Northern Ireland Labour Party
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Northern Ireland Labour Party
Northern Ireland Labour Party (NILP). Founded in 1924, as a socialist alternative to the largely sectarian politics of Ulster. It strove to remain neutral on the partition question, but in 1949—after the declaration of an Irish republic—it came out in favour of the constitutional link between Northern Ireland and Britain. The renewal of communal violence in 1969 heightened sectarianism and put pressure on the NILP electoral base. The establishment of new parties in 1970-1 (the Social Democratic and Labour Party, Alliance) eroded different aspects of NILP support. Thereafter it rapidly declined, surviving with minimal electoral following until 1987.
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Northern Ireland Labour Party
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Northern Ireland Labour Party
See also: Labour Party of Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland Labour Party (NILP) was a political party in Northern Ireland which operated from 1924 until 1987.
In 1913 the British Labour Party resolved to give the recently formed Irish Labour Party exclusive organising rights in Ireland (the 1907 conference of the British party had been held in Belfast). This decision was not popular with the trade unions in Belfast, where skilled and organised workers tended to be Protestant and broadly Unionist (or at least anti-Nationalist) in outlook.
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After Partition
After partition the NILP was founded as a socialist political party by groups including the Belfast Labour Party and found its main bed of support amongst working class voters in Belfast. It initially declined to take a position on the "Border Question" and instead sought to offer itself as an alternative to both nationalism and unionism. It maintained relations with the British Labour Party who did not allow membership or organisation in Northern Ireland until 2004.
In the 1925 Northern Ireland General Election the party secured 3 seats in Belfast including William McMullen elected in West Belfast as well as Sam Kyle (Belfast North) and Jack Beattie(Belfast East), this was the last election for the Northern Ireland Parliament using Proportional Representation.
The party had a Westminster Member of Parliament on only one occasion, when Jack Beattie won the Belfast West by-election, 1943, retained the seat in 1945, but lost it in 1949. He regained the seat as an Irish Labour Party candidate in 1951.[1][2][3]
In 1949, following the declaration of a Republic in the south, the Northern Ireland Labour Party's conference voted in favour of the Union with Great Britain. The result was a sharp decline in the party's already limited electoral success, as Catholic voters deserted, and the Irish Labour Party attempted to organise in Northern Ireland. An earlier refusal to adopt this policy had split the party, with leader Harry Midgley forming his own strongly Unionist Commonwealth Labour Party.
Later in the 1950s, the party began to gain ground amongst unionist voters, and after the breakup of the Irish Labour Party's new attempts to organise in Northern Ireland amongst some nationalists, it saw its greatest period of success between 1958 and 1965. Four NILP MPs were elected to Stormont in 1958 for Belfast constituencies: Tom Boyd (Cromac), Billy Boyd (Woodvale), Vivian Simpson (Oldpark), and David Bleakley (Victoria). The NILP then became the official opposition at Stormont.[4]
Success came despite continued divisions, over such matters as Sunday Observance - two NILP Belfast councillors voted to close the city's park playgrounds on Sundays (as demanded by hard line Calvinists but opposed by Catholics) and were expelled as a result.
The Troubles
However with the onset of the Troubles, new parties emerged that appealed to the party's support base, including the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland and the Democratic Unionist Party. Once again the polarisation of politics around partition deprived the party of a critical mass.
In Government 1971
In 1971 the new Prime Minister of Northern Ireland Brian Faulkner appointed NILP Stormont MP David Bleakley[5] to his Cabinet as Minister of Community Relations, in an attempt to bring reforms to Northern Ireland. However, the following year the Stormont Parliament was suspended when it resisted the London government request to take over responsibility for public order. In the 1973 referendum on the border, the NILP campaigned for Northern Ireland to remain in the United Kingdom. David Bleakley was elected to the 1973 Assembly and 1975 Forum for East Belfast.[6]
The Northern Ireland Labour Party continued to contest elections but with a dwindling support base.
Labour '87
In 1987 the remains of the party merged with Labour Party of Northern Ireland (formed in 1985 by former SDLP leader Paddy Devlin), the Ulster Liberal Party and the United Labour Party to form the Labour '87 group. This group also gained the support of the Newtownabbey Labour Party. They contested local elections and Mark Langhammer contested the 1989 European Elections unsuccessfully.[7]
Leaders of the Northern Ireland Labour Party at Stormont
- 1925 - 29: Samuel Kyle
- 1929 - 33: Jack Beattie
- 1933 - 38: Harry Midgley
- 1938 - 42: Paddy Agnew
- 1942 - 43: Jack Beattie
- 1943 - 45: Paddy Agnew
- 1945 - 49: Hugh Downey, Dock Ward, Belfast
- 1958 - 69: Tom Boyd
- 1969 - 73: Vivian Simpson
References
- ^ Bardon, Jonathan, A History of Ulster, p 523 (The Black Staff Press, Belfast, 1992)
- ^ Election History of John (Jack) Beattie Elections Ireland
- ^ A brief history of Northern Ireland Westminster Elections by Nicholas Whyte ARK - Access Research Knowledge
- ^ Edwards, Aaron, A History of the Northern Ireland Labour Party: democratic socialism and sectarianism, Manchester University Press 2009
- ^ David Bleakley Election results Elections Ireland
- ^ East Belfast elections 1973-1982 ARK - Access Research Knowledge
- ^ Mark Langhammer, Election Results 1989 Elections Ireland
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