Unionists

Nationalist Ireland voted overwhelmingly to accept UK sovereignty over Northern Ireland in 1998. All unionism had to do was keep soft nationalists on side but instead it antagonised them

Letter: Unionists won in 1998 but antagonised those who'll decide NI's future

John Coulter’s article, published last month, suggested a relaxation of church dress code in order to get more people through the doors

Letter: Is church hats issue a dangerous distraction?

TUV leader Jim Allister took the North Antrim seat from the DUP at the general election.

DUP has no plans to 'face up to ramifications of deal'

The beach in Kyrenia in the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on the divided island of Cyprus, in August 2023. The historic port on the north coast was mostly Greek until 1974 and is now Turk. There is little hope of a single Cypriot state encompassing the whole island now, after almost total ethnic cleansing (Photo by Birol BEBEK / AFP via Getty Images)

Ben Lowry: Unionists support the Turk Cypriots yet might have backed the Greeks

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood during a press conference where he announced his resignation as party leader. Picture date: Thursday August 29, 2024. Photo: Mark Marlow/PA Wire

Eastwood oversaw the 'greening' of the SDLP

Morning View

Editorial: The populist SNP government has been forced into u-turns

Veteran Labour MP Diane Abbott has said she believes the new UK government should call a border poll. She said it would establish where public opinion lies on both sides of the Irish border

Letter: Unionists shouldn't be angered over Abbott border poll call

Successive UK governments have failed to get to grips with what the IRA was up to on legacy. Tony Blair in 2001 tried to help IRA On The Runs get an an amnesty while in 2014, when David Cameron was in power, there was a breathtaking omission in the 2014 Stormont House legacy agreement to so much as suggest looking at Irish extradition refusals

Ben Lowry: Unionists have helped reinstate a pro IRA approach to legacy

Local Orange leaders had suggested that last Sunday would be the ideal time to allow the 1998 parade to be completed as it would coincide with Armagh playing in the All-Ireland gaelic football final, with the majority of the Garvaghy Road community in Portadown either "away to Croke Park" or watching the game on TV

Neil McCarthy: Shared spaces concept must apply to both sides

A "progress pride flag" on display; the flag is one of several used by the transgender movement. ‘Puberty blockers’ is the general name for drugs which are often given to teenagers and pre-teens who declare themselves to be transgender

Letter: Puberty blockers are not the answer

Sue Gray, the former civil servant and chief of staff to Keir Starmer, is fond of citizens' assemblies. But with regard to devolution in Northern Ireland they will be vehicles to try to help remove us from the UK, writes Ben Lowry. Photograph by Declan Roughan / Press Eye

Ben Lowry: Unionists should prepare for the trap of civil assemblies

Following on from achieving the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement, the next step must now be taken, writes Garvin Crawford

Letter: Peace demands that we overcome critical challenges

Edwin Poots says that 'project fear' is not the way to win back votes.

Unionists winning back Lagan Valley won't be easy - Poots

First Minister Michelle O'Neill, Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, after a meeting at Stormont Caste. Sir Keir is now ambiguous about his support for the Union, having expressed firm unionist sentiments in opposition. Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Owen Polley: Unionists will need to be wary about the naivete of Labour leaders

Hilary Benn outside Waterfront Hall last Sunday when Ben Lowry asked him if he would push back against Ireland given that it was suing the UK. Earlier Ben asked the BBC why it had not covered the way unionists polled more than nationalists. Photo: Niall Carson/PA Wire : Hilary Benn

Ben Lowry: Why I said on BBC about it ignoring unionist vote and grilled Benn

Orange Order deputy grand master Harold Henning at a previous Twelfth. Photo: Philip Magowan / PressEye

'Unionists must put country before party' brethren told at Benburb Twelfth
Unionist politicians have been urged to always “put country before party” whatever the challenges.
Mark Rainey

Morning View

Editorial: Unionists should show contempt for any anti-state legacy process

Unionist candidates won 43.1% of the overall vote, nationalists got 40.1% of the total

SF won most seats but unionists pulled 3% ahead of nationalists in total vote

The first past the post electoral system has led to a totally distorted UK-wide election outcome. It could begin to hurt unionists. Photo: Jacob King/PA Wire

Ben Lowry: Ten less noticed aspects of the NI general election outcome

Alex Easton, Independent Unionist candidate, gives an at times tearful speech after he defeats Stephen Farry for the North Down constituency at the Titanic Exhibition Centre, during the count for the 2024 general election. Photo: Liam McBurney/PA Wire

North Down: Alex Easton defied the pundits to see off Stephen Farry with ease

Morning View

Editorial: Many unionist voters wanted to give the DUP a kicking

Sammy Wilson says Alliance have nothing to offer unionist voters.

DUP: Alliance a ‘lost cause’ to unionists

We will have to see how the unionist votes fall next week. There is likely to be a new Labour government with little sympathy for unionists, but at least it is not interested in a border poll

Ben Lowry: There was little prospect of unionist unity at this election

A non-party political campaign to increase voter turnout in unionist and loyalist communities in Northern Ireland has been launched by the Lets Talk Loyalism group.

Get The Brits Out! (To Vote)

The people of North Down are served politically at two different levels, local and national, and each demands skills of a very different nature, writes Bob McCartney. The ideal candidate would encompass the talents of both Easton and Collins but the question is whose strengths are best suited to be MP

Bob McCartney: As an ex North Down MP I want Tim Collins to win the seat

Then Royal College of Nursing (RCN) chief executive Pat Cullen speaking to the media at RCN headquarters in central London in January 2023 following the announcement that nurses would stage two more strikes in a dispute with the government over pay. On Wednesday, the now SInn Fein election candidate Ms Cullen declined another opportunity to condemn the IRA murder of civilians in the constituency she hopes to represent at Westminster

Royal College of Nursing silent on ex-chief Pat Cullen's IRA stance

The police are investigating a UVF show of strength in East Belfast on Saturday.

