- Ulster Conservatives and Unionists
-
Ulster Conservatives and Unionists Leader Tom Elliott MLA
Leader of the UUP
David Cameron MP
Leader of the Conservative PartyFounded 2009 Ideology Unionism,
Conservatism,
Soft euroscepticismPolitical position Centre-right,
UnionistNational affiliation Ulster Unionist Party,
Conservative PartyInternational affiliation International Democrat Union European Parliament Group European Conservatives and Reformists Official colours Blue, Green European Parliament (Northern Ireland seats) 1 / 3Website http://www.voteforchangeni.com/ Politics of Northern Ireland
Political parties
ElectionsThe Ulster Conservatives and Unionists, officially registered as the Ulster Conservatives and Unionists – New Force (UCUNF), is a bipartisan electoral alliance in Northern Ireland between the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and the Northern Ireland branch of the Conservative Party, the latter party also being active throughout the rest of the United Kingdom. There is no formally constituted group with this name; instead, the name is a registered description of the UUP and of the Conservative Party.[1]
Contents
2009 European Parliament campaign
Conservatives and Unionists candidates were first selected for the 2009 European Parliament election, and will also be used for general elections to the UK House of Commons in Northern Ireland.[2] The first candidate to stand for election using this description was Ulster Unionist Jim Nicholson in the 2009 European Parliament election.[3] He polled 82,893 votes, 17.0% of the total, and was elected as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP).
2010 UK general election campaign
Banner from the 2010 UK general election campaign, showing joint use by the Conservative Party and Ulster Unionist Party of the "Vote For Change" slogan.
On 24 February 2010, the alliance announced 9 of the 18 candidates who were to run in the 2010 United Kingdom general election.[4] The UUP's sole Member of Parliament (MP) from the 2005 general election, Lady Sylvia Hermon for North Down, had expressed public dissatisfaction with the arrangement since early in 2009,[5] and left the UUP in March 2010, deciding to contest the forthcoming general election as an Independent.[6] As such, the alliance had no incumbent MPs. On 7 April 2010 the candidate for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, Tom Elliott, withdrew in favour of Independent Rodney Connor, leaving that constituency without a UCUNF candidate.[7]
The Conservative & UUP alliance failed to gain any seats in the election. The UUP lost their only seat in North Down to Sylvia Hermon's independent campaign. Across Northern Ireland, the alliance share of the vote was 15.2%, which was a drop of 2.6%.
Footnotes
- ^ The Electoral Commission
- ^ "UUP / Conservative talks - What it means for you?". Ulster Unionist Party. 12 January 2009. http://www.uup.org/policy/conservatives-unionists/uup-conservative-talks-what-it-means-for-you-.php.
- ^ "European Election 2009 results". Electoral Office of Northern Ireland. http://www.eoni.org.uk/european_election_2009_-_result-3.pdf.
- ^ "Tories and UUP agree candidates". BBC News. 24 February 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/8535662.stm.
- ^ Hermon: why she rejected Tory deal Belfast Telegraph, 14 May 2009
- ^ "MP Lady Sylvia Hermon quits Ulster Unionists". BBC News. 25 March 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/8586845.stm. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
- ^ "Unionists agree NI constituency pact". RTÉ News. 7 April 2010. http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0409/ukpolitics.html.
