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Political label in the United Kingdom (especially Northern Ireland)
Independent Unionist has been a label sometimes used by candidates in
elections in the United Kingdom , indicating a support for
British unionism (not to be confused with
trade unionism ).
It is most popularly associated with candidates in elections for the
Parliament of Northern Ireland . Such candidates supported the positions of
Unionism in Northern Ireland but, for various reasons, could not reconcile to themselves to the
Ulster Unionist Party or other groups. It was also used by Unionists in what became the
Irish Free State , as they were unionists, but not in Ulster. The label was also used in
Scotland , demonstrating an association with ideology of the
Unionist Party , the predecessor to the modern
Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party .[
citation needed ]
At the
1938 Northern Ireland general election
Tommy Henderson and five defeated candidates stood for the
Independent Unionist Association , which was distinct from other Independent Unionists.
Notable users of the affiliation
Northern Ireland
George Hanna was an early example, representing
East Antrim in the
British House of Commons from 1919.
[1]
Tommy Henderson represented
Belfast Shankill from 1929 to 1953 as an independent Unionist.
[1]
James Woods Gyle , a member of both houses of the
Parliament of Northern Ireland and a contemporary of Henderson, was an independent Unionist throughout his political career.
[1]
James Brown contested the
1945 Northern Ireland general election under this label.
[1]
Norman Porter was elected for
Belfast Clifton in the
1953 election on this ticket.
[1]
Lloyd Hall-Thompson would later hold the same seat, Belfast Clifton, similarly.
George Forrest won the
1956 Mid Ulster by-election as an independent Unionist before switching to the
Ulster Unionist Party .
[2]
Bertie McConnell was elected to the NI Parliament under this banner in 1969.
[1]
Hugh Smyth served in both the
Northern Ireland Assembly (1973) and the
Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention as an independent unionist.
[3]
Frank Millar was elected to both the
Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention and the
Northern Ireland Assembly (1982) as an independent Unionist.
[4]
Dorothy Dunlop Assembly member for East Belfast 1982-1986 campaigned under this label before joining the
Conservative Party .
[5]
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.
Fraser Agnew ,
Boyd Douglas and
Denis Watson used the title before forming the
United Unionist Coalition .
[6]
[7]
[8]
Pauline Armitage MLA for Londonderry East, 1998-2003 briefly used the designation before joining the
UK Unionist Party .
Roger Hutchinson sat as such following his expulsion from the third party he stood with, the
Northern Ireland Unionist Party , in 2000.
Ivan Davis ran as independent Unionist after failing to secure selection as UUP candidature for the
2003 Assembly election . He has subsequently returned to the UUP.
[9]
Sylvia Hermon had been elected as an MP in 2001 for the
Ulster Unionist Party . In 2010, she announced her intention not to seek the nomination as the
Ulster Conservatives and Unionists candidate for
North Down in the
2010 Westminster election , standing as an independent unionist. She was re-elected to the House of Commons under this designation until her retirement in 2019.
David McClarty ran as an independent unionist after being de-selected by the UUP for the
Northern Ireland Assembly
election in 2011 in the
East Londonderry constituency. He was re-elected to the Assembly under this designation and held the seat until his death in 2014.
Basil McCrea and
John McCallister took on the label after leaving the UUP in 2013.
[10]
Claire Sugden has represented
East Londonderry in the
Northern Ireland Assembly since her 2014 Co-Option, after the death of
David McClarty . She has sat as an Independent since her selection. She served as the
Minister for Justice on the
Northern Ireland Executive from May 2016 to January 2017.
Belfast City Councillor Ruth Patterson described herself as such following her expulsion from the
Democratic Unionist Party in 2015.
[11]
Ken Maginnis, Baron Maginnis of Drumglass sits as an independent unionist peer in the
House of Lords , since resigning from the UUP in 2012.
[12]
[13]
[14]
Alex Easton left the DUP in 2021, but was re-elected in the
2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election as an independent unionist.
[15]
England
Francis Bennett-Goldney won
Canterbury in 1910 against a Conservative as an Independent Unionist, having strongly independent views as he opposed the growing arms race and diplomatic contest with the
German Empire , acquiesced in by the other main parties.
[16]
Scotland
Southern Ireland
Four MPs elected to the
Southern Ireland House of Commons for
Dublin University at the
1921 election . They were the only MPs to attend the opening of the
Parliament of Southern Ireland , as all other members, who had been elected for
Sinn Féin , sat as members of the
Second Dáil . All four were elected again at the
1922 Irish general election , and would each continue to serve in the
Irish Free State either as
Independent TDs or, in Fitzgibbon's case, as a judge.
Republic of Ireland
See also
References