Progressive Unionist Party
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- See Ulster Progressive Unionist Association, for the political group founded in 1938
| Progressive Unionist Party | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Leader | Hugh Smyth |
| Founded | 1979 |
| Headquarters | 299 Newtownards Road Belfast BT4 1AG Northern Ireland United Kingdom |
| Political Ideology | Unionist, Pro-Union, Pro-Devolution, democratic socialism |
| Political Position | left-wing |
| International Affiliation | none |
| European Affiliation | none |
| European Parliament Group | none |
| Colours | Red & Blue |
| Website | www.pup-ni.org.uk/ |
| See also | Politics of the UK |
The Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) is a small political party from Northern Ireland. They were formed from the Independent Unionist Group operating in the Shankill area of Belfast becoming the PUP in 1979. Linked to the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) they are the left-wing party of unionism in Northern Ireland, with their main support base in the loyalist working class communities of Belfast.
The party has had a degree of electoral success. In 1994 PUP leader Hugh Smyth became Lord Mayor of Belfast, and in the 1996 elections to the Northern Ireland Forum they secured two seats, with Billy Hutchinson and David Ervine both being elected. The PUP supported the Belfast Agreement and in the 1998 election to the Northern Ireland Assembly they also won two seats, with representatives elected from the Belfast North and East constituencies, though they proceeded to lose one in the 2003 election, leaving Ervine as their sole Assembly representative. This was followed by a poor showing in the Northern Ireland local election of 2005, where Smyth and Ervine were their only two members to retain their seats on local authorities, and the party now seems to be in a state of decline.
Their position on the left of the political spectrum differentiates them from the other unionist parties (such as the Ulster Unionist Party and the Democratic Unionist Party) which tend to be more conservative in outlook.
Following an inter-loyalist feud between the UVF and Loyalist Volunteer Force, in which four men were murdered by the UVF in Belfast, after which recognition of the UVF's ceasefire was withdrawn by the British government, the PUP debated ending its "special relationship" with the UVF but this was defeated in a closed vote at the party's annual conference in October 2005.
In March 2006, the Chairman of the PUP, Dawn Purvis, a research associate at the University of Ulster was appointed as an independent member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board.
The BBC reported on 13th May 2006 that PUP leader David Ervine was set to join the Ulster Unionist Party grouping in the Northern Ireland Assembly, a move which was expected to give Unionists an extra ministerial position [2], however this was deemed against the rules of the Assembly.[1]
[edit] External links
- PUP Website (under redevelopment)
- PUP Manifesto - Assembly Elections 2003 - "How long are you prepared to wait?"
[edit] References
| Political parties in the United Kingdom | |
|---|---|
| Represented in the House of Commons (646) : |
Labour (354) | Conservatives (198) | Liberal Democrats (63) | DUP (9) | SNP (6) | Sinn Féin (5#) | Plaid Cymru (3) | SDLP (3) | Ind KHHC (1) | Independent (1) | Independent Labour (1) | Respect (1) | UUP (1) |
| Represented in the House of Lords (741) : |
Labour (213) | Conservatives (210) | Cross-bencher (196) | Liberal Democrats (79) | Greens (E&W) (1) | Bishops (26) | Non affiliated (13) | Conservative Independent (1) | Independent Labour (1) | Independent (1) |
| Represented in the Scottish Parliament (129): |
Labour (50) | SNP (27) | Conservative and Unionists (17) | Liberal Democrats (17) | Scottish Greens (7) | SSP (4) | Solidarity (2) | SSCUP (1) | Independent (5) |
| Represented in the National Assembly for Wales (60): |
Labour (29) | Plaid Cymru (12) | Conservatives (11) | Liberal Democrats (6) | Forward Wales (1) | Independent (1) |
| Represented in the Northern Ireland Assembly (108) [Suspended] |
DUP (32) | UUP (24) | Sinn Féin (24) | SDLP (18) | Alliance (6) | PUP (1) | UKUP (1) | Independent (2) |
| Represented in the London Assembly (25): |
Conservatives (9) | Labour (7) | Liberal Democrats (5) | Greens (E&W) (2) | One London (2) |
| Represented in the European Parliament (72 out of 732): |
Conservatives (ED, 26) | Labour (PES, 19) | Liberal Democrats (ELDR, 12) | UKIP (ID, 10) | Greens (E&W) (EGP, 2) | SNP (EFA, 2) | DUP (ED, 1) | Plaid Cymru (EFA, 1) | Sinn Féin (EUL, 1†) | UUP (ED, 1) | Independent (NA, 2) |
| Notes | #Although Sinn Féin have five elected members and have offices at Westminster, are abstentionist and therefore do not take their seats † Sinn Féin has a second MEP from the Republic of Ireland |
| Minor parties: | |
