Democratic Unionist Party

Country	Northern Ireland
Name english	Democratic Unionist Party
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Leader	Peter Robinson MLA
Chairman	Lord Morrow MLA
Leader1 title	Deputy Leader / Westminster Leader
Leader1 name	Nigel Dodds MP MLA
Foundation	30 September 1971
Headquarters	91 Dundela Avenue Belfast, County Antrim
Ideology	British unionism Social conservatism National conservatism Soft euroscepticism
Religion	Christianity (Protestant, Fundamentalist, Evangelical)
Position	Centre-right
Europarl	Non-Inscrits
Colours	Red, White and Blue
Website	www.dup.org.uk
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Seats1 title	Overall seats in the House of Commons
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Seats2 title	House of Lords
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Seats3 title	Northern Irish seats in the House of Commons
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Seats4 title	European Parliament (Northern Irish seats)
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Seats5 title	Northern Ireland Assembly
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Seats6 title	Local government in Northern Ireland
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The Democratic Unionist Party is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. Founded by Ian Paisley and currently led by Peter Robinson, it is currently the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.

The DUP has strong links to Protestant churches, particularly the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, the church Paisley founded, and is considered a Protestant political party.

Following on from the St Andrews Agreement in October 2006, the DUP has agreed with the Irish republican party Sinn Féin to enter into power-sharing devolved government in Northern Ireland. In the aftermath of the agreement there were reports of divisions within the DUP. Many of its leading members, including Members of Parliament (MPs) Nigel Dodds, David Simpson and Gregory Campbell were claimed to be in opposition to Paisley. All the party's MPs fully signed up to the manifesto for the 2007 Assembly elections, supporting power sharing in principle. An overwhelming majority of the party executive voted in favour of restoring devolution in a meeting in March 2007; however, the DUP's sole Member of the European Parliament (MEP), Jim Allister, and seven DUP councillors later resigned from the party in opposition to its plans to share power with Sinn Féin. They founded the Traditional Unionist Voice in December 2007.

The DUP is the largest party in Northern Ireland, currently holding eight seats at Westminster and 38 seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly. It has one seat in the European Parliament, where its MEP, Diane Dodds, sits as a Non-Inscrit.

History

The party was established in 1971 by Ian Paisley and Desmond Boal and other members of the Protestant Unionist Party. Since its foundation it has won seats at local council, province, national and European level. It won eight seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly of 1973-1974, where it opposed the formation of a power-sharing executive made up of unionists and nationalists following the Sunningdale Agreement. The DUP were more radically unionist than the UUP. The establishment of this political party arguably stemmed from insecurities of the Protestant working class. Paisley was elected one of Northern Ireland's three European Parliament members at the first elections in 1979 and retained that seat in every European election until 2004. In 2004 Paisley was replaced as the DUP MEP by Jim Allister, who resigned from the party in 2007 while retaining his seat. The DUP currently has a majority of the members on both Castlereagh Borough Council, which has long been a DUP stronghold and is home to Party Leader Peter Robinson, also in Ballymena Borough Council, home to the party's founder Ian Paisley, and finally Ards Borough Council. As well as outright control on these councils, the DUP is also the largest party in eight of the other Councils. These are Antrim Borough Council, Ballymoney Borough Council, Banbridge District Council, Belfast City Council, Carrickfergus Borough Council, Coleraine Borough Council, Craigavon Borough Council and Newtownabbey Borough Council

On 11 April 2006, it was announced that three DUP members were to be elevated to the House of Lords: Maurice Morrow, Wallace Browne, the former Lord Mayor of Belfast, and Eileen Paisley, a vice-president of the DUP and wife of DUP Leader Ian Paisley. None, however, sit as DUP peers.

On 27 October 2006, the DUP issued a four page letter in the Belfast Telegraph newspaper asking the question "Are the terms of Saint Andrew's a basis of moving forward to devolution?", with responses to be received to its party headquarters by the 8 November. It was part of the party's overall direction of consultation with its electorate before entering a power-sharing assembly.

