Independent Unionist
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Independent Unionist has been a label sometimes used by candidates in
elections in the United Kingdom There are five types of elections in the United Kingdom: elections to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom (commonly called 'general elections' when all seats are contested), elections to devolved parliaments and assemblies, local electi ...
, indicating a support for
British unionism Unionism in the United Kingdom, also referred to as British unionism, is a political ideology favouring the continued unity of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as one sovereign state, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and North ...
(not to be confused with
trade unionism A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
). It is most popularly associated with candidates in elections for the
Parliament of Northern Ireland The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended because of its inability to restore ord ...
. Such candidates supported the positions of Unionism in Northern Ireland but, for various reasons, could not reconcile to themselves to 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 ...
or other groups. It was also used by Unionists in what became the
Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...
, as they were unionists, but not in Ulster. The label was also used in
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, demonstrating an association with ideology of the Unionist Party, the predecessor to the modern
Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party ( gd, Pàrtaidh Tòraidheach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Tory an Unionist Pairty), often known simply as the Scottish Conservatives and colloquially as the Scottish Tories, is a centre-right political par ...
. At the 1938 Northern Ireland general election
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 ...
and five defeated candidates stood for the
Independent Unionist Association The Independent Unionist Association or Independent Unionist Party was a political party in Northern Ireland. The organisation was founded in 1937, shortly before the announcement of the 1938 Northern Ireland general election. It consisted of a ...
, which was distinct from other Independent Unionists.


