Northern Ireland Conservatives

Northern Ireland Conservatives Coimeádaithe Thuaisceart Éireann
Chairman	Paul Leeman
Founded	1989(1989)
Headquarters	Scottish Provident Building, 7 Donegall Square West, Belfast, BT1 6JH
Youth wing	Young Conservatives
Ideology	Conservatism Economic liberalism British unionism
Political position	Centre-right
National affiliation	Conservative Party
European affiliation	European Conservatives and Reformists
International affiliation	International Democrat Union
Colours	Blue
House of Commons (NI Seats)	0 / 18
House of Lords	2 / 775
NI Assembly	0 / 90
Local government	0 / 462
Website
niconservatives
Politics of Northern Ireland Political parties Elections

TheNorthern Ireland Conservativesis a section of theUnited Kingdom'sConservative Partythat operates inNorthern Ireland.The Conservatives are the only major British party to field candidates within Northern Ireland and typically contests only a fraction of seats in elections. The party won 0.03% of the vote in the2022 Northern Ireland Assembly electionand 0.1% of the vote in the2024 United Kingdom General election in Northern Ireland.

In 2009–2010, the party was in anelectoral alliancewith theUlster Unionist Party(UUP), whereby the two parties fielded joint candidates for the2009 European Parliament electionand2010 UK general electionunder the banner of "Ulster Conservatives and Unionists– New Force ".

History

Before 1922

The Conservative Party was first represented inIrelandin the form of theIrish Conservative Party,which operated across the island. The Irish Conservatives became part of theIrish Unionist Alliance(IUA) in 1891. By this stage, the Conservatives' electoral base was largely restricted to Ulster and Dublin. The IUA's Members of Parliament took the Conservative Partywhipat Westminster, but the organisation retained a level of independence. Following the establishment of theIrish Free Statein 1922, the IUA dissolved.Its successor in Northern Ireland was theUlster Unionist Party(UUP).

1922–1972

From 1922, the Conservative Party maintained formal links with the UUP, its members taking the Conservative whip in theParliament of the United Kingdom,much like the then-independentUnionist Party of Scotland,which integrated into the party in England and Wales in the 1960s. This relationship broke down in 1972, following Unionist opposition to the proposedSunningdale Agreement,when all but one of the UUP MPs resigned the Conservative whip. The sole exception,Stratton Mills,left the UUP and continued to take the whip for a further year, before joining theAlliance Party of Northern Ireland.Another UUP MP,Robin Chichester-Clark,became Minister of State for Employment in theConservative governmentfrom April 1972 to February 1974.

Entry into Northern Ireland

The Conservative Party did not organise in Northern Ireland until the late 1980s, when three Unionist members ofNorth Down Borough Council,includingGeorge Green,defected to the party. The party doubled its representation there in thelocal government elections of 1989,becoming the largest party on the council.An Independent Conservative also won a seat on Lisburn Borough council,although he joined the UUP before the1993 local elections.In the1989 European Electionsthe Conservative candidate polled 4.8% and was just 2,000 first preference votes behind the Alliance Party candidate.

Subsequently, the Conservatives were boosted by a number of other defectors. Former UUPAssembly membersDorothy DunlopandBilly Bleakesdefected inBelfastandLisburnrespectively, whileRobert Mitchell,a former Stormont MP, defected inColeraine.Mary Ardill, wife of prominent former Stormont MPAustin Ardill,joined in Carrick; Gary Haggan defected from theDemocratic Unionist Party(DUP) inLarne,and independent unionist and former DUP politicianBilly Dicksonin Belfast.Lloyd Hall-Thompson,another retired former UUP Stormont politician, became chair of the local Lagan Valley branch.

The1992 general electionsaw the Conservatives stand in Northern Ireland for the first time. Laurence Kennedy came closest to winning a seat inNorth Down,finishing second behindJames Kilfedderand gaining 32% of the vote.

Relationship with the Ulster Unionist Party

The Conservatives have for some time maintained a close relationship with the UUP. The former UUP leader andFirst Minister,David Trimblewas elevated to theHouse of Lordson losing his Commons seat. Shortly after standing down from theNorthern Ireland Assemblyin 2007, he took the Conservative whip. On doing so he made it clear that he would not be campaigning on behalf of the Northern Ireland Conservatives in opposition to his former party.

In July 2008,David CameronandSir Reg Empeyannounced a working group to develop a partnership with the UUP.This was implemented in 2009, forming the "Ulster Conservatives and Unionists" for certain electoral purposes, though the Vice Chairman of Conservatives NI, Jeffrey Peel, resigned from the Joint Committee created by both parties.Also,Lady Sylvia Hermon,the UUP MP forNorth Down,resigned the UUP whip in March 2010 in protest at the tie-up.

The two parties stood as theUlster Conservatives and Unionists – New Forceat the2009 European Parliament electionand2010 UK General Election.

Relaunch as NI Conservatives

On 14 June 2012, the Conservatives in Northern Ireland were relaunched as NI Conservatives.The party is now autonomous on devolved matters, although it remains a full part of the national Conservative and Unionist Party. The party had a councillor on Larne Council, Dr Brian Dunn.Dunn was first elected as a UUP candidate in 2001, and was last elected as an independent before joining the Conservatives.He did not stand for re-election in 2014 for health reasons. The party nominated Mark Brotherston as their candidate in theEuropean Parliament elections in 2014,but he failed to be elected, coming last with 0.7% of first preference votes.

The party stood in 16 out of the 18 Northern Ireland constituencies at the2015 general election,although most of their candidates were from outside Northern Ireland.Although the Conservative Party won a majority of seats UK-wide, the party received only 1.3% of the vote in Northern Ireland (9,055 votes) and failed to win any seats.

