The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. Led by Ian Paisley, it is the largest party in
Northern Ireland and the fourth-largest party in the British House of Commons. The DUP has strong links to Protestant
churches, particularly Paisley's Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster,
and is considered a Protestant political party.[1]
Following on from the St Andrews Agreement in October 2006, the DUP has agreed with the Irish republican
party Sinn Féin to enter into power-sharing
devolved government in Northern Ireland. In the aftermath of the agreement there were reports
of divisions within the DUP. Many of its leading members, including Members of
Parliament (MPs) Nigel Dodds, David Simpson
and Gregory Campbell were claimed to be in opposition to Paisley. All the
party's MPs fully signed up to the manifesto for the 2007 Assembly elections, supporting power sharing in principle. An
overwhelming majority of the party executive voted in favour of restoring devolution in a meeting in March 2006[2]; however, the DUP's sole
Member of the European Parliament (MEP), Jim Allister[3], and seven DUP councillors[4] later resigned from the party in opposition to its plans to share power with Sinn Féin.
History
The party was established in 1971 by Ian Paisley and Desmond Boal and other members of the Protestant Unionist
Party. It has won seats at local council, province, national and European level. It won eight seats in the
Northern Ireland Assembly of 1973-1974, where it opposed the formation of a power-sharing executive made up of
unionists and nationalists following the Sunningdale Agreement. The DUP were more
radically unionist than the UUP; also, the DUP had a stronger working-class element and consequently relatively centre-left economic policies.[citation needed] The establishment of this political party arguably stemmed from
insecurities of the Protestant working class.[5] Paisley
was elected one of Northern Ireland's three European Parliament members at the first elections in 1979 and retained that seat in every European
election until 2004, receiving the highest percentage popular vote of any MEP in Britain or Ireland, and one of the highest anywhere in
Europe.[citation needed] In 2004 Paisley was replaced
as the DUP MEP by Jim Allister, who resigned from the party in 2007 while retaining his
seat.[3]
The DUP also holds seats in the British House of Commons, and has been elected to each of the Northern Ireland conventions and
assemblies set up since the party's creation. It has long been the major rival to the other major unionist party, the Ulster Unionist Party (known for
a time in the 1970s and 1980s as the Official Unionist Party (OUP) to distinguish it from
the then multitude of other unionist parties, some set up by deposed former leaders). However, the DUP's main rivals are the
Irish Republican Sinn Féin and the
Irish nationalist Social
Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP).[citation needed]
The DUP was originally involved in the negotiations under former United States
Senator George J. Mitchell that led to the Belfast Agreement (also known as the Good Friday Agreement
on account of the day on which it was signed). The party withdrew in protest when Sinn Féin, a
republican party with ties to the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), was allowed to participate despite the IRA
retaining weapons. The DUP opposed the Agreement in the referendum that followed its signing, and which saw the Agreement
approved reasonably comfortably nonetheless.
The DUP fought the resulting election to the Northern Ireland Assembly and
took two seats in the multi-party power-sharing executive but while serving as ministers refused to sit in at meetings of the
Executive Committee (cabinet) in protest at Sinn Féin's participation.[citation needed] The Executive ultimately collapsed over an alleged IRA espionage ring at
Stormont. (see Stormontgate).
In the delayed Northern Ireland Assembly election of 2003, the DUP became the largest political
party in the region, with 30 seats. In 2004, it became the largest Northern Ireland party at Westminster, with the defection of Jeffrey
Donaldson. On December 12, 2004, English MP
Andrew Hunter took the DUP whip, giving the party seven seats, in
comparison to the UUP's five, Sinn Féin's four, and the SDLP's three.
In the 2005 general election, the party reinforced its position
as the largest unionist party, winning nine seats, making it the fourth largest party in terms of seats in the British House of
Commons behind Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. In terms of votes, the DUP is the fourth largest party in
Ireland.
When this is compared to the Northern Ireland local government elections (held on the same day as the Westminster General Election but under Proportional Representation), then the final figures would indicate that, had the
Westminster General Election been on a Proportional Representation basis instead of the First-past-the-post system, the DUP would only have had six seats and the UUP and Sinn Féin four
seats each. The SDLP would still have its three seats but there would have been another seat for an independent.
