Ulster Unionist Party

The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP, sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or OUP or simply the Unionist Party ) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland, and was the party of government in Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972. Until 2003 it was the largest party, but it has been overtaken by the Democratic Unionist Party.

Sunningdale to the Nineties

The Sunningdale Agreement, which led to the formation of a power-sharing Executive under the then Ulster Unionist leader, Brian Faulkner provoked ruptions within the party. In the 1973 elections to the Executive the party was deeply divided, a division that did not formally end until January 1974 when the anti-Sunningdale faction triumphed. Faulkner was overthrown and set up the Unionist Party of Northern Ireland (UPNI). The Ulster Unionists were now led by Harry West from 1974 until 1979. In the February 1974 general election, the party participated in the United Ulster Unionist Coalition with Vanguard and the Democratic Unionists. The result was that the UUC won 11 out of 12 parliamentary seats in Northern Ireland on a fiercely anti-Sunningdale platform, despite winning barely 50% of the popular vote. This result was a fatal blow for the Executive, which soon collapsed. Under West's leadership the party recruited Enoch Powell, who became Ulster Unionist MP for South Down. Powell advocated a policy of integration, whereby Northern Ireland would be administered as an integral part of the United Kingdom. This policy was to cause ruptions both within the Ulster Unionists and within wider Unionism as Powell's ideas conflicted with those committed to the restoration of devolved government to the province. The party also made gains when the Vanguard Party broke up and the rump merged back into the Ulster Unionists. The United Ulster Unionist Party emerged from the remains of Vanguard but folded in the early 1980s, as did the UPNI. In both cases the main beneficiaries of this were the Ulster Unionists, now under the leadership of James Molyneaux (1979-1995). In October 1995, Patricia Campbell, a Catholic member of the UUP and personal secretary to Molyneaux, filed an employment discrimination case against the UUP with the Fair Employment Commission.

Related Topics:
Sunningdale Agreement - Brian Faulkner - Unionist Party of Northern Ireland - Harry West - 1974 - 1979 - February 1974 general election - United Ulster Unionist Coalition - Enoch Powell - South Down - Vanguard Party - United Ulster Unionist Party - James Molyneaux - 1995 - Fair Employment Commission

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