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Robert McCartney (Northern Irish Politician)
Robert Law McCartney, KC (born 24 April 1936) is a Northern Irish barrister and Unionist politician who was the founder and leader of the UK Unionist Party (UKUP) from 1995 to 2008. He was initially a member of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) but was expelled in June 1987 when he refused to withdraw from the general election of that year. He stood against the incumbent Popular Unionist Party MP Sir James Kilfedder in North Down as a "Real Unionist" but failed to win the seat. In the 1995 by-election in North Down after the death of Kilfedder he was elected as a "UK Unionist" defeating the Ulster Unionist Party candidate. He subsequently established the United Kingdom Unionist Party to contest elections to the Northern Ireland Forum and the related talks which started in 1996. The other party representatives to the Forum were Dr Conor Cruise O'Brien and Cedric Wilson, a former low-level DUP member in the 1980s. McCartney retained his Westminster seat in the 1997 election. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
King's Counsel
In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or advocate) who is typically a senior trial lawyer. Technically appointed by the monarch of the country to be one of 'His erMajesty's Counsel learned in the law', the position originated in England and Wales. Some Commonwealth countries have either abolished the position, or renamed it so as to remove monarchical connotations, for example, 'Senior counsel' or 'Senior Advocate'. Appointment as King's Counsel is an office, conferred by the Crown, that is recognised by courts. Members have the privilege of sitting within the inner bar of court. As members wear silk gowns of a particular design (see court dress), appointment as King's Counsel is known informally as ''receiving, obtaining,'' or ''taking silk'' and KCs are often colloquially ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barrister
A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and giving expert legal opinions. Barristers are distinguished from both solicitors and chartered legal executives, who have more direct access to clients, and may do transactional legal work. It is mainly barristers who are appointed as judges, and they are rarely hired by clients directly. In some legal systems, including those of Scotland, South Africa, Scandinavia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and the British Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man, the word ''barrister'' is also regarded as an honorific title. In a few jurisdictions, barristers are usually forbidden from "conducting" litigation, and can only act on the instructions of a solicitor, and increasingly - chartered legal executives, who perform tasks such ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Traditional Unionist Voice
The Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. In common with all other Northern Irish unionist parties, the TUV's political programme has as its sine qua non the preservation of Northern Ireland's place within the United Kingdom. A founding precept of the party is that "nothing which is morally wrong can be politically right". The TUV was formed in December 2007 by Jim Allister after he and others had resigned from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in March of that year. ; ; At the time of his resignation, Allister was a prominent figure in the DUP and held the position of Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the party having been elected to the European Parliament in 2004. The reason for the split was DUP leader Ian Paisley's March 2007 consent to the St Andrews Agreement and his willingness to become First Minister of Northern Ireland alongside a deputy First Minister from the Irish Republican party Sinn Féin. Prior to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jim Allister
James Hugh Allister (born 2 April 1953) is a British Unionist politician and barrister in Northern Ireland. He founded the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) political party in 2007, leading the party since its formation. Allister has served as a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for North Antrim since 2011, and is the TUV’s only representative in the Assembly. He was formerly a member of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), for which he successfully stood for election in 2004 to the European Parliament for Northern Ireland, succeeding Ian Paisley. He continued as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) following his resignation from the DUP and his subsequent establishment of the TUV in 2007. Background Allister was born in Listooder, Crossgar, in County Down where he lived until he was nine when his family moved to Craigantlet, Newtownards. Allister was a pupil at Barnamaghery Primary School and later Dundonald Primary School when he moved house. After ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roger Hutchinson
Roger Hutchinson (born 28 June 1952) is a former Northern Irish Unionist politician who was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for East Antrim from 1998 to 2003. After attending Larne Technical College, Hutchinson became a religious minister. He also joined the Orange Order. He moved into business in 1990. Hutchinson was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1998 for the UK Unionist Party (UKUP) in East Antrim. With three of the other four UKUP members in the Assembly, he left in January 1999, disagreeing with leader Robert McCartney's policy of resigning from the Assembly should Sinn Féin become part of the power sharing executive. They formed the Northern Ireland Unionist Party (NIUP). At the end of 1999, Hutchinson was expelled from the NIUP for accepting seats on two statutory committees, against party policy. He then sat as an independent Unionist. In November 2000, he joined the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), and he was elected to Newtownabbey ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norman Boyd
