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Unionism And The Political Party Structure Of Northern Ireland, Allan Leonard

Allan Leonard

This undergraduate independent study examined Unionist political reaction to developments of British Government policy towards Northern Ireland. Namely, Nationalist representatives achieved redress with the British Government, both directly and vis-a-vis the Irish Government, which should have compelled Unionists to pursue a more accommodationalist policy. Regardless, there was a paradoxical drive by integrationists in Northern Ireland for direct electoral candidacy by the Conservative Party in the regional constituency. This paper makes a defence in favour of this campaign, as a means of improving the accountability of British Government policy affecting those in its jurisdiction.