List of political parties in Northern Ireland

Political parties in Northern Ireland lists political parties in Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Assembly is elected by single transferable vote and the composition of the Northern Ireland Executive is by power sharing determined by the D'Hondt system, among the members elected to the Assembly. Party affiliation is generally based on religious and ethnic background.

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Although Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom, it has a quite distinct party system from the rest of the country, as the Labour Party and Liberal Democrats do not contest elections there (though the Liberal Democrats have links with the Alliance Party), and the Conservative Party has received only limited support in recent elections.

Some parties, such as Sinn Féin and the Workers' Party, are organised on an all-Ireland basis. Others such as the Conservative Party are organised on an all-United Kingdom basis. There are many Northern Ireland-specific parties and these, on the whole, predominate.

The distinction between "unionist/loyalist", "nationalist/republican" and "other" is not always easy with some parties and individuals. Some have defined themselves less by their position on the "Border Question" than on other political issues.

For example, the former Republican Labour Party/Social Democratic and Labour Party MP Gerry Fitt's career suggests he was first and foremost a socialist rather than a nationalist and he eventually left the SDLP claiming it had drifted from its founding intentions. Similarly the Workers' Party has its roots in the republican Official IRA but nowadays is considered to be a non-violent socialist and nationalist party. Several parties strive to be avowedly non-sectarian and would not consider themselves to be either unionist or nationalist. The Northern Ireland Assembly requires MLAs to designate themselves either "Unionist", "Nationalist" or "Other." This is a designation that is particularly resented by those who designate as "Other", as they have no input on who becomes First or Deputy First Minister.

There are some who see the terms "Unionist"/"Loyalist" and "Nationalist"/"Republican" as being of more relevance to the community that the party seeks to represent rather than the position on the border question. Several of the "Other" parties strive to be non-sectarian but have a clear position on the border.

Political parties with elected representation at a local, national, UK or European level

Party details
Party Current leader Founded Inaugural leader Ideology Position Designation
Sinn Féin Mary Lou McDonald 1905 / 1970[nb 1] Arthur Griffith Irish republicanism
Democratic socialism
Left-wing nationalism[1]		 Centre-left[2] to left-wing[3] Nationalist
Democratic Unionist Party Jeffrey Donaldson 1971 Ian Paisley British unionism[1]
British nationalism
National conservatism[1]
Social conservatism[1][4]
Right-wing populism[5]
Euroscepticism[6]		 Right-wing[7][8] Unionist
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland Naomi Long 1970 Bob Cooper
Oliver Napier		 Liberalism[1]
Nonsectarianism		 Centre Other
Ulster Unionist Party Doug Beattie 1905 Edward Saunderson Conservatism[1]
British unionism[1]		 Centre-right[2] Unionist
Social Democratic and Labour Party Colum Eastwood 1970 Gerry Fitt Social democracy[1]
Irish nationalism[9]
 Centre-left[10] Nationalist
Traditional Unionist Voice Jim Allister 2007 Jim Allister British unionism[1]
Hard Euroscepticism
Social conservatism[1]
National conservatism[1]		 Right-wing Unionist
People Before Profit Collective leadership 2005 none Socialism[1]
Trotskyism[11]
Irish reunification[12]		 Left-wing to far-left Other
Green Party Northern Ireland Malachai O'Hara 1983 none[nb 2] Green politics[1]
Nonsectarianism
Pro-Europeanism		 Centre-left Other
Progressive Unionist Party Billy Hutchinson 1979 Hugh Smyth British unionism
Ulster loyalism
Democratic socialism
Social democracy		 Centre-left to left-wing Unionist
Aontú Peadar Tóibín 2019 Peadar Tóibín Anti-abortion
Irish republicanism
Social conservatism
Soft Eurosceptism		 Nationalist
Northern Ireland Conservatives Rishi Sunak 1989 none Conservatism
British unionism
Euroscepticism[13]		 Centre-right[2] Unionist
  1. The current party known as Sinn Féin broke from the party then known as Sinn Féin in 1970 and was initially commonly referred to as Provisional Sinn Féin.
  2. For the first twenty eight years of its existence, the Green Party did not have a national leader. Steven Agnew was elected as the first national leader in 2011.

Party representation
Party Representation (as of 27 July 2022)[14]
UK Parliament Assembly Local councils
House of Commons House of Lords
Sinn Féin 7 0 27 105
Democratic Unionist Party 8 5 25 117
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland 1 0[nb 1] 17 53
Ulster Unionist Party 0 2 9 74
Social Democratic and Labour Party 2 0[nb 2] 8 55
Traditional Unionist Voice 0 0 1 7
People Before Profit 0 0 1 5
Green Party Northern Ireland 0 0 0 8
Progressive Unionist Party 0 0 0 2
Aontú 0 0 0 2
Militant Left 0 0 0 1
Northern Ireland Conservatives 0 2 0 0
    1. Lord Alderdice, leader of the Alliance from 1987–98, has sat in the Lords since 1996, taking the Lib Dem whip.
    2. Margaret Ritchie, leader of the SDLP from 2010–11, has sat in the Lords since 2019, resigning from the party to do so.

