Political label in the United Kingdom
Independent Unionist is a label sometimes used by candidates inBritish elections to indicate their support forBritish unionism. It is most popularly associated with candidates in elections for theParliament of Northern Ireland. Such candidates supported the positions ofUnionism in Northern Ireland but, for various reasons, could not reconcile to themselves to theUlster Unionist Party or other groups. It was also used by Unionists in what became theIrish Free State, as they were unionists, but not in Ulster. The label was also used inScotland, demonstrating an association with ideology of theUnionist Party, the predecessor to the modernScottish Conservative and Unionist Party.
In the1938 Northern Ireland general election,Tommy Henderson and five defeated candidates stood for theIndependent Unionist Association, which was distinct from other Independent Unionists.
Notable users of the affiliation
[edit]- Fraser Agnew,Boyd Douglas andDenis Watson used the title before forming theUnited Unionist Coalition.[1][2][3]
- Pauline Armitage MLA for Londonderry East, 1998-2003 briefly used the designation before joining theUK Unionist Party.
- William Bleakes used the term, newly prohibited in elections, following his departure from the Conservatives 1998–2001. The legal change meant he stood and branded himself from 2001 simply independent.
- James Brown contested the1945 Northern Ireland general election under this label.[4]
- Ivan Davis ran as independent Unionist after failing to secure selection as UUP candidature for the2003 Assembly election. He has subsequently returned to the UUP.[5]
- Dorothy Dunlop, Assembly member for East Belfast 1982-1986 campaigned under this label before joining theConservative Party.[6]
- Alex Easton left the DUP in 2021, but was re-elected in the2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election as an independent unionist, and to theHouse of Commons in2024 as an independent.[7]
- George Forrest won the1956 Mid Ulster by-election as an independent Unionist before switching to theUlster Unionist Party.[8]
- James Woods Gyle, a member of both houses of theParliament of Northern Ireland and a contemporary of Henderson, was an independent Unionist throughout his political career.[4]
- Lloyd Hall-Thompson would later hold the same seat, Belfast Clifton, similarly.
- George Hanna was an early example, representingEast Antrim in theBritish House of Commons from 1919.[4]
- Tommy Henderson representedBelfast Shankill from 1929 to 1953 as an independent Unionist.[4]
- Sylvia Hermon had been elected as an MP in 2001 for theUlster Unionist Party. In 2010, she announced her intention not to seek the nomination as theUlster Conservatives and Unionists candidate forNorth Down in the2010 Westminster election, standing as an independent unionist. She was re-elected to the House of Commons under this designation until her retirement in 2019.
- Roger Hutchinson sat as such following his expulsion from the third party he stood with, theNorthern Ireland Unionist Party, in 2000.
- Ken Maginnis, Baron Maginnis of Drumglass sits as an independent unionist peer in theHouse of Lords, since resigning from the UUP in 2012.[9][10][11]
- David McClarty ran as an independent unionist after being de-selected by the UUP for theNorthern Ireland Assemblyelection in 2011 in theEast Londonderry constituency. He was re-elected to the Assembly under this designation and held the seat until his death in 2014.
- Bertie McConnell was elected to the NI Parliament under this banner in 1969.[4]
- Basil McCrea andJohn McCallister took on the label after leaving the UUP in 2013.[12]
- Frank Millar was elected to both theNorthern Ireland Constitutional Convention and theNorthern Ireland Assembly (1982) as an independent Unionist.[13]
- Ruth Patterson,Belfast City Councillor, described herself as such following her expulsion from theDemocratic Unionist Party in 2015.[14]
- Norman Porter was elected forBelfast Clifton in the1953 election on this ticket.[4]
- Claire Sugden has representedEast Londonderry in theNorthern Ireland Assembly since her 2014 Co-Option, after the death ofDavid McClarty. She has sat as an Independent since her selection. She served as theMinister for Justice on theNorthern Ireland Executive from May 2016 to January 2017.
- Hugh Smyth served in both theNorthern Ireland Assembly (1973) and theNorthern Ireland Constitutional Convention as an independent unionist.[15]
- Francis Bennett-Goldney wonCanterbury in 1910 against a Conservative as an Independent Unionist, having strongly independent views as he opposed the growing arms race and diplomatic contest with theGerman Empire, acquiesced in by the other main parties.[16]
Four MPs elected to theSouthern Ireland House of Commons forDublin University at the1921 election. They were the only MPs to attend the opening of theParliament of Southern Ireland, as all other members, who had been elected forSinn Féin, sat as members of theSecond Dáil. All four were elected again at the1922 Irish general election, and would each continue to serve in theIrish Free State either asIndependent TDs or, in Fitzgibbon's case, as a judge.
Republic of Ireland
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