Progressive Unionist Party
Progressive Unionist Party Páirtí Aontachtach Forásach | |
---|---|
left-wing[5] | |
Colours | Blue and red |
Northern Irish seats in the House of Commons | 0 / 18 |
Northern Ireland Assembly | 0 / 90 |
Local government in Northern Ireland | 1 / 462 |
Website | |
www | |
The Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) is a minor
Since the
Party leaders
Leader | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Hugh Smyth | 1979 | 2002 |
2 | David Ervine | 2002 | 2007 |
3 | Dawn Purvis | 2007 | 2010 |
4 | Brian Ervine | 2010 | 2011 |
5 | Billy Hutchinson | 2011 | 2023 |
6 | Russell Watton | 2023 | Incumbent |
History
The party was founded by Hugh Smyth in the mid-1970s as the "Independent Unionist Group". In 1977, two prominent members of the Northern Ireland Labour Party, David Overend and Jim McDonald, joined. Overend subsequently wrote many of the group's policy documents, incorporating much of the NILP's platform.[9][10] In 1979, the group was renamed the "Progressive Unionist Party".
In 1995, shortly after the Combined Loyalist Military Command announced a ceasefire, former UVF member Billy Hutchinson, who was jailed for the murder of two Catholics in 1974, defined the relationship between the PUP and the UVF: "The relationship is a very strict one in terms of acting as political confidants and providing political analysis for them, but it doesn't go any deeper than that."[11]
The party has had a degree of electoral success. In 1994 PUP leader
Their position on the left of the political spectrum differentiates them from other unionist parties (such as the Ulster Unionist Party and the Democratic Unionist Party) which are ideologically right-wing.[12]
Following a loyalist feud between the UVF and Loyalist Volunteer Force, in which four men were murdered by the UVF in Belfast and recognition of the UVF's ceasefire was withdrawn by the British government, the PUP debated ending its "special relationship" with the UVF. This was defeated in a closed vote at the party's annual conference in October 2005.
In March 2006, the Chairwoman of the PUP,
David Ervine died following a heart attack on 8 January 2007. On 22 January 2007 Dawn Purvis was chosen as party leader.
Assembly elections, March 2007
The election was for 108 seats spread evenly across 18 constituencies.
The PUP fielded three candidates: Elaine Martin in North Down, Andrew Park in Belfast South and Dawn Purvis in Belfast East. Overall the party polled 3,822 votes or 0.6% of the votes cast in Northern Ireland, down 0.6% from the elections of 2003.
Dawn Purvis was elected to represent Belfast East, polling 3,045 votes (10.3%), finishing 5th out of the 15 candidates.
2010 resignations and relationship with UVF/RHC
In June 2010, Dawn Purvis resigned as leader, and as a member, of the party because of its relationship with the UVF and a recent murder attributed to that group.[14] On 28 August 2010 the former deputy leader, David Rose, resigned from the party. He cited the recent murder attributed to the UVF and his belief that the party was "becoming increasingly conservative in outlook.[15]
During a meeting in Belfast on 29 September 2010, members of the party agreed to maintain its relationship with the Ulster Volunteer Force and the Red Hand Commando.[16][17] Despite these links, party leader Billy Hutchinson acknowledges that most UVF members vote for the larger Democratic Unionist Party.[18]
Assembly elections, May 2011
The election was for 108 seats spread evenly across 18 constituencies. The party failed to regain the East Belfast seat and are unrepresented in the Assembly. Leader Brian Ervine resigned soon after the election and was replaced by veteran west Belfast activist Billy Hutchinson in October 2011.[19]
Notable members
Former UVF member
Electoral performance
UK general elections
1997 UK general election
Constituency | Candidate | Votes | % | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|
