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Political parties in Northern Ireland lists political parties in Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Assembly uses the D'Hondt system, with numerous parties in which no one party often has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties must work with each other to form coalition governments. Party affiliation is generally based on religious and ethnic background.
Although Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom, it has a quite distinct political scene from the rest of the country as the Labour Party do not contest elections there, the Conservative Party has received only limited support in recent elections and the Liberal Democrats operate as the Alliance Party. However, under the leadership of David Cameron the Party is getting much more active in Northern Ireland and has attracted members from other local parties.
Some parties, such as Sinn Féin and the Workers' Party are organised on an all-Ireland basis. Others such as the Conservative Party are organised on an all-United Kingdom basis. There are many Northern Ireland-specific parties and these, on the whole, predominate.
The distinction between "unionist/loyalist", "nationalist/republican" and "other" is not always easy with some parties and individuals. Some have defined themselves less by their position on the "Border Question" than on other political issues.
For example the former Republican Labour Party/Social Democratic and Labour Party MP Gerry Fitt's career suggests he was first and foremost a socialist rather than a nationalist and he eventually left the SDLP claiming it had drifted from its founding intentions. Similarly the Workers' Party has its roots in the republican Official IRA but nowadays is considered to be a non-violent socialist and nationalist party. Several parties strive to be avowedly non-sectarian and would not consider themselves to be either unionist or nationalist. The Northern Ireland Assembly requires MLAs to designate themselves either "Unionist", "Nationalist" or "Other." This is a designation that is particularly resented by those who designate as "Other", as they have no input on who becomes First or Deputy First Minister.
There are some who see the terms "Unionist" and "Nationalist"/"Republican" as being of more relevance to the community that the party seeks to represent rather than the position on the border question. Several of the "Other" parties strive to be non-sectarian but have a clear position on the border.
Contents |
Unionist parties
- Ulster Unionist Party
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Progressive Unionist Party
- United Kingdom Independence Party
- United Unionist Coalition
- Traditional Unionist Voice
Republican or nationalist parties
Non-registered parties or organisations
Supporting complete independence
Other
- Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
- Communist Party of Ireland
- Socialist Party
- Socialist Workers Party
- Conservative Party (Although "Conservative Party" is short for "Conservative and Unionist Party", in the Northern Ireland Assembly Election, 2003 they pledged that if they were elected, they would not designate themselves as "Unionists" in a Northern Ireland context)
- Green Party
- Labour – Federation of Labour Groups aka "Labour", but unrelated to either the Labour Party in either the UK or the Republic of Ireland (This may change now that the British Labour Party has voted to allow NI residents to join it)
- Socialist Environmental Alliance
- Ulster Christian Democratic Party
- Vote for Yourself Party
- Workers Party of Ireland
Other UK parties registered to stand in Northern Ireland
Many other parties have formally registered to contest elections in Northern Ireland but have no serious record of standing in elections there at the time of writing. The following parties on the official register do, however, have a record of standing in other parts of the United Kingdom and may stand in Northern Ireland in the near future:
N.B The Liberal Democrats currently have a policy not to stand in Northern Ireland but to support their sister party, the Alliance, with many holding membership of both, and Alliance peers take the Liberal Democrat whip. The Liberal Democrats have an organisation in the region.
The British Labour Party have a policy not to stand in Northern Ireland. Until recently it was not possible for residents to even join the party; however this was changed on legal advice. The Labour Party has however declined to allow organisation in the region. The SDLP MPs unofficially take the Labour whip.
Fianna Fáil have recently opened a cumann (branch) in Derry and begun recruiting at Queen's University Belfast, but not announced any plans to contest elections in the region.
Defunct parties
Unionist
- British Ulster Dominion Party
- Labour Unionist Party
- United Kingdom Unionist Party - although this party has not formally disbanded
- Northern Ireland Unionist Party - although this party has not formally disbanded
- Protestant Unionist Party (evolved into the DUP)
- Ulster Democratic Party
- Ulster Loyalist Democratic Party
- Unionist Party of Northern Ireland
- Ulster Popular Unionist Party
- United Ulster Unionist Party
- Vanguard Progressive Unionist Party
- Volunteer Political Party
Labour
- Belfast Labour Party
- Commonwealth Labour Party
- Irish Labour Party (still contests elections in the Republic)
- Labour Party of Northern Ireland
- Northern Ireland Labour Party
Nationalist/Republican
- Independent Socialist Party
- Irish Independence Party
- National Democrats
- Nationalist Party
- Official Sinn Féin (later Republican Clubs, now The Workers Party of Ireland)
- Republican Labour Party
- Socialist Republican Party
- Unity
Others
- Communist Party of Ireland (Marxist-Leninist)
- Communist Party of Northern Ireland
- Northern Ireland Women's Coalition
- Newtownabbey Ratepayers Association
- Natural Law Party
- Social Democratic Party - The post-1988 rump of the party stood in a Northern Ireland by-election in 1990; the party as a whole existed and was more prominent in Great Britain from 1981-1990 although the post 1990 rump group still has seats on some English local councils.
- Ulster Independence Movement
- Ulster Movement for Self-Determination
- Ulster Liberal Party
Party Leaders
Party leaders serving 10 years or more are
See also
- Index of political parties to browse parties by name
- List of political parties to browse parties by country
- List of political parties by ideology to browse parties by name
- Membership of internationals to browse parties by membership of international
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 18 November 2008, at 19:57.
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