Ulster Unionist Party

The largest political party in Northern Ireland. Right-of-centre in orientation, its aim is equality for Northern Ireland within the UK, and it opposes union with the Republic of Ireland. The party has the broadest support of any Ulster party, and has consistently won a large proportion of parliamentary and local seats. Its central organization, dating from 1905, is formally called the Ulster Unionist Council. Its leader from 1995 is David Trimble. It secured 28 of the 108 seats in the new Northern Ireland Assembly, elected in June 1998, and Trimble was elected Northern Ireland's first minister at the Assembly's first meeting on 1 July (he resigned in June 2001, but agreed to stand for re-election in October 2001).

Policies
The party advocates equal local-government rights for the people of Ulster compared with the rest of the UK. The need for tough law-and-order measures is also a strong party theme, with many of its leaders in favour of reintroducing capital punishment. The party has been generally hostile to the terms of the UK's membership of the European Union (EU), and believes that it has a negative impact on Ulster. Within Westminster the Ulster Unionist members of Parliament have generally voted with the Conservative Party.