Hugh Smyth, OBE (1941 – 12 May 2014) was a Northern Irish politician who was leader of the

Progressive Unionist Party The Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) is a minor unionist 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 Volunte ...

. He was a former

Lord Mayor of Belfast The Lord Mayor of Belfast is the leader and chairperson of Belfast City Council, elected annually from and by the City's 60 Councillors#UnitedKingdom, councillors. The Lord Mayor also serves as the representative of the city of Belfast, welcomin ...

as well as the longest serving member of

Belfast City Council Belfast City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhéal Feirste) is the local authority with responsibility for part of the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of (), the l ...

, having represented the Upper

Shankill Road The Shankill Road () is one of the main roads leading through West Belfast, in Northern Ireland. It runs through the working-class, predominantly loyalist, area known as the Shankill. The road stretches westwards for about from central Belfast a ...

area since

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

. Smyth was awarded the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in the 1996 New Year's Honours list.

Emergence in politics

Born in the Woodvale Road district of the

area of

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, Smyth was one of nine children and was educated locally and worked as a metal bonder in the

Short Brothers Short Brothers plc, usually referred to as Shorts or Short, is an aerospace company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Shorts was founded in 1908 in London, and was the first company in the world to make production aeroplanes. It was particu ...

factory before entering full-time politics. Smyth first came to attention in the early 1970s when he served as a public spokesman for the

Ulster Volunteer Force The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group. Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former British Army soldier from Northern Ireland. The group undertook an armed campaig ...

although he was not an active member of the organisation. His inspiration for politics was the struggle his father endured whilst working to support his family. Deeply opposed to what he described as 'Big House Unionism', he stated that at that time

was composed mostly of upper class unionists who sought to obstruct working class council members by holding council meetings during the daytime, when working class councillors were required to be at work."PUP man Hugh Smyth who scorned Big House unionism and rose to rank of Lord Mayor"
, belfasttelegraph.co.uk; accessed 4 March 2015. He was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1973 under the label of

Independent Unionist Independent Unionist has been a label sometimes used by candidates in elections in the United Kingdom, indicating a support for British unionism (not to be confused with trade unionism). It is most popularly associated with candidates in elect ...

, a well-established term used in Northern Irish politics for unionists outside the major unionist parties. While serving in the Assembly, Smyth was claimed by the UVF as a member of the Ulster Loyalist Front, a political arm that the group had established in October 1973. Although it revealed some policies, including increased use of referendums,

worker cooperative A worker cooperative is a cooperative owned and Workers' self-management, self-managed by its workers. This control may mean a firm where every worker-owner participates in decision-making in a democratic fashion, or it may refer to one in which ...

initiatives, improvements in social care, and alterations to the educational and social housing systems, the group disappeared almost immediately and Smyth retained his independent designation. He also joined its successor group, the

Volunteer Political Party 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 ...

, when it was formed, but this group also made no impact and dissolved soon afterwards. Smyth was also elected to the

Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention (NICC) was an elected body set up in 1975 by the United Kingdom Labour government of Harold Wilson as an attempt to deal with constitutional issues surrounding the status of Northern Ireland. For ...

in 1975, once again as an Independent Unionist. Smyth remained close to the UVF. On 2 October 1975, he accompanied a UVF delegation to a meeting with leading figures from the

Northern Ireland Office The Northern Ireland Office (NIO; ga, Oifig Thuaisceart Éireann, Ulster-Scots: ''Norlin Airlann Oaffis'') is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of State for N ...

Progressive unionist

Smyth and some like-minded followers came together in 1978 under the name Independent Unionist Group, a more formalised alliance of working-class independent unionists based in Belfast of which Smyth was leader. The group was close to the UVF. This group would change its name to the Progressive Unionist Party the following year as a response to the growing

Ulster nationalism Ulster nationalism is a minor school of thought in the politics of Northern Ireland that seeks the independence of Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom without joining the Republic of Ireland, thereby becoming an independent sovere ...

within the

Ulster Defence Association The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) is an Ulster loyalism, Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 as an umbrella group for various loyalist groups and Timeline of Ulster Defence Association act ...

