Progressive Unionist Party Páirtí Aontachtach Forásach | |
---|---|
Abbreviation | PUP |
Leader | Russell Watton |
President | Billy Hutchinson |
Chairman | Brian Lacey |
Founder | Hugh Smyth |
Founded | 1979 |
Preceded by | Volunteer Political Party |
Headquarters | 182 Shankill Road, Belfast, BT13 2BH |
Paramilitary wing | Ulster Volunteer Force Red Hand Commando |
Ideology | British unionism Ulster loyalism Democratic socialism [1] [2] Social democracy |
Political position | Centre-left [3] [4] to left-wing [5] |
Colours | Blue and red |
Northern Irish seats in the House of Commons | 0 / 18 |
Northern Ireland Assembly | 0 / 90 |
Local government in Northern Ireland | 1 / 462 |
Website | |
www | |
The Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) is a minor unionist [6] 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. [7]
Since the Ulster Democratic Party's dissolution in 2001, the PUP has been the sole party in Northern Ireland representing paramilitary loyalism. [8]
The PUP has one elected representative on the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, Russell Watton, the party's current leader. [9]
The party was founded by Hugh Smyth in the mid-1970s as the "Independent Unionist Group". In 1977, two prominent members of the Northern Ireland Labour Party,David Overend and Jim McDonald, joined. Overend subsequently wrote many of the group's policy documents, incorporating much of the NILP's platform. [10] [11] In 1979, the group was renamed the "Progressive Unionist Party".
Their position on the left of the political spectrum differentiates them from other unionist parties (such as the Ulster Unionist Party and the Democratic Unionist Party) which are ideologically right-wing. [12]
In 1995, shortly after the Combined Loyalist Military Command announced a ceasefire, former UVF member Billy Hutchinson, who was jailed for the murder of two Catholics in 1974, defined the relationship between the PUP and the UVF: "The relationship is a very strict one in terms of acting as political confidants and providing political analysis for them, but it doesn't go any deeper than that." [13]
The party has had a degree of electoral success. In 1994 PUP leader Hugh Smyth became Lord Mayor of Belfast, and in the 1996 elections to the Northern Ireland Forum they secured two seats, with Smyth and David Ervine both being elected. The PUP supported the Belfast Agreement and in the 1998 election to the Northern Ireland Assembly they also won two seats, with Hutchinson and David Ervine elected from the Belfast North and East constituencies respectively.
Ervine was the PUP candidate for the Northern Ireland constituency at the 1999 European elections. He polled 22,494 first-preference votes, and was not elected. [14]
The PUP stood two candidates for the 2001 general election: Ervine in Belfast East, and Dawn Purvis in Belfast South. In total, the party received 4,781 votes (0.6%), and no seats. Ervine was the best-performing candidate out of the two, winning 10% of the vote in Belfast East, and the only one to retain their deposit. [15] [16] [17]
The party held four of the seven seats they were defending at the concurrent local elections, but did make a gain in Castlereagh. [18] [19]
The PUP put up candidates for the 2003 Assembly election, including both Assembly members and Smyth. [20]
Overall, their vote dropped by 1.2% to 8,032 votes, a large decline when compared to their success of over 20,000 votes in 1998. [21] Hutchinson lost his seat, while Ervine held his. With no other candidates elected, this left Ervine as the PUP's only representative in the Assembly. [22]
The party had a poor showing at the 2005 local elections, losing half of their seats. This left Ervine and Smyth in Belfast as the only PUP candidates to be returned. [23]
Following a loyalist feud between the UVF and Loyalist Volunteer Force, in which four men were murdered by the UVF in Belfast and recognition of the UVF's ceasefire was withdrawn by the British government, the PUP debated ending its "special relationship" with the UVF. This was defeated in a closed vote at the party's annual conference in October 2005.
In March 2006, the Chairwoman of the PUP, Dawn Purvis, a research associate at the University of Ulster, was appointed as an independent member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board.
David Ervine died following a heart attack on 8 January 2007. On 22 January 2007 Dawn Purvis was chosen as party leader. [24] She is the second woman to lead a unionist party in Northern Ireland (after Anne Dickson's short-lived leadership of the Unionist Party of Northern Ireland following Brian Faulkner's retirement). Dr John Kyle was co-opted on to Belfast City Council to fill Ervine's seat. The party did not field any candidates for the 2010 general elections - party members were encouraged to vote for a candidate of their choice.