UVF show of strength: UUP say PSNI need 'leadership'
Police should be provided with the necessary resources, tools and leadership to combat paramiltarism according to the UUP, as questions mount about the PSNI’s approach to policing a huge UVF paramilitary display in East Belfast on Saturday.
David Thompson

Morning View

Editorial: A pity it's too late for TUV to cut Reform links over Farage betrayal

Alliance say Naomi Long has pulled out of a "civic nationalist" Ireland's Future event due to general election commitments - but rivals are not convinced. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker:-

DUP: Long 'fooling no-one' on united Ireland event

The Tories said the Equality Act 2010 has “not kept pace with evolving interpretations and is not sufficiently clear on when it means sex and when it means gender”. The party said it will change the Act to make clear that the protected characteristic of sex is “biological sex”, rather than gender. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, quoted in the release, said “making this change in law” would enhance protections and address “current confusion around definitions of sex and gender”.Photo: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire

Unionists unite on Tory sex policy

Grand Master of the Orange Order Edward Stevenson has written to members of the organisation, urging them to maximise the unionist vote in the Westminster election.

Orange Order urges members to maximise unionist vote

Jackson Minford was elected to Mid and East Antrim council in the last local elections, representing the Bannside ward.

Ulster Unionists to run councillor in North Antrim

CARRICKCARNON, IRELAND - JANUARY 31, 2020: Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald and deputy leader Michelle ONeill pictured at the launch of an anti Brexit billboard on January 31, 2020 in Carrickcarnon, Ireland

'Sinn Fein are Euro-opportunists with multiple faces'

The UK is preparing to go to the polls on July 4 to determine the make-up of the next government. In Northern Ireland, unionist leaders have failed to agree on unity candidates.

Letter: Lack of unity candidates will cause damage

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called for a General Election on July 4. The poll will be an ideal opportunity for those true unionists to put down a marker, writes Stevan Patterson

Letter: Make July 4 our Independence Day from EU rule

Protesters take part in the Ireland Says No anti-refugee in Dublin in February.

52% of SF wants border checkpoints on immigration

A rally organised by the TUV and Reform UK. It is a united unionist group to vote for

Letter: There is a revolution in wider unionism taking place

In most constituencies it is clear who is the most likely candidate to win. We ask lesser unionist parties to have as their sole objective the maximising of the number of unionist MPs

Ulster Unionists in plea to leaders: Parties should run joint poll candidates

A Garda officer mans a checkpoint on the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in 2020

Unionists must be wary Tories do not 'roll over' to Dublin on migration: TUV

Humza Yousaf and the SNP are trailing Labour in the polls. Voters eventually get exasperated if they are constantly fed populist distractions and parochial politics

Owen Polley: Unionists can take heart from the collapse of the SNP

Richard Tice of Reform and Jim Allister as with Ben Habib (Reform UK) and Cllr Ron McDowell

TUV and Reform pact is about strengthening NI’s position in the UK

Belfast City Hall

Unionists concerns over plans for Belfast Council logo in Irish and English

A sign at the entrance to Slieve Gullion forest park near Newry, Co Down.

Unionists 'ignored' as council backs 'Ireland's True Nature' tourism branding

Outgoing Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, declared 'unification should never be about money'

Neil McCarthy: What exactly is the value, or the point, of a united Ireland?

Morning View

Editorial: RUC hero has had another year fearing trial for killing a IRA man

Naomi Long celebrates Stephen Farry's election as North Down MP in 2019. Alliance is the only winner in the DUP-UUP quarrel, yet the latter parties have no significant policy differences. They should recognise the importance of recuperating their combined strength at Westminster. Pic Laura Davison/Pacemaker

Dean Godson: A united unionism is the prize: political realism is the price

UUP infrastructure spokesperson John Stewart MLA has questioned the infrastructure minister's understanding of a proposal to mutualise NI Water.

UUP question O'Dowd on water charges comments

Incoming taoiseach Simon Harris told the media recently that a united Ireland is not where his focus and priority is. The Fine Gael leader is seen here speaking at his party's Ard Fheis at the University of Galway on Saturday

Ruth Dudley Edwards: Baggage-free new taoiseach should be welcomed by unionists

Leo Varadkar speaking to the media at Government Buildings in Dublin last month when he announced his decision to step down as taoiseach and as leader of his party, Fine Gael

Letter: Varadkar always put the Irish national interest first

Both former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, and his Fine Gael colleague Simon Coveney have now left government.

Coveney ‘contempt’ for unionists – TUV

UUP leader Doug Beattie. Photo: Liam McBurney/PA

Unionists urged to 'reach forward with a vision' following Donaldson resignation

Economy minister Conor Murphy and First Minister Michelle O'Neill speak to the media following the first East-West Council meeting at Dover House in London. The party now holds key ministerial briefs at Stormont including economy and finance. Photo: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire

Woodward: Sinn Fein ‘running the show’

Jim Allister's party says the unionist electorate can't be expected to unite behind the DUP after every crisis it has. Photo: Presseye/Stephen Hamilton

TUV: Voters ‘can’t back DUP after every crisis’

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson became DUP leader in July 2021 following the resignation of Edwin Poots

Donaldson resignation follows almost 40 years in politics

Sammy Wilson MP at the DUP conference in October. If he and the fellow rebels felt strongly about the sea border, they’d quit the party, says Ben Habib. By staying in the DUP, they are endorsing the party turning a blind eye to the border

Ben Habib: DUP has made huge mistake in claiming Irish Sea border is gone