Belfast South | David Ervine | 5,687 | 14.4 | 3 |
East Antrim | Billy Donaldson | 1,757 | 5.1 | 5 |
South Antrim | Hugh Smyth | 3,490 | 9.0 | 4 |
2001 UK general election
Constituency | Candidate | Votes | % | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|
Belfast East | David Ervine | 3,669 | 10.0 | 4 |
Belfast South | Dawn Purvis | 1,112 | 2.9 | 6 |
Northern Ireland Assembly
Election | Seats won | ± | First Pref votes | % | ± |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1998 | 2 / 108
|
20,634 | 2.6% | ||
2003 | 1 / 108
|
1 | 8,032 | 1.2% | 1.4% |
2007 | 1 / 108
|
3,822 | 0.6% | 1.2% | |
2011 | 0 / 108
|
1 | 1,493 | 0.2% | 0.4% |
2016 | 0 / 108
|
5,955 | 0.9% | 0.7% | |
2017 | 0 / 90
|
5,590 | 0.7% | 0.2% | |
2022 | 0 / 90
|
2,665 | 0.3% | 0.4% |
Local Elections
Election | Seats won | ± | First Pref votes | % | ± |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1981 | 1 / 526
|
N/A | 3,057 | 0.5% | N/A |
1985 | 2 / 565
|
1 | 3,612 | 0.6% | 0.1 |
1989 | 3 / 565
|
3,839 | 0.6% | ||
1993 | 1 / 582
|
2 | 2,350 | 0.4% | 0.2 |
1997 | 7 / 582
|
6 | 12,051 | 2% | 1.6 |
2001 | 4 / 582
|
3 | 12,261 | 1.55% | 0.45 |
2005 | 2 / 582
|
2 | 4,591 | 0.7% | 0.85 |
2011 | 2 / 582
|
3,858 | 0.6% | 0.1 | |
2014 | 4 / 462
|
1 | 12,753 | 2.0% | 1.4 |
2019 | 3 / 462
|
1 | 5,338 | 0.79% | 1.21 |
2023 | 1 / 462
|
2 | 2,103 | 0.3% | 0.5 |
See also
- Northern Ireland Assembly
- 1998 Northern Ireland Assembly election
- 2003 Northern Ireland Assembly election
- 2007 Northern Ireland Assembly election
- 2011 Northern Ireland Assembly election
References
- S2CID 145393084.
- ^ New Statesman: Volume 131, Issues 4569-4576. London: New Statesman. 2002. p. 56.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Coulter, John (11 September 2019). "A socialist alternative for Northern Ireland?". Northern Slant. Archived from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
- ^ Coulter, John (11 September 2019). "A socialist alternative for Northern Ireland?". Northern Slant. Archived from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
- ^ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2011). "Northern Ireland/UK". Parties and Elections in Europe. Archived from the original on 29 December 2015.
- ^ "Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) - Your Questions". Pup-ni.org.uk. Archived from the original on 6 December 2009. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
- ISBN 9783631585917.
- ^ Aaron Edwards, A history of the Northern Ireland Labour Party, p.219
- ^ Ed Moloney, Voices from the Grave: Two Men's War in Ireland, p.396
- ^ Brian Rowan, Behind the Lines: The Story of the IRA and Loyalist Ceasefires' (Belfast: Blackstaff Press, 1995), p. 141
- ^ Taylor, Ros (28 January 1999). "Who's who in Northern Ireland". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2016 – via www.theguardian.com.
- ^ New PUP leader seeks Ervine seat Archived 25 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News, 23 January 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2009.
- ^ "Purvis quits PUP over murder of loyalist Moffett". BBC News. 3 June 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
- ^ "Leading PUP member, David Rose, quits party". BBC News. 28 August 2010. Archived from the original on 31 August 2010. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
- ^ "PUP 'keep link with loyalist UVF'". 29 September 2010. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2018 – via BBC.
- ^ "PUP to maintain paramilitary link". www.newsletter.co.uk. Archived from the original on 18 October 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
- ^ "Jamie Bryson confuses me, says PUP's Billy Hutchinson". www.newsletter.co.uk. Archived from the original on 18 October 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
- ^ "ITV Hub". ITV Hub. Archived from the original on 18 April 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
- ^ Taylor, Peter (1999). Loyalists. London: Bloomsbury. p.8