At the Local Government election of 2005, the DUP also emerged as the largest party at Local Government level with 182
Councillors across Northern Ireland's 26 District Councils.2005 Local Government Election Results The DUP currently has a majority of the members on both
Castlereagh Borough Council, which has long been a DUP stronghold and is
home to Deputy Leader Peter Robinson, and in Ballymena Borough Council, home to Ian Paisley. As well as outright control on both of these
councils, the DUP is also the largest party in eight of the other Councils. These are Antrim Borough Council, Ards Borough Council,
Ballymoney Borough Council, Banbridge District Council, Belfast City
Council, Carrickfergus Borough Council, Coleraine Borough Council, and Craigavon Borough
Council.
Policies
Constitutional position
The DUP supports the maintenance of Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom.
- Constitutional Monarchist
- Supports a devolved Government for Northern Ireland if certain conditions are met by Sinn Féin.
- Seeks the establishment of a Northern Ireland Assembly with an Executive Government made up of democratic parties with no
links to an active terrorist organisation.
- Supports practical co-operation with the Republic of Ireland on issues of mutual
concern and provided that decisions taken are accountable to the people of Northern Ireland.
Policy papers
Party spokesmen - Westminster
| Policy issue |
Spokesperson |
| Party Leader |
Ian Paisley |
| Deputy Leader |
Peter Robinson |
| Chief Whip |
Nigel Dodds |
| Defence, Culture, Media and Sport |
Gregory Campbell |
| Education and Skills, Housing |
Sammy Wilson |
| Environment, Food and Rural Affairs |
William McCrea |
| Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Europe |
Ian Paisley |
| Health, Youth and Women |
Iris Robinson |
| Home Affairs, Lord Chancellor's Department |
Peter Robinson |
| Trade and Industry |
David Simpson |
| Transport, International Development |
Jeffrey Donaldson |
| Treasury, Work and Pensions, Shadow Leader of the House |
Nigel Dodds |
Belfast Agreement
The 1998 Belfast Agreement was opposed by the
Democratic Unionist Party. The opposition was based on a number of reasons, including:
- The early release of republican prisoners
- The mechanism to allow Sinn Féin to hold Government office despite ongoing IRA
activity.
- The lack of accountability of Ministers within the Executive.
- The lack of accountability of the North-South Ministerial Council
and all-Ireland Implementation Bodies.
The Belfast Agreement relied on the support of a majority of unionists and a majority of nationalists in order for it to
operate.[citation needed] During the 2003 Assembly
Election, the DUP argued for a "fair deal" that could command the support of both unionists and nationalists. After the results
of this election the DUP argued that support was no longer present within unionism for the Belfast Agreement. They then went on
to publish their proposals for devolution in Northern Ireland entitled 'Devolution Now'
These proposals have been refined and re-stated in further policy documents including 'Moving on'PDF (483 KiB) and 'Facing Reality'PDF (914 KiB)
The DUP has consistently held the view that any party which is linked to a terrorist organisation should not be eligible to
hold Government office.[citation needed] The activities of the IRA and the other paramilitary groups have been
monitored by the Independent Monitoring Commission.
Elected representatives
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Members of Parliament:
- Gregory Campbell, East Londonderry,
- Jeffrey Donaldson, Lagan Valley
- Nigel Dodds, Belfast
North
- William McCrea, South Antrim
- Ian Paisley, North
Antrim
- Iris Robinson, Strangford
- Peter Robinson, Belfast East
- David Simpson, Upper Bann
- Sammy Wilson, East
Antrim
Northern Ireland Assembly
Members of the 2007 Northern Ireland
Assembly:
Recent developments
On 11 April 2006, it was announced that three DUP members were
to be elevated to the House of Lords: Maurice Morrow, Wallace
Browne, the former Lord Mayor of Belfast, and Eileen Paisley, a vice-president of the DUP and wife of DUP Leader
Ian Paisley. None, however, sit as DUP peers.
