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).
William David Trimble,Baron Trimble,was a Northern Irish politician who was the inaugural First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2002,and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1995 to 2005. He was also Member of Parliament (MP) for Upper Bann from 1990 to 2005 and Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Upper Bann from 1998 to 2007.
The 1998 Northern Ireland Assembly election took place on Thursday,25 June 1998. This was the first election to the new devolved Northern Ireland Assembly. Six members from each of Northern Ireland's eighteen Westminster Parliamentary constituencies were elected by single transferable vote,giving a total of 108 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs).
The Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) is a minor unionist political party in Northern Ireland. It was formed from the Independent Unionist Group operating in the Shankill area of Belfast,becoming the PUP in 1979. Linked to the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and Red Hand Commando (RHC),for a time it described itself as "the only left of centre unionist party" in Northern Ireland,with its main support base in the loyalist working class communities of Belfast.
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 Henry Molyneaux,Baron Molyneaux of Killead,KBE,PC,often known as Jim Molyneaux,was a unionist politician from Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1979 to 1995,and as the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Antrim from 1970 to 1983,and later Lagan Valley from 1983 to 1997. An Orangeman,he was also Sovereign Grand Master of the Royal Black Institution from 1971 to 1995,and a leading member of the Conservative Monday Club.
William Martin Smyth is a Northern Irish unionist clergyman-politician. An ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland,he was Grand Master of the Orange Order during much of the Troubles and served as the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Belfast South from 1982 to 2005. He was also a vice-president of the Conservative Monday Club.
Sir Alfred Cecil Walker was an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician,who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Belfast from 1983 to 2001.
The Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party (VUPP),informally known as Ulster Vanguard,was a unionist political party which existed in Northern Ireland between 1972 and 1978. Led by William Craig,the party emerged from a split in the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and was closely affiliated with several loyalist paramilitary groups. The party was set up in opposition to compulsory power sharing with Irish nationalist parties. It opposed the Sunningdale Agreement and was involved in extra-parliamentary activity against the agreement. However,in 1975,during discussions on the constitutional status of Northern Ireland in the constitutional convention,William Craig suggested the possibility of voluntary power sharing with the nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party. In consequence the party split,with dissenters forming the United Ulster Unionist Party. Thereafter Vanguard declined and following poor results in the 1977 local government elections,Craig merged the remainder of Vanguard into the UUP in February 1978.
South Antrim is a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons. The current MP is Robin Swann (UUP)
Belfast South was a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons.
Reginald Norman Morgan Empey,Baron Empey,,best known as Reg Empey,is a Northern Irish politician who served as the acting First Minister of Northern Ireland in 2001. He was the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 2005 to 2010 and served as chairman of the party from 2012 to 2019. Empey was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for East Belfast from 1998 to 2011.
Major Robert Alan McFarland is a former Northern Irish unionist politician who was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for North Down from 1998 to 2011.
Independent Unionist has been a label sometimes used by candidates in elections in the United Kingdom,indicating a support for British unionism.
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).
The Belfast South by-election was held on 4 March 1982 following the death of Robert Bradford,Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Member of Parliament for Belfast South.
David McNarry is a former Northern Irish unionist politician and Ulster Loyalist representative who served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Strangford from 2003 to 2016.
The Northern Ireland Conservatives is a section of the United Kingdom's Conservative Party that operates in Northern Ireland. The Conservatives are the only major British party to field candidates within Northern Ireland and typically contests only a fraction of seats in elections. The party won 0.03% of the vote in the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election and 0.1% of the vote in the 2024 United Kingdom General election in Northern Ireland.
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 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.
