The United Ulster Unionist Council (also known as the United Ulster Unionist Coalition) was a body that sought to bring together the
Unionists opposed to 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. Unioni ...
in Northern Ireland.
Formation
The UUUC was established in January 1974. It was organised by
Harry West
Henry William West (27 March 1917 – 5 February 2004) was a politician in Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party from 1974 until 1979.
Career to Stormont
West was born in County Fermanagh and educated at Portora R ...
and constituted a formal electoral pact between his
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
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 ...
and the
Vanguard Unionist Progressive 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 Un ...
.
West arranged the movement, having gained control of the UUP from
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 ...
, to galvanise opposition to power sharing arrangements that were being put in place and to run against Faulkner's Pro-Assembly Unionists who later formed themselves into the
Unionist Party of Northern Ireland
The Unionist Party of Northern Ireland was a political party founded by Brian Faulkner in September 1974.
Formation
The party emerged following splits in the Ulster Unionist Party in 1973 and 1974 over the British government's white paper ''Nor ...
.
[W.D. Flackes & Sydney Elliott, ''Northern Ireland: A Political Directory 1968–1993'', Blackstaff Press, 1994, p. 346]
Development
The UUUC first tested its political credentials in the
1974 general election and the party captured 11 out of 12 Northern Irish seats (7 UUP, 3 VUPP, 1 DUP), whilst the Pro-Assembly Unionists failed to win any seats.
In April the group arranged a coalition conference at
Portrush
Portrush () is a small seaside resort town on the north coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It neighbours the resort of Portstewart. The main part of the old town, including the railway station as well as most hotels, restaurants and bars, ...
during which they agreed a joint policy statement that included an end to power-sharing, elections to a new Assembly that would use
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
but with smaller constituencies, the abolition of the
Council of Ireland
The Council of Ireland was a statutory body established under the Government of Ireland Act 1920 as an all-Ireland law-making authority with limited jurisdiction, initially over both Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland, and later solely over ...
and any concept of cross-border institutions and the removal of the veto held by the
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...
.
In the general election of
October that same year the UUUC lost West's seat,
Fermanagh and South Tyrone, to Frank Maguire, an independent
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 ...
running as an agreed candidate, leaving them with 10 overall. At
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...
the coalition operated under the name of Unionist Parliamentary Coalition with West accepted as leader until his elimination from parliament when
Jim Molyneaux
James Henry Molyneaux, Baron Molyneaux of Killead, KBE, PC (27 August 1920 – 9 March 2015) was a Northern Irish unionist politician who served as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1979 to 1995, and as the Member of Parliament ...
took over as coalition chief.
The UUUC remained fairly coherent as it united behind the
Ulster Workers Council Strike
The Ulster Workers' Council (UWC) strike was a general strike that took place in Northern Ireland between 15 May and 28 May 1974, during "the Troubles". The strike was called by unionists who were against the Sunningdale Agreement, which had b ...
in mid 1974 and continued for 1975 elections to the
Constitutional Convention in which the group won 46 out of the 78 seats.
Decline
The UUUC began to fall apart in 1976 when VUPP leader
William Craig suggested working in a potential coalition government with the
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...
Social Democratic and Labour Party
The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) ( ga, Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is a social-democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland ...
. When it became clear that Craig's ideas were not in keeping with those of his partners, Vanguard split with his opponents setting up the
United Ulster Unionist Party
The United Ulster Unionist Party (UUUP) was a unionist political party which existed in Northern Ireland between 1975 and 1984.
It emerged from a division in the Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party in the late 1970s. Vanguard had traditional ...
(UUUP) while Craig's supporters stayed with Vanguard which left the UUUC. The UUUC thereafter consisted of the UUP, DUP and UUUP.
The UUUC set up the United Unionist Action Council (UUAC) in 1977 a policy group and an activism co-ordinating committee. Chaired by
Joseph Burns and featuring DUP leader
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 ...
and UUUP leader
Ernest Baird
Ernest Baird (1930 – September 2003) was a politician in Northern Ireland. Baird was born in County Donegal
in the Irish Free State but moved with his family to Belfast at an early age.
A pharmacist and political unionist, Baird became the de ...
, the group included representatives from loyalist paramilitary groups 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 ...
,
Down Orange Welfare
Down Orange Welfare was an Ulster loyalist paramilitary vigilante group active in Northern Ireland during the 1970s. Operating in rural areas of County Down, the group faded after failing to win support away from larger groups such as the Ulster De ...
and the
Orange Volunteers
The Orange Volunteers (OV) or Orange Volunteer Force (OVF) is a small Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in 1998 by loyalists who opposed the Belfast Agreement and the loyalist ceasefires. Over the following y ...
and also organised its own vigilante group under the name
Ulster Service Corps
The Ulster Service Corps (USC) was a loyalist vigilante group with a paramilitary structure active in Northern Ireland in the late 1970s. Although short-lived it briefly had a sizeable membership. One of a number of small independent loyalist param ...
.
[Flackes & Elliott, p. 347] The UUAC helped organise the May 1977 strike by the
Ulster Workers Council
The Ulster Workers' Council was a loyalist workers' organisation set up in Northern Ireland in 1974 as a more formalised successor to the Loyalist Association of Workers (LAW). It was formed by shipyard union leader Harry Murray and initially fai ...
, that sought to repeat the effects of 1974.
However the second strike proved much less effective and did not get the backing of the Ulster Unionists, who in fact campaigned against it.
The strike proved the final straw for the UUUC with the UUP, DUP and UUUP going their separate ways after it collapsed.
Members
References
External links
UUUC Manifesto for 1975
{{Authority control
Defunct political parties in Northern Ireland
Political parties established in 1974
Ulster unionist organisations
1974 establishments in Northern Ireland