The Independent Unionist Association or Independent Unionist Party was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. The organisation was founded in 1937, shortly before the announcement of the

1938 Northern Ireland general election The 1938 Northern Ireland general election was held on 9 February 1938. Like all previous elections to the Parliament of Northern Ireland, it produced a large majority for the Ulster Unionist Party. The newly-formed Ulster Progressive Unionist ...

. It consisted of a disparate group 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 electi ...

s, and included member of the

Northern Ireland House of Commons The House of Commons of Northern Ireland was the lower house of the Parliament of Northern Ireland created under the ''Government of Ireland Act 1920''. The upper house in the bicameral parliament was called the Senate. It was abolished wit ...

Tommy Henderson Thomas Gibson Henderson (13 October 1887 – 14 August 1970) was an Independent unionist politician. He served in the House of Commons of Northern Ireland from 1925 to 1953 in vigorous opposition to the Unionist governments on all issues othe ...

. The party called for more action to relieve

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for Work (human activity), w ...

, and for tighter control of government spending.

William McConnell Wilton William McConnell Wilton was a Northern Irish Unionist politician who served as Chairman of the Independent Unionist Association. He was also a prominent lay Presbyterian. Biography In his youth, Wilton was a keen footballer, and played for In ...

was elected as Chairman of the new organisation."Feeling in Northern Ireland", ''

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'', 14 January 1938 The party stood several candidates in the general election, including Henderson in Belfast Shankill and Wilton in Belfast Clifton. 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 ...

claimed that the Independent Unionist challenge made a

united Ireland United Ireland, also referred to as Irish reunification, is the proposition that all of Ireland should be a single sovereign state. At present, the island is divided politically; the sovereign Republic of Ireland has jurisdiction over the maj ...

more likely, a charge which Henderson described as "a deliberate attempt to fool the Ulster people". Only Henderson was elected for the group at the general election. The party launched a monthly newspaper in January 1939, aiming to appeal to both their own supporters, and to those of the

Ulster Progressive Unionist Association The Ulster Progressive Unionist Association or, as it became within two months of its formation in June 1937, the Ulster Progressive Unionist Party (UPUP), was a political group formed to seek greater internal debate within unionism and to secu ...

. By the

1945 Northern Ireland general election The 1945 Northern Ireland general election was held on 14 June 1945. The election saw significant losses for the Ulster Unionist Party, though they retained their majority. Mirroring the result across the rest of the UK in the 1945 UK general ...

, the party was greatly weakened, but supported Henderson and also

John William Nixon John William Nixon, MBE (1880 – 11 May 1949), was a unionist politician and police leader in Northern Ireland who was alleged to be responsible for several sectarian atrocities, including the McMahon killings and the Arnon Street killings. I ...

in Belfast Woodvale. Later in the year, Wilton was elected to serve in the

Senate of Northern Ireland The Senate of Northern Ireland was the upper house of the Parliament of Northern Ireland created by the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It was abolished with the passing of the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973. Powers In practice the Sen ...

. The party then faded from view, although an "Independent Unionist Association" in Belfast released a manifesto in 1954 on a similar platform."Independents in North state aims", ''

'', 22 September 1954

References

{{Defunct political parties in Northern Ireland Defunct political parties in Northern Ireland Political parties established in 1937 Ulster unionist organisations