Notable users of the affiliation


Northern Ireland

* George Hanna was an early example, representing East Antrim in the
British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...
from 1919. *
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 ...
represented Belfast Shankill from 1929 to 1953 as an independent Unionist. *
James Woods Gyle James Woods Gyle (died 2 December 1934) was an Independent Unionist politician in Northern Ireland, member of the Parliament of Northern Ireland. Born in Belfast, the son of mariner John Gyle and Fanny Woods. Gyle was married in December 1894 t ...
, a member of both houses of the
Parliament of Northern Ireland The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended because of its inability to restore ord ...
and a contemporary of Henderson, was an independent Unionist throughout his political career. *
James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...
contested the 1945 Northern Ireland general election under this label. * Norman Porter was elected for Belfast Clifton in the 1953 election on this ticket. *
Lloyd Hall-Thompson Robert Lloyd Hall-Thompson TD (9 April 1920 – 20 May 1992), known as Lloyd Hall-Thompson, was a Unionist politician in Northern Ireland. Born in Belfast, Hall-Thompson was the son of Samuel Hall-Thompson, and grandson of Rt. Hon. Robert Thom ...
would later hold the same seat, Belfast Clifton, similarly. * George Forrest won the 1956 Mid Ulster by-election as an independent Unionist before switching to 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 ...
. *
Bertie McConnell Robert Dodd McConnell, known as Bertie McConnell (born 1921) is a former Army officer and politician in Northern Ireland. McConnell was born in Bangor, County Down, and served in the British Army in World War II. During the war, he lost his sight ...
was elected to the NI Parliament under this banner in 1969. *
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 ...
served in both the
Northern Ireland Assembly (1973) The Northern Ireland Assembly was a legislative assembly set up by the Government of the United Kingdom on 3 May 1973 to restore devolved government to Northern Ireland with the power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive made up of unionists an ...
and 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. F ...
as an independent unionist. * Frank Millar was elected to both 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. F ...
and the
Northern Ireland Assembly (1982) The Northern Ireland Assembly established in 1982 represented an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to restore the devolution to Northern Ireland which had been suspended 10 years previously. The Assembly was abolished in 1986. Origins The Assem ...
as an independent Unionist. *
Dorothy Dunlop Dorothy Dunlop (1929 – 16 October 2021) was a former Ulster Unionist and Conservative politician. She was born in Dublin in 1929, but her family moved to Belfast when she was just four, after her father, Gilbert Waterhouse, accepted the positi ...
Assembly member for East Belfast 1982-1986 campaigned under this label before joining the
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
. * William Bleakes used the term, newly prohibited in elections, following his departure from the Conservatives 1998–2001. The legal change meant he stood and branded himself from 2001 simply independent. *
Fraser Agnew William Alexander Fraser Agnew, known as Fraser Agnew, is a politician in Northern Ireland who was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Belfast North from 1998 to 2003. After growing up in Ballyclare, Agnew studied at the University ...
,
Boyd Douglas Albert Boyd Douglas, known as Boyd Douglas (born 13 July 1950) is a Unionist politician in Northern Ireland who was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for East Londonderry from 1998 to 2003. The son of William Douglas (Northern Ir ...
and
Denis Watson Denis Leslie Watson (born 18 October 1955) is a professional golfer from Zimbabwe. Early life and amateur career Born in Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe) Watson was educated at Oriel Boys High School, Chisipite. He represented Rhod ...
used the title before forming the
United Unionist Coalition The United Unionist Coalition (UUC), formerly known as the United Unionist Assembly Party, was a minor unionist political formation in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland Assembly The UUC was formed by three members of the Northern Ireland Ass ...
. * Pauline Armitage MLA for Londonderry East, 1998-2003 briefly used the designation before joining the
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 ...
. * Roger Hutchinson sat as such following his expulsion from the third party he stood with, the
Northern Ireland Unionist Party The Northern Ireland Unionist Party (NIUP) was a small unionist political party in Northern Ireland. It was formed in January 1999 as a splinter party from the UK Unionist Party (UKUP). This split was caused by disagreement between the five UKU ...
, in 2000. * Ivan Davis ran as independent Unionist after failing to secure selection as UUP candidature for the 2003 Assembly election. He has subsequently returned to the UUP. * Sylvia Hermon had been elected as an MP in 2001 for 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 2010, she announced her intention not to seek the nomination as the
Ulster Conservatives and Unionists The Ulster Conservatives and Unionists, officially registered as the ''Ulster Conservatives and Unionists – New Force'' (''UCUNF''), was an electoral alliance in Northern Ireland between the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and the Conservative P ...
candidate for North Down in the 2010 Westminster election, standing as an independent unionist. She was re-elected to the House of Commons under this designation until her retirement in 2019. * David McClarty ran as an independent unionist after being de-selected by the UUP for 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 ...
election in 2011 in the East Londonderry constituency. He was re-elected to the Assembly under this designation and held the seat until his death in 2014. *
Basil McCrea Basil McCrea (born 13 November 1959) is a former Northern Irish politician. He was the party leader of NI21 from 2013 until it disbanded in 2016. He was also a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Lagan Valley from 2007 to 2016. Po ...
and John McCallister took on the label after leaving the UUP in 2013. *
Claire Sugden Claire Sugden (born 7 August 1986) is a Northern Irish politician who was the Minister of Justice in the fourth Northern Ireland Executive from May 2016 to March 2017. She is a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for East Londonderry, hav ...
has represented East Londonderry 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 ...
since her 2014 Co-Option, after the death of David McClarty. She has sat as an Independent since her selection. She served as the
Minister for Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...
on the
Northern Ireland Executive The Northern Ireland Executive is the devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branch of the legislature – the Northern Ireland Assembly. It is answerable to the assembly and was initially established according to the ter ...
from May 2016 to January 2017. *
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 ...
lor Ruth Patterson described herself as such following her expulsion from 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 ...
in 2015. *
Ken Maginnis, Baron Maginnis of Drumglass Kenneth Wiggins Maginnis, Baron Maginnis of Drumglass (born 21 January 1938), is a Northern Irish politician and life peer. Since December 2020, he has been suspended from the House of Lords, where he formerly sat for the Ulster Unionist Party ...
sits as an independent unionist peer in the
House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
, since resigning from the UUP in 2012. *
Alex Easton Alex Easton MLA (born 19 May 1969) is an Independent Unionist politician from Northern Ireland who has been a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for North Down since 2003. A former member of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Eas ...
left the DUP in 2021, but was re-elected in the
2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election The 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election was held on 5 May 2022. It elected 90 members to the Northern Ireland Assembly. It was the seventh assembly election since the establishment of the assembly in 1998. The election was held three months ...
as an independent unionist.


