East Belfast PUP
The Progressive Unionists first emerged in 1938 to challenge the Ulster Unionist Party’s lack of urgency in dealing with rising unemployment and massive housing shortages across Northern Ireland. Despite receiving almost 40,000 votes in the 1938 General Election the party failed to win a seat and faded back into the larger Unionist party over the following years.
During the first few years of Northern Ireland’s ‘Troubles’ Hugh Smyth emerged as a spokesperson for the Ulster Volunteer Force and a campaigner for improved conditions for the people of the Shankill area of West Belfast. He was elected to Belfast City Council for the first time in 1972 – a position he still holds almost forty years later. In 1978 Hugh and a number of like-minded Unionists came together to form the Independent Unionist Group. This group changed it’s name the following year to counter the growing ‘Ulster Independence’ movement and from 1979 onwards the Progressive Unionist Party was active once again in Northern Ireland after a forty year absence.
Throughout ‘The Troubles’ the Progressive Unionist Party continued to give political guidance to the Ulster Volunteer Force and Red Hand Commando and represented Loyalism in talks with the Northern Ireland Office and British Government.
In the 1990s a number of former Loyalist prisoners began to get involved in the Progressive Unionist Party. These included future Stormont MLAs David Ervine and Billy Hutchinson – two of the many men who had benefited from the prison education system. These Loyalists – among numerous others – began to provide an honest, positive brand of Unionism that hadn’t been seen in Northern Ireland for many decades. After the 1994 Loyalist ceasefire support steadily grew for the Progressive Unionist Party – resulting in over 26,000 votes in the Northern Ireland Forum elections of 1996. The Forum started a political process which resulted in the Good Friday Agreement of 1998.
The historic agreement of 1998 contained many of the PUP’s proposals – some of which were originally publicised by the UVF and Red Hand Commando in the 1970s. Of all the parties involved in the negotiations, the Progressive Unionist Party achieved most of it’s aims – including recognition of Northern Ireland’s place in the UK, commitment to pursuing totally peaceful means, a devolved power-sharing Assembly, release of all paramilitary prisoners and numerous other proposals.
In the Assembly elections which followed, two of the party’s main negotiators – David Ervine and Billy Hutchinson – were elected in East Belfast and North Belfast respectively. This was followed by the party’s largest ever vote in the European election the following year and further gains in local council elections of 2001. Over the next few years the party’s support began to wane, with a number of loses at Assembly and local goverment level.
In 2007 Northern Ireland was shocked by the sudden death of PUP leader David Ervine. A widely respected figure both inside – and outside – the province, his death was a blow to Progressive Unionism and the PUP project. His role as PUP leader and East Belfast MLA seat was taken by Dawn Purvis – who continued in the position until the summer of 2010. After Dawn’s resignation from the PUP, Brain Ervine replaced her as leader and fought a valiant campaign to regain the PUP seat in East Belfast which Dawn had refused to relinquish.
Brian’s campaign was not successful and he stepped down as leader in May 2011 to return to his full-time job working with vulnerable young people who suffer from numeracy and literacy problems. Party President Hugh Smyth took on the role until the election of former MLA Billy Hutchinson in October 2011. Billy has re-energised the party and is currently engaged in a process to professionalise it’s structure, methods, planning and training. Many young, dedicated members have been promoted from within the party and this – combined with a number of experienced PUP members – provides a perfect mix to move the party forward in a positive manner.
With a number of years before the next set of council and Assembly elections the Progressive Unionist Party has time to regroup, plan and focus on what it can do to get it’s representatives into positions of power to deliver the kind of common sense Unionism Northern Ireland is in dire need of. If you want to help take part in the growth of the PUP please either send us a small donation using the links above, or – if possible – get involved with the party and help do your bit to improve the lives of all the people of Northern Ireland.