On 24 November 2006, Ian Paisley refused to nominate himself as First Minister of Northern Ireland designate. There was confusion between all parties whether he actually said that if Sinn Féin supported policing and the rule of law that he would nominate himself on 28 March 2007 after the Assembly elections on 7 March 2007. The Assembly meeting was brought to an abrupt end when they had to evacuate because of a security breach. Ian Paisley later released a statement through the press office stating that he did in fact imply that if Sinn Féin supported policing and the rule of law, he would go into power sharing with Sinn Féin. This was following a statement issued by 12 DUP MLAs stating that what Ian Paisley had said in the chamber could not be interpreted as a nomination.

In February 2007, the DUP suggested that it would begin to impose fines up to £20,000 on members disobeying the party whip on crucial votes.

On 24 March 2007 the DUP Party Executive overwhelmingly endorsed a resolution put to them by the Party Officers which did not agree to an establishment of devolution and an Executive in Northern Ireland by the Government's deadline of 26 March, but did agree to setting up an Executive on 8 May 2007.

On 7 May 2007 the East Antrim MLA George Dawson died after a short battle against cancer. He was replaced by Alastair Ross, who had previously worked as a Parliamentary Researcher for the East Antrim MP and MLA Sammy Wilson.

Ian Paisley, Jr. scandal

There was continued controversy over the summer of 2007 over the nature of the relationship between Mr Paisley and property developer Seymour Sweeney. On 11 September 2007 North Antrim Sinn Féin MLA, Daithí McKay, used parliamentary privilege to name Sweeney as a member of the DUP in the Assembly, and suggested that there was a strong "conflict of interest" between Mr Sweeney's membership of the DUP and a DUP Minister's decision to "be of a mind" to approve Mr Sweeney's application for a Visitor Centre at the Giant's Causeway. Questions were raised during an edition of Spotlight (NI) on 23 September 2007 as to whether or not Mr Paisley had acted improperly when lobbying for Mr Sweeney regarding the Giant's Causeway visitor centre. It has also emerged that Mr Paisley bought one of a series of houses built in Bushmills by Mr Sweeney (at full market value) after a local councillor and the previous landowner had been told that planning permission would not be granted for a development of more than two houses on that site.

After a series of public blunders and further controversy in February 2008 following scrutiny on the employment of family members by politicians after the Derek Conway scandal when it emerged that Mr Paisley was on his father's payroll as a researcher in the constituency of North Antrim in addition to his roles as an MLA and a Junior Minister

As a result of the scandal Paisley resigned his Junior Minister position on 18 February 2008

Robinson leadership

On 31 May 2008 the party's central Executive Committee met at the offices of Castlereagh Borough Council where Ian Paisley formally stepped down as Party Leader and Peter Robinson was ratified as the new leader with Nigel Dodds as his deputy.

On 11 June 2008 the party supported the government's proposal to detain terror suspects for up to 42 days, leading to The Independent dubbing all of the party's nine MPs as part of "Brown's dirty dozen". The Times reported that the party had been given "sweetners for Northern Ireland" and "a peerage for the Rev Ian Paisley", amongst other offers to secure Gordon Brown's bill.

Members of the DUP were lambasted by the press and voters, after MPs' expenses reports were leaked to the media. Several newspapers referred to the "Swish Family Robinson" after party leader Peter Robinson, and his wife Iris, were to have claimed £571,939.41 in expenses with a further £150,000 being paid to family members. Further embarrassment was caused to the party when its deputy leader, Nigel Dodds, had the highest expenses claims of any Northern Ireland MP, ranking 13th highest out of all UK MPs. Details of all MPs' expenses claims since 2004 were published in July 2009 under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

In January 2010, Peter Robinson was at the centre of a high-profile scandal relating to his 60 year old MP/MLA wife Iris Robinson's admitted infidelity with a 19 year old Roman Catholic man, and alleged serious financial irregularities associated with the scandal. It is thought the consequence of this scandal was the loss of his seat in the 2010 United Kingdom General Election to the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, through tactical voting by a discontent electorate.

In the 2010 General Election, the party suffered a major upset when its leader, Peter Robinson, lost his Belfast East seat to Naomi Long of the APNI on a swing of 22.9%. However, the party maintained its position elsewhere, fighting off a challenge from the Ulster Conservatives and Unionists – New Force in Antrim South and Strangford and from Jim Allister's TUV in Antrim North.

