Related Research Articles
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).
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.
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.
Thomas Beatty Elliott is a Northern Irish unionist politician,life peer and farmer who was leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 2010 to 2012,and has been a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Fermanagh and South Tyrone since 2022,having previously served from 2003 to 2015. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Fermanagh and South Tyrone from 2015 to 2017. He was a soldier in the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) from 1982 to 1992 and its successor the Royal Irish Regiment from 1992 to 1999. He backed a Leave vote in the 2016 EU membership referendum. He was appointed to the House of Lords in the 2024 Dissolution Honours on the 4th July 2024.
Michael Nesbitt,MLA is a Northern Irish politician and former broadcaster currently serving as the Minister of Health since 28 May 2024. He was the Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 2012 to 2017 and 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.
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).
Richard James Shannon is a Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician. He has sat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom since 2010 as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Strangford and is the DUP's Health Spokesperson. He had previously sat in the Northern Ireland Assembly from 1998 to 2010 as the Member of the Legislative Assembly of Northern Ireland (MLA) for Strangford.
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.
Duncan Shipley Dalton is an English barrister,former Conservative Party activist and former unionist politician in Northern Ireland,who was an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for South Antrim from 1998 to 2003.
Ivan Davis was a Northern Irish unionist politician. Davis was an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Lagan Valley from 1998 to 2003.
Tom Hamilton is an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician who was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Strangford from 2000 to 2003.
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.
Jonathan Fergus Bell is a former Northern Irish unionist politician.
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.
James Clarke,known as Jim Clarke,is a former Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician. Clarke was High Sheriff of Belfast between 1998 and 1999,and was a Belfast City councillor for the Laganbank DEA from 1989 to 2005.
The Ulster Unionist Party held the majority of Northern Ireland seats in most elections for the Westminster Parliament between 1922 and 2001. Since then its representation has been low or non-existent,having been eclipsed by the Democratic Unionist Party. It always had an absolute majority in the Stormont Parliament (1921–1972);since that Parliament was replaced by the Northern Ireland Assembly it has had a substantial minority representation there. Its share of the vote in Northern Ireland local government elections has tended to diminish,so that there too it is no longer the largest party. Finally,the party has always held one of the three Northern Ireland seats in the European Parliament. Its share of the Northern Ireland vote in the most recent elections to these bodies has been between 10.5% and 16.1%.
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.
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.
Philip Smith is an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician,serving as an Ards and North Down Councillor for the Comber DEA since 2019. He was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Strangford from 2016 to 2017. Smith now works for Queen's University Belfast.
References
- 1 2 Biography – Tom Benson, Northern Ireland Assembly Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- 1 2 "Tributes paid to UUP man", Belfast Telegraph , 26 December 2000
- ↑ "Assembly in tribute to Tom Benson", Belfast Telegraph , 15 January 2001
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
