party had two MLAs in the Northern Ireland Assembly and a single councillor on Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council.
The first election to Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council,part of the Northern Ireland local elections on 22 May 2014,returned 40 members to the newly formed council via Single Transferable Vote. The Democratic Unionist Party won half of the seats.
Douglas Ricardo Beattie is a Northern Irish politician and former member of the British Army,who was leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) between 27 May 2021 and 19 August 2024. He has been a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Upper Bann since 2016. He is characterised as a 'progressive' and 'liberal' unionist.
Robbie Butler is a Northern Irish unionist politician,serving as Deputy Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) since May 2021,and a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Lagan Valley since 2016.
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.
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.
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.
An election for the leadership of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) will be held on 14 September 2024 at an extraordinary meeting of the Ulster Unionist Council following the resignation of incumbent leader Doug Beattie on 19 August 2024. Beattie resigned following internal tensions surrounding the selection of Colin Crawford as the party's new North Antrim Assembly member.
