Democratic Unionist Party

This article is about the political party in Northern Ireland. For other uses, see Democratic Unionist Party (disambiguation).

Democratic Unionist Party
AbbreviationDUP
LeaderGavin Robinson
ChairmanThe Lord Morrow
Lords LeaderThe Lord Dodds of Duncairn
General SecretaryMichelle McIlveen
FounderIan Paisley
Founded30 September 1971;
53 years ago (1971-09-30)
Preceded byProtestant Unionist Party
Headquarters91 Dundela Avenue
Belfast
BT4 3BU[1]
Ideology
Political positionRight-wing
Colours  Red
  White
  Navy blue
  Copper (customary)
House of Commons
(NI seats)
5 / 18
House of Lords
6 / 806
NI Assembly
25 / 90
Local government in Northern Ireland[6]
122 / 462
Website
mydup.com Edit this at Wikidata

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist, loyalist, British nationalist[4][7] and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who led the party for the next 37 years. It is currently led by Gavin Robinson, who initially stepped in as an interim after the resignation of Jeffrey Donaldson. It is the second-largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly, and won five seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom at the 2024 election. The party has been mostly described as right-wing[8][9][10][5] and socially conservative,[11][12] being anti-abortion and opposing same-sex marriage. The DUP sees itself as defending Britishness and Ulster Protestant culture against Irish nationalism and republicanism. It is also Eurosceptic and supported Brexit.[13][14]

The DUP evolved from the Protestant Unionist Party and has historically strong links to the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, the church Paisley founded. During the Troubles, the DUP opposed sharing power with Irish nationalists or republicans as a means of resolving the conflict, and likewise rejected attempts to involve the Republic of Ireland in Northern Irish affairs. It campaigned against the Sunningdale Agreement of 1973, the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985, and the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. In the 1980s, the DUP was involved in setting up the loyalist paramilitary movements Third Force[15][16][17] and Ulster Resistance,[18] the latter of which helped smuggle a large shipment of weapons into Northern Ireland.[19]

For most of the DUP's history, the Ulster Unionist Party was the largest unionist party in Northern Ireland; however, by 2004, the DUP had overtaken the UUP in terms of seats in both the Northern Ireland Assembly and the UK House of Commons. In 2006, the DUP co-signed the St Andrews Agreement and the following year agreed to enter into power-sharing devolved government with Sinn Féin,[20] who agreed to support the Police Service, courts, and rule of law. Paisley became joint First Minister of Northern Ireland. However, the DUP's only Member of the European Parliament (MEP), Jim Allister,[21] and seven DUP councillors[22] left the party in protest, founding the Traditional Unionist Voice.[23]

Ian Paisley was succeeded as DUP leader and First Minister by Peter Robinson (2008–2015), then by Arlene Foster (2015–2021). After Foster was ousted, Edwin Poots briefly became leader and nominated Paul Givan as First Minister, but was himself forced to step down after three weeks. In June 2021, he was succeeded by Jeffrey Donaldson. In protest against the Northern Ireland Protocol, Givan resigned as First Minister in February 2022,[24] collapsing the Northern Ireland Executive. On 30 January 2024, Donaldson announced that the DUP had agreed a deal with the UK government that resulted in power-sharing being restored.[25] Donaldson resigned as leader on 29 March 2024 after being charged with historical sex offences, with the party's deputy leader, Gavin Robinson, being appointed as interim leader and later confirmed as party leader in May 2024.[26][27][28][29]