Ideology

The party is soft eurosceptic. In 1976, its leader Ian Paisley campaigned to "Save Ulster from Sodomy" by maintaining the laws that defined anal intercourse and any sexual contact between men as crimes. Later, some DUP MPs have spoken out against homosexuality in different ways, while tending to avoid outright calls to punish or discriminate against gay people.

In 2005, DUP Councillor Maurice Mills claimed that Hurricane Katrina was sent by God to the United States as an act of judgement upon those who practise sodomy.

In the same year, The Sunday World reported that the DUP's then Westminster candidate Paul Berry had allegedly met a male masseur in a Belfast hotel. Mr Berry later confirmed he was "there for a sports massage". He later resigned from the DUP.

In May 2007, Ian Paisley, Jr. was criticised for stating during an interview that he was "repulsed" by homosexuals. In this instance, the DUP claim that there was no suggestion of any form of discrimination in any of Mr Paisley Jr's comments though the SDLP's equality spokeswoman, Dolores Kelly, requested that the assembly censure Mr Paisley. At the time he was a Junior Minister in OFMDFM with responsibility for equality.

In February 2008, councillor Edwin Poots condemned gay rugby team the Ulster Titans calling it a form of "apartheid". The Lisburn councillor had also tried to ban Civil Partnerships from taking place in Lisburn Civic Centre. Councillor Poots, who is also a Stormont MLA, was also involved in a row over funding events such as Gay Pride. Despite strong opposition from within his Church, his party were bound by equality legislation to provide the funds.

In June 2008, Iris Robinson made controversial comments on the Stephen Nolan breakfast show on Radio Ulster, saying that "I have a very lovely psychiatrist who works with me in my offices and his Christian background is that he tries to help homosexuals - trying to turn away from what they are engaged in". The psychiatrist in question, Dr Paul Millar, later resigned from his post as advisor to Robinson and from his post as consultant psychiatrist at Belfast's Mater Hospital. A few days later in Westminster, Robinson stated that "There can be no viler act, apart from homosexuality and sodomy, than sexually abusing innocent children". Robinson claimed she was "misrepresented", however Hansard staff reported this to be a statement of fact.

In October 2008, Peter Robinson MP, the First Minister of Northern Ireland backed his wife's claims stating "It wasn't Iris Robinson who determined that homosexuality was an abomination, it was The Almighty. This is the Scriptures and it is a strange world indeed where somebody on the one hand talks about equality, but won’t allow Christians to have the equality, the right to speak, the right to express their views".

By January 2009, the Police Service of Northern Ireland advised that it was forwarding a case against Mrs Robinson to the Public Prosecution Service. It is alleged that she twice contravened Article 9 of the Public Order Act 1987 by using threatening, abusive or insulting words which have the likelihood to stir up hatred and arouse fear.

The police found that no offence had been committed and on 20 March 2009, the Public Prosecution Service confirmed that Robinson would not be prosecuted for her comments.

Creationism

In 2007, two DUP members raised the issue of creationism and intelligent design, questioning the availability of materials and resources for schools wishing to teach alternative theories to the evolution. Additionally, one of these members, MP David Simpson, asked for assurances that students who gave creationist answers to examination questions would not be marked lower for it. A spokesman for the DUP confirmed that these views are consistent with party policy.

In May 2010, Nelson McCausland (the Culture Minister and the party's North Belfast MLA) asked Northern Ireland's museums to include creationism in their exhibits. He was berated by Richard Dawkins (among others), who said: "If the museum was to go down that road then perhaps they should bring in the Stork theory of where babies come from. Or perhaps the museum should introduce the flat Earth theory".

