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).
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.
Iris Robinson is a former Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician in Northern Ireland. She is married to Peter Robinson,who was First Minister of Northern Ireland from 2008 to 2016.
Thomas Beatty Elliott is a Northern Irish unionist politician 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.
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).
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.
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 Northern Irish Unionist politician. In 2007,he was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly as an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) member for South Down. On 14 February 2013,McCallister announced that he had resigned from the UUP due to its decision to engage in an electoral pact with the Democratic Unionist Party. He was a co-founder of the NI21 party with fellow ex-UUP member Basil McCrea but resigned the following year following disputes with McCrea. He re-contested his seat as an Independent at the 2016 election but lost his seat,receiving just 2.8% of the vote.
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.
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.
Robin Swann is a Northern Irish unionist politician currently serving as Minister of Health since 2024. He previously held this office from 2020 to 2022. Swann has been a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for North Antrim since 2011. He also served as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 2017 to 2019.
The 2010 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland occurred on 6 May 2010 and all 18 seats in Northern Ireland were contested. 1,169,184 people were eligible to vote,up 29,191 from the 2005 general election. 57.99% of eligible voters turned out,down 5.5 percentage points from the last general election.
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.
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.
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.
The 2017 Northern Ireland Assembly election was held on Thursday,2 March 2017. The election was held to elect members (MLAs) following the resignation of deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness in protest over the Renewable Heat Incentive scandal. McGuinness' position was not filled,and thus by law his resignation triggered an election.
Douglas Ricardo Beattie is a Northern Irish politician and former member of the British Army,who has been leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) since 27 May 2021. 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.
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.
An election for the leadership of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) was held on 8 April 2017 at the party's Annual General Meeting. Elections are held each year,with the incumbent usually reelected unopposed. The 2017 contested election was triggered after incumbent Leader Mike Nesbitt,elected in 2012,announced following the 2017 Assembly election his intention to step down as party leader. While initially,Robin Swann and Steve Aiken were expected to run against each other,in the end only Swann ran and was elected unopposed.
The next United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland is scheduled to be held no later than 28 January 2025,with all 18 Northern Irish seats in the House of Commons to be contested. The general election will occur after the recently completed constituency boundaries review.
