Faultlines in unionism: Division and dissent within the Ulster Unionist Council

Abstract

The 1998 Good Friday Agreement (GFA) has exacerbated long‐standing divisions within unionism and heightened party competition within the Unionist bloc, confronting the UUP with a new political and institutional dispensation and increased intra‐communal electoral rivalry. Previous Unionist faultlines that were often viewed through discussions of identity have now shifted post‐GFA to an emphasis on acute political differences. Using data from the first ever membership survey of the effective ruling body of the UUP, the Ulster Unionist Council, this article examines social and attitudinal bases of these divisions, as embodied by the May 2000 Trimble versus Smyth leadership contest. It concludes that whilst specific identity issues, in particular Orange Order membership, still divide unionists, more fundamental social and ideological divisions underlie attitudes to the GFA, threatening party cohesion and heightening the competitive appeal of the DUP for anti‐GFA Unionists.