The PUP fielded three candidates for the 2007 Assembly election: Elaine Martin in North Down, Andrew Park in Belfast South and Dawn Purvis in Belfast East. Overall the party polled 3,822 votes or 0.6% of the votes cast in Northern Ireland, down 0.6% from the elections of 2003.
Purvis retained her party's seat in Belfast East, while no other PUP candidates were elected. [25]
In June 2010, Dawn Purvis resigned as leader, and as a member, of the party because of its relationship with the UVF and a recent murder attributed to that group. John Kyle was subsequently appointed interim leader, following Purvis's resignation. [26] [27] On 28 August 2010 the former deputy leader, David Rose, resigned from the party. He cited the recent murder attributed to the UVF and his belief that the party was "becoming increasingly conservative in outlook. [28]
During a meeting in Belfast on 29 September 2010, members of the party agreed to maintain its relationship with the Ulster Volunteer Force and the Red Hand Commando. [29] [30] Despite the links with the UVF, Billy Hutchinson acknowledges that most UVF members vote for the larger Democratic Unionist Party. [31]
Brian Ervine was appointed PUP leader in October 2010. [32]
At their manifesto launch for the 2011 Assembly and local elections, the PUP revealed their manifesto pledges, including: a balanced economy, greater integrated education and building a full-size replica of the RMS Titanic to be docked in Belfast Harbour. Additionally, Ervine announced that he would be standing in Belfast East, and that the party would be running local candidates in Larne, Castlereagh and Derry as well as in Belfast and Antrim. [33]
No PUP candidates were elected to the Assembly, leaving the party without representation for the first time since 1998. Ervine himself finished behind Purvis who had run for re-election as an independent. She, too, was not elected. [34] [35]
Despite losing their Assembly seat, the PUP did return their two councillors in Belfast. [36]
A month after the elections, Ervine announced his resignation as party leader, and later was replaced by veteran west Belfast activist Billy Hutchinson in October 2011. [37]
Hutchinson succeeded Hugh Smyth on Belfast City Council in January 2014, following the latter's retirement due to ill health. [38] [39]
The PUP stood candidates for the new 'super councils' at the 2014 local elections, doubling their total number of representatives from two to four. [40]
In Belfast, deputy leader John Kyle was re-elected, this time for the Titanic district, while Hutchinson topped the poll in Court. The party were also joined on the council by Julie Anne Corr-Johnston, who regained a seat in Oldpark for the party. [41] [42]
On the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, Coleraine candidate, Russell Watton, was the first to be elected in that district. [43]
Smyth died during the election campaign. [44]
The PUP stood six candidates at the 2016 Assembly election, but, despite an increase in their overall vote, no candidates were elected. [45] [46]
Their support dipped slightly at the snap election in 2017, but did see an increase in their votes in North and East Belfast. [47] [48] [49]
The party stood candidates at the 2019 local elections, including all four of their incumbent councillors. No further gains were made, with the party only losing their seat in Oldpark. [50] [51]
Following the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union, the PUP have been protesting against the Northern Ireland Protocol, part of the arrangements to prevent a 'hard border' in the Irish Sea. The party believes that the Protocol inhibits the Principle of consent, leading to Hutchinson saying that the PUP no longer support the Good Friday Agreement in November 2021. [52] [53]
Conversely, in an interview on BBC's The View programme, John Kyle stated that the Protocol could have "significant advantages" if "fundamental" changes are made. Kyle's remarks sparked outrage among unionists, with the PUP releasing a statement clarifying that the party still remains opposed to the Protocol, and that Kyle was giving a personal view. [54] [55]
Kyle subsequently resigned as both deputy leader and a member of the party three weeks later, citing "differing approaches" in regard to the Protocol. [56]
The party stood only three candidates at the 2022 Assembly election, with Hutchinson standing in North Belfast, Russell Watton in East Londonderry and Karl Bennett in East Belfast. [57]
No candidates were elected, with the PUP seeing a 52% drop in their support, compared to 2017. [58] [59]
The PUP had four candidates at the May local elections, with one candidate each across Belfast, Causeway Coast and Glens, Antrim and Newtownabbey and Mid and East Antrim. [60]
The party polled 2,103 votes (0.3%) overall, and were wiped out in Belfast, with Hutchinson losing out to the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV). [61] [62]
In the Causeway Coast and Glens, Watton retained his seat, making him the sole PUP candidate to be elected. [63]
A month after the elections, Hutchinson resigned as leader, with Watton taking over the role. [64]
Former UVF member Billy Giles, who spent 14 years in the Maze Prison for a sectarian killing, was part of the PUP's negotiating team at the Good Friday Agreement in April 1998. [65] Others involved in this process included Billy Mitchell, David Ervine, Jim McDonald, William 'Billy' Greer, Winston Churchill Rea and William "Plum" Smyth; all former UVF and Red Hand Commando members.
