The Volunteer Political Party (VPP) was a

loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British C ...

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 ideological or p ...

launched in

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

on 22 June 1974 by members of the then recently legalised

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 campaign ...

(UVF). The Chairman was Ken Gibson from East

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 Kingdom ...

, an ex-internee and UVF chief of staff at the time.Coogan, p. 209 The success of 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 ...

had shown some UVF leaders the political power they held and they sought to develop this potential further. The UVF had been banned by the

Government of Northern Ireland The government of Northern Ireland is, generally speaking, whatever political body exercises political authority over Northern Ireland. A number of separate systems of government exist or have existed in Northern Ireland. Following the partitio ...

in 1966, but was legalised at the same time as

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 Gr ...

by Labour Secretary of State

Merlyn Rees Merlyn Merlyn-Rees, Baron Merlyn-Rees, (né Merlyn Rees; 18 December 1920 – 5 January 2006) was a British Labour Party politician and Member of Parliament from 1963 until 1992. He served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1974–197 ...

in April 1974 in order to encourage a political path for Loyalist and

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 ...

paramilitary groups. It launched its manifesto "The Volunteer Political Party - a progressive and forward thinking unionist party" at a press conference on 27 September. Influenced by the thinking of the

Northern Ireland Labour Party The Northern Ireland Labour Party (NILP) was a political party in Northern Ireland which operated from 1924 until 1987. Origins The roots of the NILP can be traced back to the formation of the Belfast Labour Party in 1892. William Walker stoo ...

, it opposed internment without trial and the idea of independence for Northern Ireland and supported a more equitable distribution of resources to deprived parts of the United Kingdom. The party applied to join the

United Ulster Unionist Council 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 in Northern Ireland. Formation The UUUC was established in Janua ...

(UUUC) but was rebuffed, with the mainstream unionist parties wary of being linked to paramilitaries. Ken Gibson contested the

West Belfast Belfast West can refer to: *The western part of Belfast. *Belfast West (Assembly constituency) * Belfast West (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency) *Belfast West (UK Parliament constituency) Belfast West is a parliamentary constituency ( ...

seat, which included parts of the Shankill district, in the October 1974 general election. Despite the security risks, the VPP also carried out some limited canvassing on the Catholic Falls Road.Frenett, Ross. "‘Protestant Socialists’? Ulster Loyalism and Working-Class Politics:1969-1974," Scrinium, University College Cork (2010), p.39 The VPP claimed to stand for the

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

and an election pamphlet attacked the disgraceful social conditions on the Shankill. In the election, Gibson was supported by

Glen Barr Albert Glenn Barr OBE (19 March 1942 – 24 October 2017) was a politician from Derry, Northern Ireland, who was an advocate of Ulster nationalism. For a time during the 1970s he straddled both Unionism and Loyalism due to simultaneously holdi ...

Vanguard The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. History The vanguard derives f ...

Charles Harding Smith Charles Harding Smith (24 January 1931 – 1997) was a loyalist leader in Northern Ireland and the first effective leader of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). An important figure in the Belfast-based "defence associations" that formed the bas ...

, the leader of the West Belfast

Ulster Defence Association The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 as an umbrella group for various loyalist groups and undertook an armed campaign of almost 24 years as one of t ...

and the independent Shankill councillor

Hugh Smyth Hugh Smyth, OBE (1941 – 12 May 2014) was a Northern Irish politician who was leader of the Progressive Unionist Party. He was a former Lord Mayor of Belfast as well as the longest serving member of Belfast City Council, having represented t ...

, who went on to become one of the founders 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 Volun ...

. Standing against the official UUUC candidate, Johnny McQuade of 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 ...

(DUP), they won only 2,690 votes (6%), 14% of the total unionist vote. Because of this failure, the party was dissolved the following month by a meeting of all UVF commanders. A statement announced; "The low poll for the VPP candidate indicates that the general public does not support the political involvement of the UVF. It would therefore be fruitless to promote the Volunteer Party as a party political machine". Most of its members returned to the UVF (some of whom were later to form the

). The UVF turned back to violence and was banned again by the

British government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

on 4 October 1975.

References

Sources

*Steve Bruce, ''The Red Hand'', 1992, *Jim Cusack & Henry McDonald, ''UVF'', 2000, *Sarah Nelson, ''Ulster's Uncertain Defenders'', 1984, *Tim Pat Coogan, ''The Troubles: Ireland's Ordeal, 1966-1996, and the Search for Peace''. . Hutchinson, 1995. *Frenett, Ross. "‘Protestant Socialists’? Ulster Loyalism and Working-Class Politics:1969-1974," Scrinium, University College Cork (2010). https://www.academia.edu/24559678/_Protestant_Socialists_Ulster_Loyalism_and_Working-class_Politics_1969-1974/ {{Ulster Volunteer Force Defunct political parties in Northern Ireland History of Northern Ireland Political parties established in 1974 Ulster Volunteer Force 1974 establishments in Northern Ireland