    Other registered parties

    Unionist and loyalist

    Nationalist and republican

    Others

    Unregistered parties

    Candidates for unregistered parties may choose either to be listed as "Non-Party", or to leave the section blank on the ballot paper, in the same manner as independent candidates.

    Inactive parties

    Unionist and loyalist

    Nationalist and Republican

    Others

    Flowchart of all political parties in Northern Ireland
    A flowchart illustrating all the political parties that have existed throughout the history of Northern Ireland and leading up to its formation.

    Party leaders

    Party leaders serving 10 years or more are

    Leader Years Party/Period Constituency
    Ian Paisley42yProtestant Unionist Party 1966–1971
    Democratic Unionist Party 1971–2008    		Bannside, North Antrim
    Ruairí Ó Brádaigh36ySinn Féin 1970–1983
    Republican Sinn Féin 1986–2009
    Gerry Adams35ySinn Féin 1983–2018West Belfast, Louth
    William Norton28yIrish Labour 1932–1960
    Tomás Mac Giolla26ySinn Féin 1962–1970
    Official Sinn Féin 1970–1977
    Sinn Féin The Workers' Party 1977–1982
    Workers' Party 1982–1988
    Hugh Smyth23yProgressive Unionist Party 1979–2002
    John Hume22ySocial Democratic and Labour Party 1979–2001Foyle
    Albert McElroy19yUlster Liberal Party 1956–1975 (?)
    Lord Craigavon19yUlster Unionist Party 1921–1940Down, North Down
    John Redmond18yIrish Parliamentary Party 1900–1918Waterford City
    Lord Brookeborough17yUlster Unionist Party 1946–1963Lisnaskea
    James Molyneaux16yUlster Unionist Party 1979–1995South Antrim, Lagan Valley
    Joseph Devlin16yNationalist Party 1918–1934Belfast Falls, Fermanagh and Tyrone, Belfast Central
    Gerry Fitt15yRepublican Labour Party 1964–1970
    Social Democratic and Labour Party 1970–1979    		Belfast West, Belfast Dock
    James Kilfedder15yUlster Popular Unionist Party 1980–1995North Down
    David Ford15yAlliance Party 2001–2016South Antrim
    Margaret Buckley13ySinn Féin 1937–1950
    Robert McCartney13yUK Unionist Party 1995–2008North Down
    James McSparran13yNationalist Party 1945–1958Mourne
    Oliver Napier12yAlliance Party 1972–1984Belfast East
    Thomas Joseph Campbell11yNationalist Party 1934–1945Belfast Central
    Sir Edward Carson11yUlster Unionist Party 1910–1921Dublin University, Belfast Duncairn
    John Alderdice11yAlliance Party 1987–1998Belfast East
    David Trimble10yUlster Unionist Party 1995–2005Upper Bann

    See also

    References
    Sources
    1. Nordsieck, Wolfram. "Parties and Elections in Europe". www.parties-and-elections.eu. Archived from the original on 7 November 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
    2. Anttiroiko, Ari-Veikko; Mälkiä, Matti (2007). Encyclopedia of Digital Government. Idea Group Inc (IGI). p. 394. ISBN 978-1-59140-790-4.
    3. Salgado, Susana (7 December 2018). Mediated Campaigns and Populism in Europe. Springer. ISBN 978-3-319-98563-3.
    4. Marcus, Ruth. "Gender aside, the fall of Irish politician Iris Robinson is the same old sex scandal", Washington Post, 14 January 2010
    5. Ingle, Stephen (2008). The British Party System: An Introduction. Routledge. p. 156.
    6. Taggart, Paul; Szczerbiak, Aleks. "The Party Politics of Euroscepticism in EU Member and Candidate States" (PDF). SEI Working Paper. 51. Sussex European Institute: 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 December 2009. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
    7. "It will be ‘difficult’ for May to survive, says N Ireland’s DUP", By Vincent Boland & Robert Wright. Financial Times. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
    8. "Who Are The DUP? The Democratic Unionist Party Explained", LBC. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
    9. "The Good Friday Agreement". SDLP. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
    10. Stephen Driver (2011). Understanding British Party Politics. Polity. p. 188. ISBN 978-0-7456-4078-5.
    11. "The PBP/Solidarity explainer: from Campaigns to Revolution". Village Magazine. 6 February 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
    12. Duffy, Rónán. "Q+A: Here's where the parties stand on a united Ireland and holding a border poll". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
    13. Nordsieck, Wolfram. "Parties and Elections in Europe". www.parties-and-elections.eu.
    14. "Local Council Political Compositions". Open Council Date UK. 24 May 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
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