Party leadership

Northern Ireland Executive Ministers

Party spokespersons - Westminster

Party spokespersons - Assembly

{| class="wikitable" |- ! Responsibility ! Spokesperson |- | Party Leader | Peter Robinson MLA |- | Deputy Leader | Nigel Dodds MP MLA |- | Agriculture and Rural Development | William McCrea MP MLA |- | Culture, Arts and Leisure | Gregory Campbell (politician) MLA |- | Education | Mervyn Storey MLA |- | Employment and Learning | Tom Buchanon MLA |- | Enterprise, Trade and Investment | Peter Weir MLA |- | Environment | Alastair Ross MLA |- | Finance and Personnel | Ian Paisley Jnr MLA |- | Health, Social Services and Public Safety | |- | Regional Development | Michelle McIlveen |- | Social Development |Simon Hamilton |}

Belfast Agreement

The 1998 Belfast Agreement was opposed by the Democratic Unionist Party. The opposition was based on a number of reasons, including:

The early release of terrorist prisoners

The mechanism to allow Sinn Féin to hold Government office despite ongoing IRA activity.

The lack of accountability of Ministers within the Executive.

The lack of accountability of the North/South Ministerial Council and all-Ireland Implementation Bodies.

The Belfast Agreement relied on the support of a majority of unionists and a majority of nationalists in order for it to operate. During the 2003 Assembly Election, the DUP argued for a "fair deal" that could command the support of both unionists and nationalists. After the results of this election the DUP argued that support was no longer present within unionism for the Belfast Agreement. They then went on to publish their proposals for devolution in Ireland entitled Devolution Now.

These proposals have been refined and re-stated in further policy documents including Moving on and Facing Reality.

The DUP has consistently held the view that any party which is linked to a terrorist organisation should not be eligible to hold Government office. The activities of the IRA and the other paramilitary groups have been monitored by the Independent Monitoring Commission.

Representatives

Parliament of the United Kingdom

Members of the House of Commons:

Gregory Campbell - East Londonderry

Jeffrey Donaldson - Lagan Valley

Nigel Dodds - Belfast North

William McCrea - South Antrim

Ian Paisley, Jr. - North Antrim

Jim Shannon - Strangford

David Simpson - Upper Bann

Sammy Wilson - East Antrim

Members of the House of Lords:

Baron Browne of Belmont

Baron Morrow of Clogher Valley

Baroness Paisley of St George's

Baron Bannside

Northern Ireland Assembly

Members of the 2007 Northern Ireland Assembly:

Allan Bresland - West Tyrone

Baron Browne of Belmont - Belfast East

Thomas Buchanan - West Tyrone

Gregory Campbell - East Londonderry

Trevor Clarke - South Antrim

Jonathan Craig - Lagan Valley

Nigel Dodds - Belfast North

Alex Easton - North Down

Paul Frew - North Down (replaced Ian Paisley Jr MP, June 2010

Arlene Foster - Fermanagh and South Tyrone

Paul Givan - Lagan Valley (replaced Jeffrey Donaldson MP, June 2010

Simon Hamilton - Strangford

William Hay - Foyle

David Hilditch - East Antrim

William Irwin - Newry and Armagh

Nelson McCausland - Belfast North

Ian McCrea - Mid Ulster

William McCrea - South Antrim

Michelle McIlveen - Strangford

Adrian McQuillan - East Londonderry

Baron Morrow of Clogher Valley - Fermanagh and South Tyrone

Stephen Moutray - Upper Bann

Robin Newton - Belfast East

Lord Paisley, Baron of Bannside - North Antrim

Edwin Poots - Lagan Valley

George Robinson - East Londonderry

Peter Robinson - Belfast East

Alastair Ross - East Antrim (replaced George Dawson, who died on 7 May 2007)

Jim Shannon - Strangford

David Simpson - Upper Bann

Jimmy Spratt - Belfast South

Mervyn Storey - North Antrim

Peter Weir - North Down

Jim Wells - South Down

Sammy Wilson - East Antrim

Leadership

Founder Ian Paisley led the party from its foundation in 1971 onwards, and retired as leader of the party in spring 2008.

Paisley was replaced by former deputy leader Peter Robinson on 31 May 2008.

Ian Paisley in July 2010 became a member of the House of Lords and was given the title 'Lord Bannside'.

See also

List of Democratic Unionist Party MPs

List of Northern Ireland Members of the House of Lords

Footnotes

External links

Democratic Unionist Party (official website)

Category:Political parties established in 1971 Category:Political parties in Northern Ireland Category:Democratic Unionist Party Category:Protestant political parties Category:Christian political parties in the United Kingdom Category:1971 establishments in Northern Ireland