Harry West
Harry West | |
---|---|
James Molyneaux | |
Member of Parliament for Fermanagh and South Tyrone | |
In office 28 February 1974 – 20 September 1974 | |
Preceded by | Frank McManus |
Succeeded by | Frank Maguire |
Member of the Northern Ireland Parliament for Enniskillen | |
In office 8 May 1954 – 18 July 1973 | |
Preceded by | Thomas Nelson |
Succeeded by | Office abolished |
Personal details | |
Born | Enniskillen, Ireland | 27 March 1917
Died | 5 February 2004 Enniskillen, Northern Ireland | (aged 86)
Nationality | British |
Political party | Ulster Unionist Party |
Spouse | Maureen Hall |
Children | 7 |
Profession | Farmer |
Henry William West (27 March 1917 – 5 February 2004) was a Northern Irish unionist politician who served as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1974 until 1979.[1]
Career to Stormont
West was born in County Fermanagh and educated at Portora Royal School in Enniskillen. He worked as a farmer, taking an interest in local government, but it was not until 1954 that he entered Stormont as member for the Enniskillen seat, succeeding Thomas Nelson. In 1960 he was appointed Minister of Agriculture in the government of Lord Brookeborough, which he was to retain under the leadership of Terence O'Neill.
He became one of a number of Stormont MPs critical of O'Neill's conciliatory approach towards Nationalists and in 1969 he had the whip withdrawn, along with William Craig.[1] In 1971 the whip was restored under the new Ulster Unionist leader and Prime Minister of Northern Ireland Brian Faulkner. West became Minister of Agriculture once more and retained that position until the Stormont government was dissolved in 1972.
Sunningdale
West emerged as a fierce critic of the negotiations that would lead to the
The UUUC campaigned fiercely for the abolition of the executive, which came about in May 1974 following a general strike. West continued to seek ways to expand unionism and recruited the ex-Conservative Member of Parliament Enoch Powell to the party. Powell stood for and won the South Down constituency in the October 1974 general election, but his opposition to the restoration of Stormont and preference for greater integration with the United Kingdom was to cause ruptures within the party. West himself lost his seat in Parliament due to a pact between Nationalists, so having the dubious distinction of being the only MP who served between the two general elections in 1974 who never served in any other Parliament, but he remained leader of the party. The UUUC lasted another few years and won the overwhelming majority of the seats in the 1975 Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention which sought to gain consensus on the future of the province. When the Vanguard Party fell apart over proposals for a voluntary coalition with the Social Democratic and Labour Party, West negotiated with Craig for the majority faction to merge into the Ulster Unionists.
The
April 1981 by-election in Fermanagh and South Tyrone
He remained active in the Ulster Unionists for some years and was the party's unsuccessful candidate in the bitter
Family
He was married to Maureen Hall and they had four sons and three daughters. He was a
His nephew is James Cooper, who was chairman of the Ulster Unionist Party from 2003 to 2005 and unsuccessfully was the Party's candidate in Fermanagh and South Tyrone in 2001.