The Reform UK–TUV alliance was an

electoral pact An electoral alliance (also known as a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral pact, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc) is an association of political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand in elections. E ...

for the

2024 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland The 2024 general election in Northern Ireland was held on 4 July 2024, with all 18 Northern Irish seats in the House of Commons contested. The general election occurred after the recently completed constituency boundaries review. Background ...

between the

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

Reform UK Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Nigel Farage has been Leader of Reform UK and Richard Tice deputy leader since 2024. It has five members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons and one membe ...

party and the

British unionist In the United Kingdom, unionism is a political stance favouring the continued unity of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as one sovereign state, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Those who support the union ...

and

national conservative National conservatism is a nationalist variant of conservatism that concentrates on upholding national and cultural identity, communitarianism and the public role of religion. It shares aspects of traditionalist conservatism and social conserva ...

Traditional Unionist Voice The Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. In common with all other Northern Irish unionist parties, the TUV's political programme has as its '' sine qua non'' the preservation of Northern Ireland's pl ...

(TUV). The parties agreed to stand mutually agreed candidates in 14

constituencies An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

History

The alliance between the two parties was formed after Northern Ireland's largest unionist party, the

Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist, Ulster loyalism, loyalist, British nationalist and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who ...

(DUP), decided to re-enter the devolved power-sharing government at Stormont, ending their boycott over the

Northern Ireland Protocol The Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, commonly abbreviated to the Northern Ireland Protocol (NIP), is a protocol to the Brexit withdrawal agreement that sets out Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit relationship with both the EU and Great Bri ...

on 3 February 2024. This led the TUV to denounce the DUP as "Protocol implementers." Former Reform UK MEP

Ben Habib Benyamin Naeem Habib (born 7 June 1965) is a Pakistani–British politician and businessman who serves as the director of the Integrity Party. Habib served as a co-deputy leader of Reform UK from October 2023 to July 2024, alongside David Bull ...

had previously launched a legal challenge against the NI Protocol alongside TUV leader

Jim Allister James Hugh Allister (born 2 April 1953) is a Northern Irish unionist politician and barrister who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for North Antrim since the 2024 general election. He founded the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) in 20 ...

in February 2021. There was speculation that the alliance could lead to a splitting of the unionist vote, resulting in fewer DUP MPs being elected due to the

first-past-the-post First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...

electoral system used for

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

elections. The DUP MP for East Antrim, Sammy Wilson, highlighted this in a critical statement following the formation of the alliance, which he described as "absurd" and "self-destructive". The TUV applied to run candidates as "TUV/Reform UK" on ballot papers for the July 2024 general election, but this was rejected by the Electoral Office. Instead, the candidates appeared under a joint Reform UK–TUV logo. On 3 June 2024,

Nigel Farage Nigel Paul Farage ( ; born 3 April 1964) is a British politician and broadcaster who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton (UK Parliament constituency), Clacton and Leader of Reform UK since 20 ...

replaced

Richard Tice Richard James Sunley Tice (born 13 September 1964) is a British businessman and politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Boston and Skegness and Deputy Leader of Reform UK since 2024, having previously been the chairman of the p ...

as the leader of Reform UK. Farage subsequently distanced himself from the alliance, and on 10 June, indicated that the pact would come to an end with his endorsement of DUP MPs

Ian Paisley Jr Ian Richard Kyle Paisley Jr (born 12 December 1966) is a Northern Irish businessman and former unionist politician. A member of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), he served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Antrim from 2010 to 2024, ...

and Sammy Wilson. Farage stated that "new leadership brings change" and that he wished the TUV well. Jim Allister called the move "disappointing". Allister stated that the TUV had entered the alliance in "good faith", and that Farage's move went against a previous conversation they had a week prior. Following Farage's personal endorsement, Wilson called upon the TUV to drop the alliance branding. Reform UK confirmed its continued support for the electoral pact in a media statement, stating that Farage was giving his own "personal view," and that he has not dissolved the electoral pact nor intended to do so.

After the election

In the

2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...

, Reform UK won 5 seats and the TUV won 1 seat in Northern Ireland. After talks, Allister, the sole TUV MP, chose not to take the Reform UK whip, but to support Reform UK in some areas (including Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland, taxation and immigration) as set out in a memorandum of understanding.

Results

References

{{Traditional Unionist Voice Reform UK Political party alliances in the United Kingdom Politics of Northern Ireland Right-wing politics in the United Kingdom Political parties established in 2024 Ulster unionist organisations 2024 establishments in the United Kingdom

History

After the election

Results

See also

References