On 27 October 2006, the DUP issued a four page letter in the
Belfast Telegraph newspaper asking the question "Are the terms of Saint Andrew's a basis of moving forward to
devolution?", with responses to be received to its party headquarters by the 8 Novermber. It was part of the party's overall
direction of consultation with its electorate before entering a power-sharing assembly.[citation needed]
On 24 November 2006, Ian Paisley refused to nominate
himself as First Minister designate. There was confusion between all parties whether he actually said that if Sinn Féin supported
policing and the rule of law that he would nominate himself on 28 March 2007 after the Assembly elections on 7 March 2007. The Assembly meeting was brought to an abrupt end when they had to
evacuate because of a security breach. Ian Paisley later released a statement through the press office stating that he did in
fact imply that if Sinn Féin supported policing and the rule of law, he would go into power sharing with Sinn Féin. This was
following a statement issued by 12 DUP MLAs stating that what Ian Paisley had said in the chamber could not be interpreted as a
nomination.[citation needed]
The DUP has recently suggested that it would begin to impose fines up to £20,000 on
members disobeying the party whip on crucial votes. [6]
On 24 March 2007 the DUP Party Executive overwhelmingly
endorsed a resolution put to them by the Party Officers which did not agree to an establishment of devolution and an Executive in
Northern Ireland by the Government's deadline of 26th March, but did agree to setting up an Executive on 8th May 2007. DUP Executive agrees devolution
date
On 27 March 2007, the party's sole Member of the European
Parliament (MEP) Jim Allister, resigned from the party, in opposition to the decision to
enter powersharing with Sinn Féin, he will retain his seat as a Independent MEP. MP
Gregory Campbell has warned on April 6
2007 that his party will be watching to see if benefits flow from the party's agreement to share
power with Sinn Féin.[7]
On 7 May 2007 The East Antrim MLA George Dawson passed away after
a short battle against cancer. He was replaced by Alastair Ross, who had previously worked
as a Parliamentary Researcher for the East Antrim MP and MLA Sammy Wilson.
See also
Footnotes
- ^ Freston, Paul (2004). Protestant Political Parties: A Global Survey. Aldershot: Ashgate, pp.
47–51. ISBN 978-0754640622.
- ^ "DUP 'would share power in May'", BBC News
Online, BBC, 2007-03-24. Retrieved on 2007-04-07.
- ^ a b "Allister quits power-sharing DUP", BBC News
Online, BBC, 2007-03-27. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.
- ^ "Seventh councillor leaves the
DUP", BBC News Online, BBC, 2007-04-05.
Retrieved on 2007-04-07.
- ^ Beyond the Sectarian Divide: the Social Bases and Political Consequences
of Nationalist and Unionist Party Competition in Northern Ireland by Geoffrey Evans and Mary Duffy. In British Journal of
Political Science, Vol. 27, No. 1. (Jan., 1997), p.58
- ^ Sunday Times, page 1.10, February 4 2007
- ^ "Agreement must bring
benefits, Congressmen are told", Noel McAdam, Belfast Telegraph,
2007-04-06. Retrieved on 2007-04-06.
External links
Political parties in the United
Kingdom  |
| House of Commons (646): |
Labour (355) • Conservatives (197) • Liberal
Democrats (63) • DUP (9) • SNP (6) • Sinn
Féin (5)# • Plaid Cymru (3) •
SDLP (3) • Ind KHHC (1) • Independent (1) • Independent
Labour (1) • Respect (1) • UUP (1) |
| House of
Lords (738): |
Labour (211) • Crossbencher (207) •
Conservatives (205) • Liberal
Democrats (77) • UKIP (2) •
Greens (E&W) (1) • Bishops (26) • non-affiliated (12) •
Conservative Independent (1) • Independent Labour (1) • Independent (1) |
| Scottish Parliament (129): |
SNP (47) • Labour (46) •
Conservatives (17) • Liberal Democrats (16) • Scottish
Greens (2) • Independent (1) |
| National Assembly for Wales (60): |
Labour (26) • Plaid Cymru (15) •
Conservatives (12) • Liberal
Democrats (6) • Independent (1) |
| Northern Ireland Assembly (108): |
DUP (36) •
Sinn Féin (28) • UUP (18) •
SDLP (16) • Alliance (7) • Greens
(NI) (1) • PUP (1) • Independent (1) |
| London
Assembly (25): |
Conservatives (9) • Labour (7) •
Liberal Democrats (5) • Greens (E&W) (2) • One
London (2) |
European Parliament
(78 of 732): |
Conservatives (ED, 27) • Labour (PES, 19) • Liberal Democrats (ELDR,
12) • UKIP (ID, 10) • Greens
(E&W) (EGP, 2) • SNP (EFA, 2) • Plaid Cymru (EFA, 1) • Sinn Féin (EUL, 1) • UUP (ED, 1) • Independent (ADIE, 1) •
Independent (ITS, 1) •
Independent (NA, 1) |
Notes:
#Although Sinn Féin have five elected members and have offices at Westminster, they are abstentionist and therefore do not take their seats |
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