The UUP Made Simple

The Ulster Unionist Party (better known to all the normal folk as the UUP) is the second largest Unionist party in Northern Ireland — though you could say they are plotting to become the biggest again, if they somehow manage to get ahead of the actual DUP and the slightly more extreme version of the DUP, the TUV.

In this blog, I’m going to tell you a bit about their politics, as well as where they stand today, so you’ll know whether to vote for them in an Assembly or General Election.

Evolving from the Ulster Unionist Council in 1905, they were the biggest Unionist Party from the creation of Northern Ireland in 1921 until direct rule was called for in 1972, and throughout the rest of The Troubles as well. However, the thing they have been best or worst remembered for (depending on who you ask) since 1998 is the signing of the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement, which, while it did lead to peace, also included a lot of negative points that many Unionists feel like they had to swallow, including the fact that paramilitary prisoners were released from jail; power-sharing became a requirement for government, etc.

And it wasn’t long after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement that the UUP lost their crown for being the largest Unionist party, after an election in 2003 resulted in the DUP getting three more seats than them, followed by them only winning one seat in the 2005 General Election, compared to the DUP which won nine.

This has led to the UUP becoming the Katie Price of Northern Ireland political parties, based on their need to constantly change who leads their party. Over the last 20 years, they have gone from one to six different leaders, with their current leader, Jon Burrows, taking us up to number seven on the 15th of January 2026, meaning we have yet another man in uniform.

Yes, Burrows was previously a peeler (and for those of you who are reading this and aren’t that clued up in Norn Iron slang, a peeler is what we call a police man or cop).

So where does the UUP sit on politics today?

Well, to explain it simply, the UUP over the last few years has presented itself more as a moderate Unionist party, meaning that, while they do agree that Northern Ireland should remain part of the UK, they do so without holding many of the same views or doing many of the same things Hard Line Unionist parties do, such as breaking historic links with the Orange Order.

Will this continue now that Jon Burrows is leader? No one is quite sure.

They supported Remain during the 2016 Brexit Referendum, but after the result was delivered said they were democrats and accepted the result, while most other Remain Parties supported calls for a second referendum. But nevertheless, they also oppose the current solution to the UK’s only land border with the EU, the Northern Ireland Protocol, which has basically put a border down the Irish Sea in some circumstances but not in the official sense, though they would rather negotiate in Stormont without pulling the Executive down.

As they are the party of the health service, they have a vision to restore the NHS to the potential where it can support the population to live as healthy people. However, this doesn’t mean they have had a completely clean slate, as they have been criticised for not moving quickly enough in delivering pay parity for NHS workers, nor in reforming the health service into what many want it to symbolise.

They also support the long-term goal of an Integrated Education system, but are against a hierarchy that pits one education sector against another.

They’re also committed to finding a solution for Climate Change and supporting a thriving economy.

And although they opposed Gay Marriage in 2016, they have reformed their views towards LGBT+ issues significantly, most notably after they didn’t block Gay Marriage coming in after it was passed on behalf of the UK government in 2019, as well as when they supported a ban on Gay Conversion Therapy.

However, although they have shifted their attitudes on LGBT+ issues, they have been criticised for some motions they’ve brought to Stormont in relation to finding a balance between Trans rights and Women’s rights to single sex spaces by some Trans Rights Activists, as they’ve brought motions to the Executive that would see trans women or vulnerable men being kept out of female only spaces such as single sex prisons. They have also publicly supported the ban for prescribing puberty blockers to under-18s, though they respect Trans people to get surgeries that are right for them once they are above that age.

They do not have a unified stance on Abortion and view it as a matter of conscience.

In relation to foreign aid, the UUP has a relatively positive attitude towards it, but their main focus is on politics in Northern Ireland. Nevertheless, they condemn what happened on 7th October 2023 in Israel but equally want a two state solution and aid to get into Gaza, while also supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

However, that could change, especially given Jon Burrows’ speeches in the past that he wishes politicians and other people would get as exercised about our own home grown issues, such as schools and other buildings not being built, as some do about issues effecting foreign countries that we don’t have anything to do with, which the reader can decide whether they agree or disagree with.

So to summarise what the UUP is:

• It’s a Unionist party that believes Northern Ireland is better off inside the UK, but is against violence to help secure the Union.
• It supported Remain in the 2016 Referendum, but decided to accept the result instead of asking for a second referendum.
• A party that is against the Northern Ireland Protocol but that would prefer negotiating it in Stormont and without collapsing the executive.
• A party that historically didn’t agree with Gay Marriage but are now supportive of it and are supportive of banning Gay Conversion Therapy and implementing zero intolerance approaches to hate crimes such groups might face etc.
• A party that publicly agrees with banning puberty blockers for under 18s but that also backs proposals that will stop trans women from accessing female only spaces.
• A party that supports the introduction of Changing Places Toilet facilities, and are also in support of setting up a £5million Accessibility fund to help improve accessibility for disabled people.

Sources

Ulster Unionist Party (Political Party, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom): https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ulster-Unionist-Party

Why We Put Forward Our Amendment on Gaza Motion
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/politics/health-minister-announces-deserved-pay-rise-for-health-workers-but-dup-says-it-was-only-delivered-through-collective-leadership-5391847&ved=2ahUKEwjX_LXs3-KQAxUZZ0EAHdl7IbsQFnoECBoQAQ&usg=AOvVaw1nao2zv71Bu-oIng05bwTG

Ulster Unionist Party Policy Papers: https://www.uup.org/policy_papers

UUP Manifesto(s): https://www.uup.org/manifestos, https://assets.nationbuilder.com/uup/pages/40/attachments/original/1649258439/UUP_Manifesto_2022-_web.pdf?1649258439