Norman Boyd (born 16 October 1961) is a Unionist politician in Northern Ireland who served as a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for South Antrim from 1998 to 2003. Boyd was born in Belfast and attended Belfast High School and Newtownabbey Technical College before working in banking. At the 1998 Northern Ireland Assembly election, Boyd was elected for the UK Unionist Party (UKUP) to represent South Antrim. In January 1999, he joined three of the four other UKUP Assembly members in forming the Northern Ireland Unionist Party. He acted as whip for the new group, and was selected to stand for Westminster under his new party label at the 2000 South Antrim by-election, but withdrew during the campaign, calling on his supporters to back the Democratic Unionist Party candidate William McCrea. He did stand for the South Antrim seat at the 2001 general election, but came bottom of the poll, with only 972 votes. He also failed to be elected to Newtownabbey Borough ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patrick Roche (Northern Ireland Politician)
Patrick J. "Paddy" Roche (born 1940) is a former Unionist politician in Northern Ireland who was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Lagan Valley from 1998 to 2003. After working in banking, Roche studied economics and politics at Trinity College, Dublin. This was followed by political philosophy at the University of Durham, where he earned an MA in Social Sciences in 1972 as a member of the Graduate Society. He then became a lecturer in economics at the University of Ulster, and in 1978 also took up a post at the Irish Baptist College. He wrote a number of books on politics and economics in Northern Ireland.Biography - Patrick Roche, Northern Ireland Assembly Roche joined the |
Belfast Agreement
The Good Friday Agreement (GFA), or Belfast Agreement ( ga, Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta or ; Ulster-Scots: or ), is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April 1998 that ended most of the violence of The Troubles, a political conflict in Northern Ireland that had prevailed since the late 1960s. It was a major development in the Northern Ireland peace process of the 1990s. It is made up of the Multi-Party Agreement between most of Northern Ireland's political parties, and the BritishIrish Agreement between the British and Irish governments. Northern Ireland's present devolved system of government is based on the agreement. Issues relating to sovereignty, governance, discrimination, military and paramilitary groups, justice and policing were central to the agreement. It restored self-government to Northern Ireland on the basis of "power sharing" and it included acceptance of the principle of consent, commitment to civil and political rights, cultural parity of esteem, police r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1997 United Kingdom General Election
The 1997 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 1 May 1997. The governing Conservative Party led by Prime Minister John Major was defeated in a landslide by the Labour Party led by Tony Blair, achieving a 179 seat majority. The political backdrop of campaigning focused on public opinion towards a change in government. Blair, as Labour Leader, focused on transforming his party through a more centrist policy platform, entitled 'New Labour', with promises of devolution referendums for Scotland and Wales, fiscal responsibility, and a decision to nominate more female politicians for election through the use of all-women shortlists from which to choose candidates. Major sought to rebuild public trust in the Conservatives following a series of scandals, including the events of Black Wednesday in 1992, through campaigning on the strength of the economic recovery following the early 1990s recession, but faced divisions within the party over the UK's membership of the Eur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cedric Wilson
Cedric Wilson (born 6 June 1948) is a Northern Irish Unionist politician who served as a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Strangford from 1998 to 2003. Elected as a UK Unionist Party (UKUP) candidate to the Assembly, Wilson left the party the following year, forming his own party, the Northern Ireland Unionist Party (NIUP). Career Born in Belfast, Wilson became the director of a private nursing home. In 1981, he was elected to Castlereagh Borough Council for the Democratic Unionist Party, a post he held until 1989. During this time, he became known for his role in campaigning against the Anglo-Irish Agreement. At the 1982 Northern Ireland Assembly election, Wilson stood unsuccessfully in Belfast South. In 1996, he joined the UK Unionist Party (UKUP), and was elected to the Northern Ireland Forum under the top-up system in 1996. When the Forum was replaced by the Northern Ireland Assembly, Wilson won a seat in Strangford outright, initially placing third ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conor Cruise O'Brien
Donal Conor David Dermot Donat Cruise O'Brien (3 November 1917 – 18 December 2008), often nicknamed "The Cruiser", was an Irish diplomat, politician, writer, historian and academic, who served as Minister for Posts and Telegraphs from 1973 to 1977, a Senator for Dublin University from 1977 to 1979, a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin North-East constituency from 1969 to 1977, and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from January 1973 to March 1973. His opinion of Britain's role in Ireland subsequent to the partition of the island and the independence of the Free State in 1921 changed during the 1970s, in response to the outbreak of The Troubles. He now saw opposing nationalist and unionist traditions as irreconcilable, and switched from a nationalist to a unionist view of Irish politics and history, and from opposition to support for partition. Cruise O'Brien's outlook was radical and seldom orthodox. He summarised his position as intending "to administer an electric ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Kingdom Unionist Party
The UK Unionist Party (UKUP) was a small unionist political party in Northern Ireland from 1995 to 2008 that opposed the Good Friday Agreement. It was nominally formed by Robert McCartney, formerly of the Ulster Unionist Party, to contest the 1995 North Down by-election and then further constituted to contest the 1996 elections for the Northern Ireland Forum. McCartney had previously contested the 1987 general election as an independent using the label Real Unionist. Ideology In contrast to other unionist parties, the UK Unionist Party was an integrationist party which believed that Northern Ireland should be governed from London with no regional home rule government and parliament. The UKUP was outspoken in its opposition to the Republic of Ireland having any participative role in the governance of Northern Ireland. It was also highly critical of the British Labour government of Tony Blair agreeing to Sinn Féin's participation in the Northern Ireland Executive prior to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
