| Ulster Conservatives and Unionists | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Tom Elliott MLA Leader of the UUP David Cameron MP Leader of the Conservative Party |
| Founded | 2009 |
| Ideology | Unionism, Conservatism, Soft euroscepticism |
| Political position | Centre-right, Unionist |
| National affiliation | Ulster Unionist Party, Conservative Party |
| International affiliation | International Democrat Union |
| European Parliament Group | European Conservatives and Reformists |
| Official colours | Blue, Green |
| European Parliament (Northern Ireland seats) |
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| Website | |
| http://www.voteforchangeni.com/ | |
| Politics of Northern Ireland Political parties Elections |
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The 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]
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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).
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, and Connor also lost Fermanagh and South Tyrone. Across Northern Ireland, the alliance share of the vote was 15.2%, which was a drop of 2.6%.
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