, with Smyth and his fellow founders fearing that their description as "independent Unionists" might lead to them being associated with independence to which they were opposed. Smyth was close to leading UVF member

Gusty Spence Augustus Andrew Spence (28 June 1933
. ''

David Ervine David Ervine (21 July 1953 – 8 January 2007) was a Northern Irish Ulster Loyalist 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 Belf ...

to the PUP after being impressed by his ability as a speaker. Hoping to gain some understanding of his

republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

opponents, Smyth was one of only two unionist politicians to accept an offer to visit

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reun ...

(PIRA) inmates in

Long Kesh Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mens ...

in the early 1980s (the other was John Carson). As leader of the PUP, Smyth ran as a candidate for West Belfast in the elections to the 1982 Assembly although he failed to take the seat and the PUP as a whole did not gain any representation. Although Smyth managed to build up a strong personal following on the Shankill Road, this did not transfer to the rest of the PUP which enjoyed little success elsewhere, barring a single member's election to

Carrickfergus Borough Council Carrickfergus Borough Council was a district council in County Antrim in Northern Ireland. It merged with Ballymena Borough Council and Larne Borough Council in May 2015 under local government reorganisation in Northern Ireland to become Mid and ...

in 1985 and 1989, until after the 1994 ceasefire.

Belfast City Council

Smyth was first elected to the council in 1972 as representative for the Shankill ward. He won a by-election resulting from the resignation of

John McQuade John McQuade (9 August 1911 – 19 November 1984) was a Northern Ireland politician. He was a professional boxer under the name of Jack Higgins. After serving with the British Army in Dunkirk and Burma, he was an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) ...

, and beat James Brown of the

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule movem ...

and David Robb of the Ulster Constitution Party in a three-way contest. In the election, he received the support of McQuade's party, the Democratic Unionists. Following a change in council structure, he was re-elected the following year for " Area E" which included the Glencairn, Woodvale, Ballysillan, Highfield, Legoniel and Ardoyne areas. He subsequently represented the Court electoral area which covered Glencairn, Highfield, Woodvale and the mid and lower Shankill areas.COUNCILLOR HUGH SMYTH CV
/ref> Smyth was appointed as

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

in 1978, receiving the same honour in 1985, 1989 and 1993. In 1983 he was chosen as deputy mayor and served in this capacity again in 1993 before being appointed as Lord Mayor in June 1994. He again served as deputy mayor in 2001. As a councillor Smyth had been willing to oppose the main unionist parties on some issues, as he demonstrated in 1991 when he helped to overturn a ban on government ministers visiting

Belfast City Hall Belfast City Hall ( ga, Halla na Cathrach Bhéal Feirste; Ulster-Scots: ''Bilfawst Citie Haw'') is the civic building of Belfast City Council located in Donegall Square, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It faces North and effectively divides the comm ...

, an initiative passed by unionist councillors in 1985 as a reaction to the

Anglo-Irish Agreement The Anglo-Irish Agreement was a 1985 treaty between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland which aimed to help bring an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The treaty gave the Irish government an advisory role in Northern Irela ...

.W.D. Flackes & Sydney Elliott, ''Northern Ireland: A Political Directory 1968–1993'', Belfast: Blackstaff Press, 1994, p. 305.

Ceasefire and after

Following the 1994 ceasefire by the

Combined Loyalist Military Command 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. Bringing t ...

, of which the UVF was a member, Smyth became an important figure in the negotiations that followed, accompanying Ervine and

Ulster Democratic Party The Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) was a small loyalist political party in Northern Ireland. It was established in June 1981 as the Ulster Loyalist Democratic Party by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), to replace the New Ulster Political Res ...

representatives

Gary McMichael Gary McMichael (born 1969) is a Northern Ireland community activist, and retired politician. He was the leader of the short-lived Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) during the Northern Ireland peace process, and was instrumental in organizing the Loy ...

and John White to

10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London, also known colloquially in the United Kingdom as Number 10, is the official residence and executive office of the first lord of the treasury, usually, by convention, the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Along wi ...

in June 1996 for a meeting designed to prevent the collapse of the ceasefire. Indeed, Spence has claimed that Smyth personally held a number of individual meetings with

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...

in the aftermath of the ceasefire. The same year Smyth was elected to the

Northern Ireland Forum The Northern Ireland Forum for Political Dialogue was a body set up in 1996 as part of a process of negotiations that eventually led to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. The forum was elected, with five members being elected for each Westmin ...

