Democratic Unionist Party

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Democratic Unionist Party, founded September 1971 by Ian Paisley and Desmond Boal as a successor to the Protestant Unionist Party, which had opposed Terence O'Neill's reformist unionism. The DUP grew rapidly in the 1970s, in the context of a still divided Ulster unionism and high levels of communal violence: the peak of its electoral support came in the council elections of 1981, when its candidates won 26.6 per cent of votes cast. It opposed the Sunningdale agreement, and Paisley identified himself closely with the Ulster Workers' Council strike of May 1974. The DUP were also prominent partners in the Unionist alliance which emerged in opposition to the Anglo‐Irish agreement of 1985. However, their relationship with the Ulster Unionist Party subsequently came under strain, and the two groupings took markedly different approaches to the Downing Street declaration (Dec. 1993), the DUP being more hostile than its rival. This chasm grew wider after 1998, when the DUP emerged as vehement opponents of the Good Friday Agreement (see peace process).

The DUP's command over a section of the unionist electorate remains formidable. Its success has been rooted in the combination of a militant commitment to the Union with often imaginative social policies. The party has a local electoral asset in Paisley, who has consistently polled more highly and across a wider base than other DUP candidates; it also benefits from a relationship with Paisley's Free Presbyterian church, which has provided a core of party activists. These political tools have allowed the DUP, like earlier populist loyalist movements, to cultivate a constituency neglected by mainstream unionism: the urban working classes, and rural evangelicals.

Alvin Jackson

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) (Northern Ireland) Formed in 1971 by Ian Paisley and Desmond Boal, the party is committed to Northern Ireland remaining part of the UK. The party stood firmly against Protestants sharing power with the Catholic minority in the 1970s, and is opposed to British membership of the European Community (European integration). A more radical proponent of Protestant interests than the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), it has consistently opposed talking to ministers from the Irish Republic, and it rejected the Downing Street Declaration of 1993. From the 1970s to the 1990s the DUP tended to win three seats in Westminster elections, with about 20 per cent of the Northern Ireland vote in British general elections. However, its popularity was boosted after its rejection of the Good Friday Agreements, as the DUP capitalized on Protestant fears of compromise. In the 2001 elections for the British Parliament, it won five seats, and in the Northern Ireland elections of 2003 it eclipsed the UUP, becoming the strongest party with 30 seats. As the largest Protestant party, it now had the power to render the Northern Ireland Agreements inoperable by refusing to deal with the largest Catholic party, Sinn Féin.

http://www.dup.org.uk

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). Formed in 1971 to challenge the declining position of the Ulster Unionist Party and represent traditional loyalist working-class opinion. Its platform is a mixture of uncompromising, traditional unionism and social and economic populism. Massively dominated by its leader Ian Paisley, its support extends far beyond the free presbyterian church. The party has always been suspicious of peace initiatives. It rejected the Anglo-Irish agreement of 1985, and though it took part in the Northern Ireland Assembly from 1998 it refused to work with Sinn Fein ministers. The refusal of the IRA to begin decommissioning its arms polarized opinion in Ulster and at the general election of 2001 the DUP scored a triumph, taking nine seats and reducing the rival Ulster Unionists to one seat. In 2007 Ian Paisley became First Minister of a power-sharing executive having agreed to work with Sinn Fein.

Ms Sue Minna Cannon

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). Formed in 1971 to challenge the position of the Ulster Unionist Party and represent traditional loyalist working‐class opinion. Its platform is a mixture of uncompromising unionism and social and economic populism. Massively dominated by its leader Ian Paisley, its support extends far beyond the Free Presbyterian Church. The party has always been suspicious of peace initiatives and it rejected the Downing Street declaration in 1993.