Leader | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Hugh Smyth | 1979 | 2002 |
2 | David Ervine | 2002 | 2007 |
3 | Dawn Purvis | 2007 | 2010 |
4 | Brian Ervine | 2010 | 2011 |
5 | Billy Hutchinson | 2011 | 2023 |
6 | Russell Watton | 2023 | Incumbent |
Constituency | Candidate | Votes | % | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|
Belfast South | David Ervine | 5,687 | 14.4 | 3 |
East Antrim | Billy Donaldson | 1,757 | 5.1 | 5 |
South Antrim | Hugh Smyth | 3,490 | 9.0 | 4 |
Constituency | Candidate | Votes | % | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|
Belfast East | David Ervine | 3,669 | 10.0 | 4 |
Belfast South | Dawn Purvis | 1,112 | 2.9 | 6 |
Election | Seats won | ± | First Pref votes | % | ± |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1998 | 2 / 108 | 20,634 | 2.6% | ||
2003 | 1 / 108 | 1 | 8,032 | 1.2% | 1.4% |
2007 | 1 / 108 | 3,822 | 0.6% | 1.2% | |
2011 | 0 / 108 | 1 | 1,493 | 0.2% | 0.4% |
2016 | 0 / 108 | 5,955 | 0.9% | 0.7% | |
2017 | 0 / 90 | 5,590 | 0.7% | 0.2% | |
2022 | 0 / 90 | 2,665 | 0.3% | 0.4% | |
Election | Seats won | ± | First Pref votes | % | ± |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1981 | 1 / 526 | N/A | 3,057 | 0.5% | N/A |
1985 | 2 / 565 | 1 | 3,612 | 0.6% | 0.1 |
1989 | 3 / 565 | 3,839 | 0.6% | ||
1993 | 1 / 582 | 2 | 2,350 | 0.4% | 0.2 |
1997 | 7 / 582 | 6 | 12,051 | 2% | 1.6 |
2001 | 4 / 582 | 3 | 12,261 | 1.55% | 0.45 |
2005 | 2 / 582 | 2 | 4,591 | 0.7% | 0.85 |
2011 | 2 / 582 | 3,858 | 0.6% | 0.1 | |
2014 | 4 / 462 | 1 | 12,753 | 2.0% | 1.4 |
2019 | 3 / 462 | 1 | 5,338 | 0.79% | 1.21 |
2023 | 1 / 462 | 2 | 2,103 | 0.3% | 0.5 |
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.
David Ervine was a Northern Irish Ulster Loyalist and politician who served as leader of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) from 2002 to 2007 and was also a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Belfast East from 1998 to 2007. During his youth Ervine was a member of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and was imprisoned for possessing bomb-making equipment. Whilst in jail he became convinced of the benefits of a more political approach for loyalism and became involved with the PUP. As a leading PUP figure, Ervine helped to deliver the loyalist ceasefire of 1994.
The Volunteer Political Party (VPP) was a loyalist political party launched in Northern Ireland on 22 June 1974 by members of the then recently legalised Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). The Chairman was Ken Gibson from East Belfast, an ex-internee and UVF chief of staff at the time. The success of the Ulster Workers Council Strike had shown some UVF leaders the political power they held and they sought to develop this potential further. The UVF had been banned by the Government of Northern Ireland in 1966, but was legalised at the same time as Sinn Féin by Labour Secretary of State Merlyn Rees in April 1974 in order to encourage a political path for Loyalist and republican paramilitary groups.
