Democratic Unionist Party
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| Democratic Unionist Party | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Leader | Ian Paisley MP MLA |
| Founded | 30 September 1971 |
| Headquarters | 91 Dundela Avenue Belfast, BT4 3BU Northern Ireland |
| Political Ideology | Unionism, national conservatism, pro-devolution, anti-Belfast Agreement and social conservatism |
| Political Position | Right-wing |
| International Affiliation | none |
| European Affiliation | none |
| European Parliament Group | Non-Inscrits |
| Colours | Red |
| Website | http://www.dup.org.uk/ |
| See also | Politics of the UK |
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is the larger of the two main Unionist parties in Northern Ireland. Led by Ian Paisley, it is the largest political party in Northern Ireland and the fourth-largest party in the British House of Commons.
Led by Ian Paisley and Peter Robinson the party concluded the historic St Andrews Agreement with the Irish Republican party Sinn Féin. In the aftermath of the agreement there were reports of divisions within 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 the Leader Ian Paisley. All the party's MPs fully signed up to the Manifesto for the 2007 Assembly elections; however, the party's sole Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Jim Allister did appear to be the main critic after several articles in the Belfast Newsletter, and resigned from the party in opposition to the DUP's plans to share power with Sinn Féin.[1] Other dissent seemed to be within Ballymena where a number of DUP Councillors expressed concerns and there were resignations from a small number. [2]
Contents |
[edit] 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; 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[citation needed] percentage popular vote of any MEP in Britain or Ireland, and one of the highest anywhere in Europe. In 2004 Paisley was replaced as the DUP MEP by Jim Allister, who resigned from the party in 2007 while retaining his seat.[1]
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 Fein and the Irish nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP).
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 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. The Executive was ultimately collapsed over an alleged IRA espionage ring at Stormont. Three men were charged with intelligence-gathering in a high-profile investigation. The charges against all three have since been dropped, and one, Denis Donaldson has admitted working for MI5 and said that the spy-ring was "a scam and a fiction" dreamed up by them (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 four seats (as would Sinn Féin). The SDLP would still have its three seats but there would have been another seat for an independent, possibly the Alliance Party.
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. 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. As well as outright control on both of these councils, the DUP is also the largest party in eight of the other Councils.
[edit] Policies
[edit] 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 Fein.
- 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.
[edit] Policy papers
- Health: Priorities for HealthPDF (304 KiB)
- Education: Promoting Educational ExcellencePDF (485 KiB)
- Business: Doing BusinessPDF (300 KiB)
- Senior Citizens: Older GenerationPDF (353 KiB)
- Crime: Safe From CrimePDF (422 KiB)
- Water Charges: Opposition to Water ChargingPDF (260 KiB)
- Victims: A Voice for VictimsPDF (958 KiB)
- Tackling the Tax Problem: Tackling the Tax Problem
[edit] Party spokesmen
| 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 |
[edit] 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 terrorist prisoners
- The mechanism to allow Sinn Féin to hold Government office despite ongoing IRA terrorist 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. During the 2003 Assembly Election the DUP argued for a Fair Deal which 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. The activities of the IRA and the other paramilitary groups have been monitored by the Independent Monitoring Commission.
[edit] Elected representatives
[edit] 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
[edit] Northern Ireland Assembly
Members of the 2007 Northern Ireland Assembly:
- Allan Bresland - West Tyrone
- Wallace Browne - Belfast East
- Thomas Buchanan - West Tyrone
- Gregory Campbell - East Londonderry
- Trevor Clarke - South Antrim
- Jonathan Craig - Lagan Valley
- George Dawson - East Antrim
- Nigel Dodds - Belfast North
- Alex Easton - North Down
- Jeffrey Donaldson - Lagan Valley
- Arlene Foster - Fermanagh and South Tyrone
- Simon Hamilton - Strangford
- William Hay - Foyle
- David Hilditch - East Antrim
- William Irwin - Newry and Armagh
- Nelson McCausland - Belfast North
- Ian McCrea - Mid Ulster
- William McCrea - South Antrim
- Michelle McIlveen - Strangford
- Adrian McQuillan - East Londonderry
- Maurice Morrow - Fermanagh and South Tyrone
- Stephen Moutray - Upper Bann
- Robin Newton - Belfast East
- Ian Paisley - North Antrim
- Ian Paisley Jr - North Antrim
- Edwin Poots - Lagan Valley
- George Robinson - East Londonderry
- Iris Robinson - Strangford
- Peter Robinson - Belfast East
- Jim Shannon - Strangford
- David Simpson - Upper Bann
- Jimmy Spratt - Belfast South
- Mervyn Storey - North Antrim
- Peter Weir - North Down
- Jim Wells - South Down
- Sammy Wilson - East Antrim
[edit] 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 to the people of Northern Ireland 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.
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.
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. [3]
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.
[edit] See also
- List of Democratic Unionist Party MPs
- Democratic Unionist Party leadership election
- List of Northern Ireland Members of the House of Lords
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Allister quits power-sharing DUP", BBC News Online, BBC, 2007-03-27. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.
- ^ Belfast Telegraph, February 9, 2007
- ^ Sunday Times, page 1.10, February 4, 2007
[edit] External links
- DUP Website
- Deputy Leader Peter Robinson MP MLA
- Jeffrey Donaldson MP MLA
- Sammy Wilson MP MLA
- George Dawson MLA
- Ian Paisley Jnr MLA
Categories: Articles lacking sources from January 2007 | All articles lacking sources | Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | Political parties established in 1971 | Political parties in Northern Ireland | Political parties in the United Kingdom | Democratic Unionist Party | Protestant political parties