, along with Ervine, as "top-up" members on account of the PUP finishing in seventh place overall. Following his election Smyth clashed with

UK 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 ...

leader Robert McCartney who, like Smyth, was born in

. McCartney suggested that the two were thus similar but for one thing – McCartney had got out, a rebuke to Smyth and the run-down and deprived state of the Shankill area. Around this time he also criticised the DUP. Referring to the scene of an IRA bomb attack in 1972 at the Four Step Inn where he was helping retrieve bodies from the rubble,

Ian Paisley Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, (6 April 1926 – 12 September 2014) was a Northern Irish loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 1971 to 2008 and First ...

approached him and said "Your worries are over. I have just formed the DUP. Everything is going to be all right". Smyth was unimpressed and remarked "but another 3000 people are dead and buried and what has the DUP done. It has done nothing." In the 1997 general election Smyth stood as PUP candidate in South Antrim where his 9% vote share was seen as a respectable result in what had been a traditionally solid

seat. Smyth gave up leadership of the PUP in 2002 with Ervine chosen as his successor. He was subsequently a candidate in the

Northern Ireland Assembly sco-ulster, Norlin Airlan Assemblie , legislature = 7th Northern Ireland Assembly, Seventh Assembly , coa_pic = File:NI_Assembly.svg , coa_res = 250px , house_type = Unicameralism, Unicameral , hou ...

elections of

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

and

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

in his home constituency of West Belfast although the party did not contest the seat in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

. However Smyth successfully defended his council seat in the 2011 local elections. Smyth was not due to be a candidate for the 2014 local elections having announced his retirement from politics due to ill health in late 2013.

Death

Smyth's death was announced on 12 May 2014 following a period of illness. He was 73 years old. His funeral took place on 16 May and set off from the West Belfast Orange Hall on the Shankill Road to the service at St Anne's Cathedral. Shops on the Shankill Road along the route closed as a mark of respect. A member of the

Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants, particularly those of Ulster Scots heritage. It also ...

, his coffin was flanked by other members including DUP politicians

Nigel Dodds Nigel Alexander Dodds, Baron Dodds of Duncairn, (born 20 August 1958), is a British unionist politician who has been the Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in the House of Lords since 2021, and was the deputy leader of the DUP ...

and William Humphrey. Other attendees included

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...

representatives

Niall Ó Donnghaile Niall Ó Donnghaile (; born 28 May 1985) is an Irish Sinn Féin politician who has served as Leader of Sinn Féin in the Seanad since June 2020 and a Senator for the Administrative Panel since April 2016. He previously served as Lord Mayor of ...

and

Paul Maskey Paul John Maskey (born 10 June 1967) is an Irish republican politician in Northern Ireland who is a member of Sinn Féin. He served as a Sinn Féin member (MLA) of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Belfast West from 2007 to 2012. He has served ...

. He was buried at

Roselawn Cemetery Roselawn Cemetery ( ga, Reilig Phlásóg na Rós) (also known as Roselawn) is a large cemetery and crematorium on the outskirts of Belfast in Northern Ireland. It opened in 1954. It is owned and operated by Belfast City Council. It is located on ...

."Hugh Smyth: Former Progressive Unionist Party leader's funeral held"
, ''Belfast Telegraph'', 26 May 2014.

References

External links

Progressive Unionist Party website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smyth, Hugh 1941 births 2014 deaths Date of birth missing Leaders of political parties in Northern Ireland Lord Mayors of Belfast Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly 1973–1974 Members of the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention Members of the Northern Ireland Forum Members of Belfast City Council Officers of the Order of the British Empire Progressive Unionist Party politicians British political party founders