Unionism in the United Kingdom

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Unionism in the United Kingdom, also referred to as British unionism, is a political ideology favouring the continued union of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.^[1] The term is particularly associated with Ireland and Northern Ireland. With the growth of Scottish nationalism, and the possibility of Scotland's exit from the union, the term is also used to describe divisions between pro-union parties in Scotland and the Scottish National Party (which favours independence). The term is also used occasionally in reference to Wales and Welsh nationalism.

Unionism can also be used in a historical context, to describe an ideology favouring the creation of political unions between constituent states in the British Isles.^{[citation needed]}

Formation of the Union

The Kingdom of Great Britain was formed on 1 May 1707 through the Acts of Union 1707, two simultaneous acts passed by the parliaments of England and Scotland. These created a political union between the Kingdom of England (consisting of England and Wales) and the Kingdom of Scotland. This event was the result of the Treaty of Union that was agreed on 22 July 1706.^[2]

The Acts created a single Parliament of Great Britain at Westminster as well as a customs and monetary union. However, England and Scotland remained separate legal jurisdictions.

In 1801, the Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain with the Kingdom of Ireland, through two similar independent acts of the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland. This created the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on a similar basis to how England and Scotland had been united a century earlier.

A campaign to repeal the union in Ireland began immediately. A series of efforts in the late 19th and early 20th century to establish Home Rule for Ireland within the union were unsuccessful and, following the Anglo-Irish War and subsequent Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1922, most of Ireland left the union as the Irish Free State. Northern Ireland remained part of the union and the United Kingdom became known formally as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 1927 (see: Partition of Ireland).

Prior to the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain, the three kingdoms had been separate states in personal union. When James VI of Scotland succeeded his cousin, Elizabeth I of England, as king of England, the crowns of England, Ireland and Scotland were united.

Before then, in 1542, the crowns of England and Ireland had been united through the creation of the Kingdom of Ireland under the Crown of Ireland Act 1542. Since the 12th century, the King of England had acted as Lord of Ireland, under papal over-lordship. The act of 1542 created the title of King of Ireland for King Henry VIII of England and his successors, removing the role of the Pope as ultimate over-lord of Ireland.

Unionism in England

Unionism in Northern Ireland

Unionism in Scotland

Scottish Flag and the Union Flag.

Unionism in Wales

Political parties

Current political parties who support the union:

• British Freedom Party (BFP) – active throughout Great Britain
• British National Party (BNP) – active throughout the UK
• British People's Party (BPP) – active throughout the UK
• Conservative and Unionist Party
  • Scottish Conservative Party – active in Scotland
  • Welsh Conservative Party – active in Wales
  • Conservatives in Northern Ireland – active in Northern Ireland
• Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) – active in Northern Ireland
• Labour Party
  • Scottish Labour Party – active in Scotland
  • Welsh Labour – active in Wales
• Liberal Democrats
  • Scottish Liberal Democrats – active in Scotland
  • Welsh Liberal Democrats – active in Wales
• National Front (NF) – active throughout the UK
• Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) – active in Northern Ireland
• Scottish Unionist Party (SUP) – active in Scotland
• Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) – active in Northern Ireland
• UK Independence Party (UKIP) – active throughout the UK
• Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) – active in Northern Ireland

See also

• Spanish unionism
• Unionism in Belgium
• United Ireland
• British nationalism
• Scottish independence
• Welsh independence
• Ulster nationalism

References

Further reading

• Armitage, David (2000). The Ideological Origins of the British Empire (reprint ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-78978-3. 
• Brockliss, L. W. B. (1997). Brockliss, L. W. B.; Eastwood, David, eds. A Union of Multiple Identities: The British Isles, C1750-c1850 (illustrated ed.). Manchester University Press ND. ISBN 978-0-7190-5046-6. 
• Cochrane, Feargal (2001). Unionist Politics and the Politics of Unionism Since the Anglo-Irish Agreement (2, revised ed.). Cork University Press. ISBN 978-1-85918-259-8. 
• English, Richard (1996). English, Richard; Walker, Graham S., eds. Unionism in Modern Ireland: New Perspectives on Politics and Culture. Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-0-312-15979-5. 
• Hazell, Robert (2006). Hazell, Robert, ed. The English Question. Devolution Series (illustrated, annotated ed.). Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0-7190-7369-4. 
• Jackson, Alvin (2011). The Two Unions: Ireland, Scotland, and the Survival of the United Kingdom, 1707–2007 (illustrated ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-959399-6. 
• Kanter, Douglas (2009). The making of British unionism, 1740–1848: politics, government, and the Anglo-Irish constitutional relationship. Four Courts Press. ISBN 978-1-84682-160-8. 
• Kearney, Hugh F. (2006). The British Isles: A History of Four Nations (2, illustrated, revised, reprint ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-84600-4. 
• Kendle, John (1992). Walter Long, Ireland and the Union, 1905–1920. McGill-Queens. ISBN 978-0-7735-0908-5. 
• Nicholls, Andrew D. (1999). The Jacobean Union: A Reconsideration of British Civil Policies Under the Early Stuarts. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-30835-2. 
• O'Day, Alan; Boyce, David George (2001). Defenders of the Union: A Survey of British and Irish Unionism Since 1801. Psychology Press. ISBN 978-0-415-17421-3. 
• Ward, Paul (2005). Unionism in the United Kingdom, 1918–1974. Palgrave MacMillan. ISBN 978-1-4039-3827-5.