The Combined Loyalist Military Command is an umbrella body for loyalist paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland set up in the early 1990s, recalling the earlier Ulster Army Council and Ulster Loyalist Central Co-ordinating Committee.
Billy "Hutchie" Hutchinson is a Northern Irish Ulster Loyalist politician and activist who served as leader of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) from 2011 to 2023, now serving as party president. He was a Belfast City Councillor, representing Oldpark from 1997 to 2005, and then Court from 2014 to 2023. Hutchinson was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Belfast North from 1998 to 2003. Before this, he had been a member of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and was a founder of their youth wing, the Young Citizen Volunteers (YCV).
Augustus Andrew Spence was a leader of the paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and a leading loyalist politician in Northern Ireland. One of the first UVF members to be convicted of murder, Spence was a senior figure in the organisation for over a decade.
Hugh Smyth OBE was a Northern Irish Ulster Loyalist and politician who was leader of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) from 1979 to 2002, as well as during an interim period in 2011. He was Lord Mayor of Belfast from 1994 to 1995, as well as a Belfast City Councillor for the Court DEA from 1972 to January 2014, making him one of the longest-serving members on the Council. Smyth was awarded the Order of the British Empire in the 1996 New Year's Honours list.
Dawn Purvis is a Northern Irish policy director and former unionist politician, who was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Belfast East from 2007 to 2011. She was previously the leader of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) from 2007 to 2010.
Brian Ervine is a Northern Irish playwright, songwriter, teacher and former Ulster loyalist politician, based in Belfast. The Northern Irish playwright St John Ervine (1883–1971) was a distant relative. As a politician, he served as leader of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) from 2010 to 2011, having succeeded Dawn Purvis. Ervine's wife, Linda, serves as the Irish Language Officer at Turas, an Irish-language programme notable for its location in east Belfast.
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.
John Kyle is a Northern Irish unionist politician and General practitioner who was High Sheriff of Belfast from 2023 to 2024, and was a Belfast City Councillor for the Titanic DEA from 2007 to 2023. Additionally, he served as interim leader of the centre-left loyalist Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) in 2010, then as deputy leader from 2012 to 2021.
Kenneth Gibson was a Northern Irish politician who was the Chairman of the Volunteer Political Party (VPP), which he had helped to form in 1974. He also served as a spokesman and Chief of Staff of the loyalist paramilitary organisation, the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF).
Clifford Peeples is a self-styled pastor in Northern Ireland who has been associated with Ulster loyalism, for which he was convicted of terrorist activity and imprisoned. Peeples has been a member of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) prisoners' spokesman and leader of the Orange Volunteers (OV). He has taken a prominent role in opposing the Northern Ireland Protocol in the courts.
David Adams is a Northern Irish loyalist activist and former politician. He was instrumental in bringing about the loyalist ceasefire of 1994 and played a leading role in the early stages of the Northern Ireland peace process.
William Smith was a Northern Irish loyalist, paramilitary, and politician. He had been involved in Ulster loyalism in various capacities for at least forty years.
Richard Jameson, was a Northern Irish businessman and loyalist, who served as the leader of the paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force's (UVF) Mid-Ulster Brigade. He was killed outside his Portadown home during a feud with the rival Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF), the breakaway organisation founded by former Mid-Ulster UVF commander Billy Wright after he and the Portadown unit of the Mid-Ulster Brigade were officially stood down by the Brigade Staff in August 1996.
Jackie Mahood is a Northern Irish former loyalist activist with both the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and Progressive Unionist Party (PUP). He later split from these groups and became associated with the breakaway Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF), founded in 1996 by Billy Wright.
On 3 December 2012, Belfast City Council voted to limit the days that the Union Flag flies from Belfast City Hall. Since 1906, the flag had been flown every day of the year. This was reduced to 18 specific days a year, the minimum requirement for UK government buildings. The move to limit the number of days was backed by the council's Irish nationalists while the Alliance Party abstained from the vote; it was opposed by the unionist councillors.
Russell Watton is a Northern Irish Ulster loyalist, politician and community activist, serving as leader of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) since 2023, and a Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Councillor for the Coleraine DEA since 2014. He was also PUP deputy leader between 2022 and 2023.
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