England

*
Francis Bennett-Goldney Major Francis Bennett-Goldney (1865 – 26 July 1918) was an antiquary, Member of Parliament (MP) for Canterbury and former Mayor of Canterbury, who died during World War I. He was born Francis Evans, the son of Sebastian Evans, in Mosele ...
won
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...
in 1910 against a Conservative as an Independent Unionist, having strongly independent views as he opposed the growing arms race and diplomatic contest with the
German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
, acquiesced in by the other main parties.


Scotland

*Ian Smith stood unsuccessfully as such in the 1963 Kinross and Western Perthshire by-election in
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, which was won by the then
Conservative and Unionist Party The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party and also known colloquially as the Tories, is one of the Two-party system, two main political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party. ...
leader,
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
,
Alec Douglas-Home Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel (; 2 July 1903 – 9 October 1995), styled as Lord Dunglass between 1918 and 1951 and being The 14th Earl of Home from 1951 till 1963, was a British Conservative politician who se ...
. *David Robertson in Caithness and Sutherland in 1964.


Southern Ireland

Four MPs elected to the
Southern Ireland House of Commons The Parliament of Southern Ireland was a Home Rule legislature established by the British Government during the Irish War of Independence under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It was designed to legislate for Southern Ireland,"Order in Co ...
for
Dublin University The University of Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Átha Cliath), corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a university located in Dublin, Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dubl ...
at the 1921 election. They were the only MPs to attend the opening of the
Parliament of Southern Ireland The Parliament of Southern Ireland was a Home Rule legislature established by the British Government during the Irish War of Independence under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It was designed to legislate for Southern Ireland,"Order in Coun ...
, as all other members, who had been elected for
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 ...
, sat as members of the
Second Dáil The Second Dáil () was Dáil Éireann as it convened from 16 August 1921 until 8 June 1922. From 1919 to 1922, Dáil Éireann was the revolutionary parliament of the self-proclaimed Irish Republic. The Second Dáil consisted of members elect ...
. All four were elected again at the
1922 Irish general election The 1922 Irish general election took place in Southern Ireland on Friday, 16 June. The election was separately called by a resolution of Dáil Éireann on 19 May and by an order of the Provisional Government on 27 May. The body elected was thus ...
, and would each continue to serve in the
Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...
either as
Independent TDs Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independen ...
or, in Fitzgibbon's case, as a judge. *
Ernest Alton Ernest Henry Alton (21 September 1873 – 18 February 1952) was an Irish university professor and an Independent Teachta Dála (TD) and Senator. Born near Mullingar, County Westmeath, Alton attended The High School in Dublin. He graduated fro ...
, TD 1922–37, Senator 1938–43 * James Craig, TD 1922–33 * Gerald Fitzgibbon, TD 1922–23, Judge of the
Supreme Court of Justice A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
1924–38 * William Thrift, TD 1922–37


Republic of Ireland

* Ian Marshall served as an independent Unionist in
Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann (, ; "Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house). It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its memb ...
, from 2018 to 2020.


See also

*
Independent politician An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have political views th ...
*
Independent Unionist Association The Independent Unionist Association or Independent Unionist Party was a political party in Northern Ireland. The organisation was founded in 1937, shortly before the announcement of the 1938 Northern Ireland general election. It consisted of a ...
*
Independent Conservative Independent Conservative is a description which has been used in the United Kingdom, Canada, United States and elsewhere, to denote a political conservative who lacks a formal affiliation to the party of that name. In the United Kingdom As a de ...
*
Independent Nationalist Independent Nationalist ( ga, Náisiúnach Neamhspleách) is a political title frequently used by Irish nationalists when contesting elections to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Great Britain and Ireland not as members of the Irish ...


References

{{Reflist Politics of Northern Ireland Unionism in the United Kingdom