The Unionist Party of Northern Ireland was a political party founded by
Brian Faulkner
Arthur Brian Deane Faulkner, Baron Faulkner of Downpatrick, (18 February 1921 – 3 March 1977), was the sixth and last Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, from March 1971 until his resignation in March 1972. He was also the chief executive ...
in September 1974.
Formation
The party emerged following splits in 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 ...
in 1973 and 1974 over the British government's
white paper
A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. A white paper ...
''Northern Ireland Constitutional Proposals'', the
1973 Northern Ireland Assembly election
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. P ...
, and the
Sunningdale Agreement
The Sunningdale Agreement was an attempt to establish a power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive and a cross-border Council of Ireland. The agreement was signed at Sunningdale Park located in Sunningdale, Berkshire, on 9 December 1973. Unionist ...
. Faulkner had led the majority of the UUP into a power-sharing coalition but in January 1974 he was deposed as leader as the anti-Sunningdale faction of the party won control. In the
February 1974 general election a number of Faulkner's followers (including several sitting MPs) stood as Pro-Assembly Unionists against a coalition 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 ...
, the
Vanguard Progressive Unionist Party
The Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party (VUPP), informally known as Ulster Vanguard, was a unionist political party which existed in Northern Ireland between 1972 and 1978. Led by William Craig, the party emerged from a split in the Ulster Unio ...
and the
Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist, loyalist, and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who led the party for the next 37 years. Currently led by J ...
. They failed to win a single seat at Westminster, and this defeat contributed to the downfall of the power-sharing Executive established by Sunningdale. However they remained active and in September constituted themselves as the Unionist Party of Northern Ireland, committed to a return to power-sharing as a settlement for Northern Ireland.
Electoral history
The party did not prosper. In the
October 1974 general election they again failed to make much ground. The weakness of Faulkner's position within Unionism was reflected in the fact that only about a dozen of the approximately 250 local councillors elected for the UUP in 1973 chose to join the new party. The 1975 elections 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 ...
were another blow to the party. Of 13 UPNI candidates elected as UUP members in 1973, only five succeeded in holding their seats, compared to 47 seats won by other Unionist candidates. The five UPNI members included Faulkner who suffered a personal setback in his South Down constituency. He finished in 7th place with 6,000 first preference votes in an area where he had topped the poll with 16,000 votes just two years earlier. Consequently the influence of both the UPNI and Faulkner waned.
In 1976 Faulkner stepped down as leader of the party (and withdrew from active politics) and was succeeded by
Anne Dickson, the first woman to lead a political party in Northern Ireland. However the party continued to make little ground. In
1977
Events January
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* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
UPNI won just six local council seats. The
1979 Westminster election proved to be a further disappointment, as the main consequence of the party standing seemed to be to split the centre vote. In
North Belfast, Dickson's 4,000 votes were greater than the DUP majority of 1,000 over the UUP. Similarly in
East Belfast the DUP finished 64 votes ahead of the UUP and 900 ahead of the Alliance party with
Norman Agnew
Norman Agnew (April 1905 – ?) was a unionist politician in Northern Ireland.
Born in Belfast, Agnew studied at Belfast Municipal College of Technology, Queen's University Belfast and Trinity College Dublin. He began working as a draughtsman ...
taking 2,000 votes for UPNI.
In 1981 the party admitted the weakness of its own position during the local government election campaign and that power-sharing on the 1973 model was no longer a viable option. The party fought the
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
local elections in an electoral pact with the
Ulster Popular Unionist Party
The Ulster Popular Unionist Party (UPUP) was a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1980 by James Kilfedder, independent Unionist Member of Parliament for North Down, who led the party until his death in 1995. For a b ...
but only won two seats. As a result in autumn 1981 the UPNI was formally dissolved. William Bailie, their last remaining councillor, joined the
Alliance Party and was re-elected as an Alliance councillor in North Down.
Local Government Elections 1985 - 1989: North Down
ARK - Access Research Knowledge
Leadership
Faulkner himself died in a riding accident in 1977. Anne Dickson replaced him as leader of the party. However, the party had poor showings at the 1977 local elections and also the 1979 general election. The party was dissolved soon afterwards.
Election results
February 1974 general election
October 1974 general election
1979 general election
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unionist Party Of Northern Ireland
Defunct political parties in Northern Ireland
History of Northern Ireland
Political parties established in 1974
Political parties disestablished in 1981
Ulster unionist organisations
1974 establishments in Northern Ireland
1981 disestablishments in Northern Ireland