Apart from occasional periods of agreed candidates in the Seventies and Eighties, Unionism in 2025 is now practically a divided three-party system.
But with Sinn Fein now the largest party in Northern Ireland at council, Assembly and Westminster levels, Unionism must face the bitter medicine that if the campaign for Irish Unity is not to gather momentum, Unionist unity must become a practical electoral reality and not empty rhetoric for the dwindling voter faithful.
The real problem facing any blueprint for Unionist unity is that the pro-Union community in Northern Ireland has become such an ideological broad church - ranging from the liberal woke wing of the UUP to the hardline, no compromise faction within the TUV.
So in terms of policy, the challenge is how to square the Unionist circle. Practically, too, how should this unity be expressed - co-operation between the parties in terms of vote transfer, agreed candidates, pacts at elections, an ideological realignment, or a merger of pro-Union parties. The list of options seems endless, but which will work?
Those in favour of some kind of co-operation point to the success of the United Ulster Unionist Council, also known as the Unionist Coalition, or affectionately called the Treble UC.
The power of the Treble UC showed its electoral muscle in the February 1974 Westminster General Election when a coalition of three main Unionist parties - the DUP, UUP and Vanguard Unionists - clinched 11 of the 12 Commons seats.
Unity was again demonstrated in the Eighties when the pro-Union parties joined forces as part of the Ulster Says No campaign against the 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement. Ironically, tactical voting by nationalists saw Unionism lose two Commons seats; one in the 1986 protest by-elections, and another in the 1987 Westminster General Election.
Those opposed to practical Unionist unity in the form of either an election pact or even a merger of parties believe it would spark an electoral retaliation in the nationalist camp with Catholic voters rallying to the cause of whatever republican party - the SDLP or Sinn Fein - is best placed to ether capture or hold a seat.
Given the broad church conundrum, what is needed is a single pro-Union movement simply called The Unionist Party, with a series of pressure groups within that one party to represent the various interest groups.
This was already achieved when the then UUP ran Northern Ireland for decades. Right-wingers within the party had the Ulster Monday Club; socialists had the Unionist Labour group; liberals had the Devolution group, and Unionists west of the River Bann had the West Ulster Unionist Council.
The Loyal Orders had delegates within the ruling Ulster Unionist Council, and the party also had a women’s group (The Ulster Women’s Unionist Council) and a youth wing, the Young Unionists.
The structure sounded convoluted, but it worked in much the same way as pressure groups operated within both the Tory and British Labour parties in mainland Britain.
However, for the single party, pressure group structure to work, the pro-Union community must want it to succeed. Egos, political pride and party traditions may have to be set aside for the good of the Union.
Personality clashes have always been an issue in not making Unionist unity work at the ballot box. The thorny question already on many Unionists’ lips is simply - who would lead the new-look single Unionist Party given the ideological gap between the UUP’s Mike Nesbitt and the TUV’s Jim Allister?
Even if such a practical single Unionist Party could be conceived, how could this new party solve the challenge of voter apathy in the pro-Union community?
Put bluntly, how many seats at council, Assembly and Westminster levels have been lost by Unionism because of the ‘stay at home brigade’?
As a starting point to progressing the idea of a single Unionist Party with pressure groups, who would act as mediators to bring about such a structural unity?
Could either the Loyal Orders or Protestant churches be relied upon to act as a political conduit, or is the latter so divided theologically that it would be impossible for them to be the catalyst for Unionist unity.
Since the creation of Northern Ireland in the 1920s, the Loyal Orders - and especially the Orange - acted as the social, religious and political cement which held the pro-Union community together.
In reality, the working class loyalist labourer could sit alongside the ‘Big House’ business owner Unionist in the lodge room and both equally called themselves brothers. The Loyal Orders also played a significant role in deciding who was the best Unionist candidate to run in particular constituencies and electoral areas.
Likewise, how does any single Unionist Party bring the loyalist community linked to the various paramilitary factions in from the political cold? Indeed, how will discipline be maintained in any new-look single Unionist Party?
A joke is made among republicans that with the formation of any new group, the first item on the agenda is ‘the split’. How does Unionist unity in whatever shape avoid that same pitfall?
Perhaps the problem with Unionism as an ideology is that it is too democratic. Perhaps the answer to achieving workable Unionist unity is for someone or a group of individuals to say - this is what needs to be done and this is how we will do it!
Maybe what the pro-Union community is really asking for is not the concept of Unionist unity in the short-term, but a united movement which gives a really clear direction on how the Union can be maintained.
Similarly, the bitter pill which the pro-Union community must swallow is that while another election may not be on the cards until May 2027, the clock is rapidly ticking on how to achieve the much needed goal of real, workable Unionist unity.
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| Follow Dr John Coulter on Twitter @JohnAHCoulter John is a Director for Belfast’s Christian radio station, Sunshine 1049 FM. |
