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 is stepping in as an interim after the resignation of Jeffrey Donaldson. It is the second largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly,and is the fifth-largest party in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The party has been described as centre-right to 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 Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI),or simply Alliance,is a liberal and centrist political party in Northern Ireland. Following the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election,it was the third-largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly,holding seventeen seats,and broke through by placing third in first preference votes in the 2019 European Parliament election and polling third-highest regionally at the 2019 UK general election. The party won one of the three Northern Ireland seats in the European Parliament,and one seat,North Down,in the House of Commons,the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Sir Jeffrey Mark Donaldson is a British 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 has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lagan Valley since 1997.
Peter David Robinson is a retired Northern Irish politician who served as First Minister of Northern Ireland from 2008 until 2016 and Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 2008 until 2015. Until his retirement in 2016,Robinson was involved in Northern Irish politics for over 40 years,being a founding member of the DUP along with Ian Paisley.
Nigel Alexander Dodds,Baron Dodds of Duncairn,,is a Northern Irish unionist politician and barrister serving as Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in the House of Lords since 2021. He previously served as deputy leader of the DUP from 2008 to 2021 and leader of the DUP in the House of Commons from 2010 to 2019.
James Hugh Allister is a British Unionist politician and barrister in Northern Ireland. He founded the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) political party in 2007,leading the party since its formation. Allister has served as a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for North Antrim since 2011,and is the TUV’s only representative in the Assembly.
Belfast North is a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons. The current MP is John Finucane of Sinn Féin.
Belfast East is a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons. The current MP is Gavin Robinson of the DUP.
Reginald Norman Morgan Empey,Baron Empey,,best known as Reg Empey,is a Northern Irish unionist politician who was the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 2005 to 2010. He was the chairman of the Ulster Unionist Party from 2012 to 2019. Empey was also twice Lord Mayor of Belfast and was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for East Belfast from 1998 to 2011.
Naomi Rachel Long MLA is a Northern Irish politician who has served as Minister of Justice in the Northern Ireland Executive since February 2024,having previously served from January 2020 to October 2022. She has served as leader of the Alliance Party since 2016 and a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Belfast East since 2020.
Samuel Wilson is a Northern Irish politician who was Chief Whip of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in the House of Commons from 2019 to 2024. Wilson has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for East Antrim since 2005. He served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Belfast East from 1998 to 2003 and for East Antrim from 2003 until 2015. He served as Lord Mayor of Belfast from 1986 to 1987 and again from 2000 to 2001,the first person from the DUP to hold the office. He has also served as Minister of Finance and Personnel and Minister of the Environment in the Northern Ireland Executive.
Arlene Isobel Foster,Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee,,is a British broadcaster and politician from Northern Ireland who served as First Minister of Northern Ireland from 2016 to 2017 and 2020 to 2021 and leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 2015 to 2021. Foster was the first woman to hold either position. She is a Member of the House of Lords,having previously been a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Fermanagh and South Tyrone from 2003 to 2021.
William Alexander Hay,Baron Hay of Ballyore,is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician,serving as a life peer in the House of Lords since 2014.
William Paul Girvan is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Antrim since 2017. Girvan is the DUP's Spokesperson for Transport. He was previously a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for South Antrim from 2003 to 2007,and then from 2010 to 2017.
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".
This article lists the Leaders of political parties in the United Kingdom to provide insight into the politics of the United Kingdom. It contains details including which party the leader belongs to,the leader's seat,and which form of leadership that person holds.
Gregory Lloyd Campbell is a British politician who has been the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Member of Parliament (MP) for East Londonderry since 2001. He is the DUP Spokesperson for International Development.
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 DUP party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson,who declined to take up his seat following the 2022 election.
John Finucane is an Irish Sinn Féin politician and solicitor. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for the Belfast North constituency of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom since the 2019 general election.