External links
Political parties in the United Kingdom House of Commons (650): Conservatives (307) · Labour (258, including 28 Labour Co-operative)* · Liberal Democrats (57) · DUP (8) · SNP (6) · Sinn Féin† (5) · Plaid Cymru (3) · SDLP (3) · Greens (E&W) (1) · Alliance (1) · Independent (1)House of Lords (789): Labour (243) · Conservatives (218) · crossbenchers (182) · Liberal Democrats (92) · Lords Spiritual (26) · DUP (4) · UUP (4) · UKIP (2) · Plaid Cymru (1) · Conservative Independent (1) · Independent Labour (1) · non-affiliated (16)Scottish Parliament (129): SNP (69) · Scottish Labour (37) · Scottish Conservatives (15) · Scottish Liberal Democrats (5) · Scottish Greens (2) · Independent (1)National Assembly for Wales (60): Northern Ireland Assembly (108): DUP (38) · Sinn Féin (29) · UUP (16) · SDLP (14) · Alliance (8) · Greens (NI) (1) · Traditional Unionist Voice (1) · Independent (1)London Assembly (25): European Parliament
(72 of 736):Conservatives (ECR, 25, including 1 UCUNF)‡ · Labour (PES, 13) · UKIP (EFD, 13) · Liberal Democrats (ELDR, 11) · BNP (Non-Inscrit, 2) · Greens (E&W) (EGP, 2) · SNP (EFA, 2) · Plaid Cymru (EFA, 1) · Sinn Féin (EUL-NGL, 1) · DUP (Non-Inscrit, 1)Other national and regional parties: Christian Peoples Alliance · Christian · Communist Party of Britain · English Democrats · Independent Working Class Association · IKHH · Liberal · Mebyon Kernow · National Front · Official Monster Raving Loony · Progressive Unionist · Respect · Scottish Socialist · Social Democratic · Socialist Labour · Socialist · Socialist Workers · Solidarity · Workers' Party of IrelandNotes: *Co-operative Party candidates stand jointly with the Labour Party as “Labour and Co-operative Party” candidates. †Although Sinn Féin have five elected members and have offices at Westminster, they are abstentionist and therefore do not take their seats. ‡Some Ulster Unionist Party candidates stand jointly with the Conservative Party as "Ulster Conservatives and Unionists – New Force" candidates.Portal:Politics - List of political parties by representation - Politics of the United KingdomUlster Unionist Party Leaders Saunderson (1905–06) · Long (1906–10) · Carson (1910–21) · Craigavon (1921–40) · Andrews (1940–46) · Brookeborough (1946–63) · O'Neill (1963–69) · Chichester-Clark (1969–71) · Faulkner (1971–74) · West (1974–79) · Molyneaux (1979–95) · Trimble (1995–2005) · Empey (2005–2010) · Elliott (2010–)Deputy Leaders John Taylor (1995-2003) · Reg Empey and Roy Beggs (2003–2005) · Danny Kennedy (2005-2010) · John McCallister (2010-)Chairperson President
(Office merged with Chairman in 2008)James Hamilton · James Craig · John Miller Andrews · Herbert Dixon (1947-1950) · Basil Brooke · Clarence Graham (1963-1964) · Jack Andrews (1969-1973) · James Cunningham (1973–1979) · George Clark (1980–1990) · Josias Cunningham (1990–2000) · Martin Smyth (2000–2004) · Dennis Rogan (2004-2006) · Robert John White (2006-2008)Leadership elections General Secretary
(Chief Executive)T. H. Gibson (1905-1906) · Dawson Bates (1906-1921) · Wilson Hungerford (1921-1941) · Billy Douglas (1941-1963) · Jim Bailie (1963-1974) · Norman Hutton (1974-1983) · Frank Millar Jr (1983-1987) · Jim Wilson (1987-1998) · David Boyd (1998-200?) · Alastair Patterson (200?-2004) · Lyle Rea (2004-2005) · Will Corry (2005-2007) · Jim Wilson (2007-)Organisational structure Ulster Unionist Council (Party Executive Committee · UUP Constituency Association · District Branches) · Ulster Womens Unionist Council · Young Unionists · Westminster Unionist Association
Fraternal association: Orange Order (affiliation formally ended in 2005)History and related organisations Progenitor: Irish Unionist Alliance (1891) · Allies: Liberal Unionist Party/Conservative and Unionist Party · Established as: Ulster Unionist Council (1905) · Militia: Ulster Volunteer Force (1913) · Faction/Offshoot: Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party (1973-78) · Electoral alliance: Ulster Conservatives and Unionists (2009) · Ulster Unionist Labour AssociationCategories:- Political parties established in 2009
- Politics of Northern Ireland
- Coalition of parties
- Political alliances in United Kingdom politics
- 2009 establishments in Northern Ireland
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