List of political parties in Northern Ireland

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Northern Ireland

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Political parties in Northern Ireland lists political parties in Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Assembly uses the D'Hondt system, with numerous parties in which no one party often has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties must work with each other to form coalition governments. Party affiliation is generally based on religious and ethnic background.

Although Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom, it has a quite distinct political scene from the rest of the state as two of the major British political parties do not contest elections there, whilst the third, the Conservative Party, has received only minuscule support in recent elections.

Some parties, such as Sinn Féin and the Workers' Party are organised on an all-Ireland basis. Others such as the Conservative Party are organised on an all-United Kingdom basis. There are many Northern Ireland-specific parties and these, on the whole, predominate.

The distinction between "unionist/loyalist", "nationalist/republican" and "other" is not always easy with some parties and individuals. Some have defined themselves less by their position on the "Border Question" than on other political issues.

For example the former Republican Labour Party/Social Democratic and Labour Party MP Gerry Fitt's career suggests he was first and foremost a socialist rather than a nationalist and he eventually left the SDLP claiming it had drifted from its founding intentions. Similarly the Workers' Party has its roots in the republican Official IRA but nowadays is considered to be a non-violent socialist and nationalist party. Several parties strive to be avowedly non-sectarian and would not consider themselves to be either unionist or nationalist. The Northern Ireland Assembly requires MLAs to designate themselves either "Unionist", "Nationalist" or "Other." This is a designation that is particularly resented by those who designate as "Other", as they have no input on who becomes First or Deputy First Minister.

There are some who see the terms "Unionist" and "Nationalist"/"Republican" as being of more relevance to the community that the party seeks to represent rather than the position on the border question. Several of the "Other" parties strive to be non-sectarian but have a clear position on the border, whilst some surveys indicate that many people who vote for the nationalist parties, particularly the SDLP, are in favour of the United Kingdom - indeed critics assert the SDLP has an ambiguous position on the question of a United Ireland - and that it is religion rather than the constitutional question that determines their vote in the first instance.

Contents

[edit] Unionist parties

[edit] Republican or Nationalist parties

[edit] Supporting complete independence

[edit] Other

[edit] Other UK parties registered to stand in Northern Ireland

Many other parties have formally registered to contest elections in Northern Ireland but have no serious record of standing in elections there at the time of writing. The following parties on the official register do, however, have a record of standing in other parts of the United Kingdom and may stand in Northern Ireland in the near future:

N.B The Liberal Democrats currently have a policy not to stand in Northern Ireland but to support their sister party, the Alliance, with many holding membership of both and Alliance peers take the Liberal Democrat whip. The Liberal Democrats have an organisation in the region.

The British Labour Party have a policy not to stand in Northern Ireland. Until recently it was not possible for residents to even join the party; however this was changed on legal advice. The Labour Party has however declined to allow organisation in the region. The SDLP MPs unofficially take the Labour whip.

Fianna Fáil have recently opened a cumann (branch) in Derry and begun recruiting at Queen's University Belfast, but not announced any plans to contest elections in the region.

*Social Democratic Party - The post-1988 rump of the party stood in a Northern Ireland by-election in 1990; the party as a whole existed and was more prominent in Great Britain from 1981-1990 although the rump group still has seats on some English local councils.

[edit] Defunct parties

[edit] Unionist

[edit] Labour

[edit] Nationalist/Republican

[edit] Others

[edit] See also

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