| Young Unionists | |
|---|---|
| President | Alasdair O'Hara |
| Founded | 2004 |
| Ideology | Conservatism Unionism |
| Mother party | Ulster Unionist Party |
The Young Unionists, formally known as the Ulster Young Unionist Council (UYUC), is the youth wing of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). It has in its present incarnation been in existence since 2004. A body of the same name has existed and been affiliated to the Ulster Unionist Council (UUC) since 1946, however disbandments happened in 1976 and again in 2004 following a period of decline, with the body losing many members opposed to the 1998 Belfast Agreement.
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The body emerged in the party because of what JH Harbinson describes as dissatisfaction amongst young members to have their voices heard. Attempts had been made in the 1920s to create a youth movement linked to that of the Conservative Party (the Junior Imperial and Constitutional League) without much success. A second attempt was made before the outbreak of the Second World War, which also failed. The UYUC was formed by the Standing Committee of the Ulster Unionist Council in 1946 and quickly became a successful movement in South & West Belfast, Fermanagh and Down.[1] The body's first Chairman was future Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Brian Faulkner[1][2]
In 1959 Brian Maginess QC and Sir Clarence Graham, Bt. spoke to the Young Unionists advocating an increase in Roman Catholic membership of the UUP. This was regarded as controversial at the time.
The body created many prominent figures in Northern Ireland politics throughout the 1960s and 1970s such as William Craig and John D Taylor, however disagreements over Government policy and other factors left the body is disarray by the early 1970s, and it disbanded following the collapse of the Stormont Parliament. The body re-emerged under the Chairmanship of David McNarry and continued to thrive throughout the 1980s, producing figures such as Edgar Graham, Jeffrey Donaldson, Peter Weir and Arlene Foster.
The body's membership was strongly opposed to the Belfast Agreement in 1998, and many campaigned against it. It lost members at a greater proportion and sooner than the rest of the party,[3][4] with many former members such as Arlene Foster and Jeffrey Donaldson eventually defecting to the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). By the 2004 AGM only the outgoing Officers could vote due to a voting system designed for a much larger organisation. The officers voted to disband the group.[5][6][7]
Its second chairman Peter Bowles left the UUP for the Conservatives in protest after the UUP began an association with the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP)[8] a political party that claims to represent, and have official links with, the Ulster Volunteer Force and the Red Hand Commando who are both [9] proscribed organisations.[10][11]
The group claims to have enjoyed a period of sustained growth since its emergence.[12] The UYUC has branches at Queen's University, Belfast,[13] the University of Ulster[14] and branches at constituency level in the City of Belfast, Mid-Ulster/West Tyrone,[15] Lagan Valley[12] and also Newry and Armagh/South Down, as well as Fermanagh & South Tyrone. During the 2010 UUP leadership election, public disagreements between Branch representatives and UYUC Officers arose.[16]
The youth wing has produced many current and former senior faces in the party including The Lord Laird, The Lord Rogan, Jeffrey Donaldson MP MLA [17] and David McNarry MLA, all of whom are former Chairmen, as well as Sir Reg Empey MLA, who served as Vice Chairman.
Their website contained what was claimed to be the first party political weblog in Northern Ireland.[18] The weblog, was ranked tenth best political blog in Ireland by Mick Fealty[19] and 221st best political blog in the UK[20] in a 2007 reader's poll run by Iain Dale. During the 2005 General election campaign, an anonymous Young Unionist purchased the domain name www.jimallister.com, which was at that time displayed on a large sign in Jim Allister MEP's East Belfast constituency office.[21] The anonomymous young unionist used the domain name to display the words "TOO SLOW JIM" which linked to the UUP party website.[21] The City of Belfast Branch of the UYUC maintains a weblog.
Second UYUC
Current UYUC
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