Ulster Unionist Labour Association

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The Ulster Unionist Labour Association was an association of trade unionists founded by Edward Carson in 1918, aligned with the Ulster Unionists in Northern Ireland.

The grouping stood candidates as Labour Unionists in the 1918 UK general election, of whom three were elected. Other Labour Unionists won seats at Stormont.

The grouping was seen by many as an attempt to show that the Unionist Party had the interests of the working class at heart. Members included Tommy Henderson, later an independent Unionist MP.

In the 1920s, the group blamed increased employment of Roman Catholics in skilled jobs for increased unemployment, and organised to expel them, and also socialists, from industry - especially shipbuilding.

The organisation soon declined in importance. Later, its role as a movement for the mobilisation of the loyalist working classes was taken over by more militant groups such as the Loyalist Association of Workers and the Ulster Workers Council.

The Association exists today in a solely ceremonial role, organising the wreath laying at the annual memorial service for Carson.

[edit] References

  • Peter Barberis, John McHugh and Mike Tyldesley, Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organizations


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