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| Color | |
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| Abbreviation | UDP |
| Website | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Established | 1978-01-00
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| Disbanded | 2001-11-28
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| Contributor | Easily Offended Man |
| Last Edited | RBH - May 16, 2010 12:46am |
| Description | The Ulster Democratic Party has strong links to the Ulster Defence Association, the largest Protestant paramilitary organisation in Northern Ireland. The UDP has had a lengthy gestation period. Its genesis can be traced to the New Ulster Political Research Group set up by the UDA in January 1978. In March 1979 it published its plans for an independent Northern Ireland claiming it was the only settlement acceptable to nationalists and unionists. In the May 1981 council elections NUPRG candidate Sammy Millar was elected to Belfast City Council.
In June 1981 the Ulster Loyalist Democratic Party was set up by the Ulster Defence Association to replace the NUPRG. Its political position was independence within the EEC and the Commonwealth. The party, under its chairman John McMichael, failed to impress the electorate. In January 1987 the UDA published its political document Common Sense which suggested an Assembly and Executive elected by PR, a Bill of Rights and a written constitution. Its proposals were favourably received in Britain and Ireland and the SDLP leader John Hume described the document as constructive.
In 1989 the Ulster Loyalist Democratic Party became the Ulster Democratic Party and its leader Ken Kerr won a seat to Derry City Council. Kerr lost his council seat in 1993 but Gary McMichael, the son of murdered UDA leader John McMichael, won a seat to Lisburn council. After the Provisional IRA murder of party spokesman Ray Smallwoods in July 1994, Gary McMichael assumed leadership of the party.
The UDP played a pivotal role in persuading UDA/UFF prisoners in the Maze to support a cease-fire. The loyalist cease-fire was declared in October 1994. Shortly after this a UDP delegation met State Department officials in Washington and shook hands with Irish President Mary Robinson in Dublin.
The party contested the elections to the Forum for Political Understanding and Dialogue and won two seats. This allowed the party to send two delegates to the multi-party talks that led to the April 1998 Belfast Agreement. In January 1998 the UDP withdrew from the peace talks before they convened at Lancaster House in London ahead of being expelled because of recent UFF killings. The Party supported the Yes campaign in the referendum but failed to win any seats at the Assembly elections six weeks later in June 1998. In September 2000 First Minister David Trimble nominated the UPD leader to the Civic Forum. In early 2001 up to 14 branches left the UDP because of the their opposition to the Belfast Agreement.
Tension between the pro-Agreement UDP and the anti-Agreement UDA could no longer be contained and on 28th November 2001 senior UDA commanders announced that the party was being dissolved "without rancour or ill-will". The decision followed a series of disagreements between UDP leader Gary McMichael and the leadership of the UDA which continued to engage in violence while maintaining that its ceasefire was still in force. Six weeks before the party was dissolved the Secretary of Sate Dr John Reid announced that the government no longer recognise the UDA cease-fire. During the first 11 months of 2001 the UDA was linked to at least five murders and over 200 blast bomb attacks on Catholics and police. |
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