  1. ^ "The Electoral Commission – Democratic Unionist Party – D.U.P." Archived from the original on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Nordsieck, Wolfram (2017). "Northern Ireland/UK". Parties and Elections in Europe. Archived from the original on 7 November 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  3. ^ "Unionist bid to be UK 'kingmakers' unsettles some in Northern Ireland". Reuters. Archived from the original on 12 July 2015. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  4. ^ a b Smithey, Lee. Unionists, Loyalists, and Conflict Transformation in Northern Ireland. Oxford University Press, 2011. pp.56, 58
  5. ^ a b Ingle, Stephen (2008). The British Party System: An Introduction. Routledge. p. 156.
  6. ^ "NI council elections 2023: Sinn Féin largest party in NI local government". BBC. 21 May 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  7. ^ McAuley, James. Very British Rebels?: The Culture and Politics of Ulster Loyalism. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015. p.140
  8. ^ "It will be ‘difficult’ for May to survive, says N Ireland’s DUP" Archived 16 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine, By Vincent Boland & Robert Wright. Financial Times. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2017
  9. ^ "Who Are The DUP? The Democratic Unionist Party Explained" Archived 11 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine, LBC. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  10. ^ Peck, Tom (10 June 2017). "Theresa May to enter into 'confidence and supply' arrangement with the Democratic Unionists". The Independent. Archived from the original on 11 June 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  11. ^ "General election 2017: Tories and DUP 'still in discussions'". BBC News. 11 June 2017. Archived from the original on 1 December 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  12. ^ Marcus, Ruth (14 January 2010). "Ruth Marcus – Gender aside, the fall of Irish politician Iris Robinson is the same old sex scandal". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 17 October 2014. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  13. ^ "DUP confirms it will campaign for Brexit in Leave/Remain referendum". Belfast Telegraph. 20 February 2016. Archived from the original on 16 August 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2017. The Democratic Unionist Party has formally announced its intention to campaign for a Brexit.
  14. ^ Jamie Merrill (9 June 2017). "What is the DUP position on Brexit?". The Essential Daily Briefing. iNews. Archived from the original on 16 August 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2017. No-one wants to see a 'hard' Brexit, what we want to see is a workable plan to leave the European Union, and that's what the national vote was about – therefore we need to get on with that.
  15. ^ "Ian Paisley death: Third Force 'were a motley crew of teens and farmers...'". Belfast Telegraph. Archived from the original on 24 December 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  16. ^ Unionism and Orangeism in Northern Ireland Since 1945. Belfast: Blackstaff Press. p. 199. The men on the Antrim hillside became the nucleus of a paramilitary formation 'The Third Force' which would play a role in what the DUP called 'The Carson Trail'
  17. ^ Wood, Ian S. (2006). Crimes of Loyalty: A History of the UDA. Edinburgh University Press. p. 74. ISBN 978-0748624270. Dr Ian Paisley, who had been close to Bradford, called for tax and rent strikes by Loyalists and announced the formation of a new paramilitary body for which he claimed he was helping to recruit. Because it was to supplement the RUC and UDR, he called it the 'Third Force'
  18. ^ "Abstracts of Organisations: U". Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN). Archived from the original on 22 February 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  19. ^ "A spectre from the past back to haunt peace" Archived 13 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Belfast Telegraph. 10 June 2007. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  20. ^ "DUP 'would share power in May'". BBC News Online. BBC. 24 March 2007. Archived from the original on 28 March 2007. Retrieved 7 April 2007.
  21. ^ "Allister quits power-sharing DUP". BBC News Online. BBC. 27 March 2007. Archived from the original on 30 March 2007. Retrieved 27 March 2007.
  22. ^ "Seventh councillor leaves the DUP". BBC News Online. BBC. 5 April 2007. Archived from the original on 3 May 2007. Retrieved 7 April 2007.
  23. ^ "New unionist group to be launched". BBC News. Archived from the original on 9 December 2007. Retrieved 7 December 2007.
  24. ^ "Paul Givan resigns as NI First Minister". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 3 February 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  25. ^ "DUP agrees deal with UK government to restore power-sharing to Northern Ireland". Sky News. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  26. ^ "Gavin Robinson says he will 'continue Irish Sea border fight' as he's ratified as DUP leader". The Irish Times. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  27. ^ Kearney, Vincent (29 March 2024). "DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson steps down after allegations". Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  28. ^ Graham, Seánín (29 March 2024). "Jeffrey Donaldson resigns as leader of Democratic Unionist Party after being charged with historical allegations". The Irish Times. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  29. ^ "Jeffrey Donaldson appears in court charged with sexual offences over 21-year period". The Irish Times. Retrieved 31 May 2024.