NI Conservative vote share by percentage in the 2015 General Election

The party regained a council seat when former UUPColeraineex-Mayor andCauseway Coast and Glenscouncillor David Harding joined the party.

They stood 12 candidates in 11 of the 18 constituencies in the2016 Assembly elections.They won no seats, with candidates obtaining between 0.1% and 2.1% of the first preference votes. They stood one candidate each in 13 of the 18 constituencies in the2017 Assembly elections,but won no seats. The Northern Ireland Conservatives stood candidates in 7 of the 18 constituencies in the2017 general election.They won a total of 3,895 votes and no seats.

The party nominated Amandeep Singh Bhogal as their candidate for the2019 European Parliament election,but he was not elected, coming last with 662 first preference votes (0.12%).

Organisation

Chairman

#	Leader	Term start	Term end
1	Irwin Armstrong	2012	2014
2	Harry Cullen	2014	2016
3	Alan Dunlop	2016	2019
4	Neil Johnston	2019	2020
5	Alan Dunlop	2020	2021
6	Matthew Robinson	2021	2023
7	Paul Leeman	2023	incumbent

People

As of the NI Conservatives AGM in June 2023, the members of the Executive Council are as follows:

• President– tbc(ex officio)
• Chairman– Paul Leeman
• Deputy Chairman (Political)– Barry Hetherington
• Deputy Chairman (Membership)– Claire Scull
• Treasurer– Frank Shivers
• East Belfast Officer– Jamie Clough
• North Down Officer– Ailyn Majury
• Lagan Valley Officer– Iain Lees

Constituency Representatives are also situated within the structure of the party with representatives sitting on the federation council.

Policy

The party in Northern Ireland was largely opposed to theGood Friday Agreement,in contrast to the national leadership who were in favour.

Election results

Main article:Northern Ireland Conservatives election results

The Northern Ireland Conservatives have a low support base, attracting 0.5% of the poll (3,500 votes) in the2007 Assembly election.As of 2019,they have no elected representatives in theNorthern Ireland Assembly,Local Government orParliament.

The party's best performance came in the1992 general election,when party candidates polled 44,608 votes across Northern Ireland: 5.7% of the total. Their best performance came in theNorth Down constituency,where the local party chairman, Laurence Kennedy, came second, 5,000 votes behind the sitting MPJames Kilfedder.

Subsequently, the party declined rapidly. In the 1993 council elections, the party lost five council seats, being reduced to six councillors across Northern Ireland. In North Down, the party's support more than halved, from 25% in 1989 to 11% in 1993, although they narrowly managed to win a seat in all four North Down electoral areas. Laurence Kennedy quit Northern Irish politics a few months later, while the party's councillors in Lisburn and Carrick left the party to sit as Independent Unionists. In1997they were reduced to two council seats in North Down. Both councillors retired before the 2001 council elections and the party failed to defend one of their seats in2001with the other lost, leaving them without elected representation in Northern Ireland.

Westminster elections

For results of other NI parties which were affiliated historically with the Conservatives, see the following pages:

• 1835–1886
• 1892–1918
• 1922–1974

Election	House of Commons	Votes	Vote %	Seats	Government
1992	51st	44,608	5.7%(in NI) 41.9%(in UK)	0 / 17	Conservative Party
1997	52nd	9,858	1.2%(in NI) 30.7%(in UK)	0 / 18	Labour Party
2001	53rd	2,422	0.3%(in NI) 31.7%(in UK)	0 / 18	Labour Party
2005	54th	2,718	0.4%(in NI) 32.4%(in UK)	0 / 18	Labour Party
2010	55th	102,631 (UCU-NF)	15.2%(in NI) 36.1%(in UK)	0 / 18	Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition
2015	56th	9,055	1.3%(in NI) 36.9%(in UK)	0 / 18	Conservative Party
2017	57th	3,895	0.5%(in NI) 42.3%(in UK)	0 / 18	Conservative Party-DUP agreement
2019	58th	5,433	0.7%(in NI) 43.6%(in UK)	0 / 18	Conservative Party
2024	59th	553	0.1%(in NI) 23.7%(in UK)	0 / 18	Labour Party

Devolved legislature elections

Election	Legisture	Votes	Share of votes	Seats	Note(s)
1996	Northern Ireland Forum	3,595	0.48	0 / 110
1998	Northern Ireland Assembly	1,835	0.23	0 / 108
2003	Northern Ireland Assembly	1,604	0.20	0 / 108
2007	Northern Ireland Assembly	3,457	0.50	0 / 108
2016	Northern Ireland Assembly	2,554	0.40	0 / 108
2017	Northern Ireland Assembly	2,399	0.30	0 / 90
2022	Northern Ireland Assembly	254	0.03	0 / 90

Local government elections

Election	First Preference Vote	Vote %	Seats
1989	5,204	0.8%	6 / 565
1993	9,438	1.0%	6 / 582
1997	2,634	0.4%	3 / 575
2001	1,985	0.3%	0 / 582
2005	1,164	0.2%	0 / 582
2011	1,321	0.2%	0 / 583
2014	2,527	0.4%	0 / 462
2019	1,364	0.2%	0 / 462
2023	438	0.1%	0 / 462

European elections

Election	First Preference Vote	Vote %	Seats
1989	25,789	4.8%	0 / 3
1994	5,583	1.0%	0 / 3
2009(UCUNF)	82,892	17.0%	1 / 3
2014	4,144	0.7%	0 / 3
2019	662	0.1%	0 / 3

See also

• Scottish Conservatives
• Welsh Conservatives
• Labour Party in Northern Ireland

External links

• Official website of the Northern Ireland Conservatives