United Ulster Unionist Council

The United Ulster Unionist Council (also known as the United Ulster Unionist Coalition) was a body that sought to bring together the Unionists opposed to the Sunningdale Agreement in Northern Ireland.

The coalition superseded the earlier "Loyalist Coalition" between the DUP, Vanguard and Independent Unionists which was set up for the 1973 Assembly election. The UUUC was established in January 1974. It was organised by Harry West and constituted a formal electoral pact between his Ulster Unionist Party, the Democratic Unionist Party and the Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party. West arranged the movement, having gained control of the UUP from Brian Faulkner, to galvanise opposition to power sharing arrangements that were being put in place and to run against Faulkner's Pro-Assembly Unionists who later formed themselves into the Unionist Party of Northern Ireland.

The UUUC first tested its political credentials in the 1974 general election and the party captured 11 out of 12 Northern Irish seats (7 UUP, 3 VUPP, 1 DUP), whilst the Pro-Assembly Unionists failed to win any seats. In the general election of October that same year the UUUC lost West's seat, Fermanagh and South Tyrone, to Frank Maguire, an independent Republican running as an agreed candidate, leaving them with 10 overall. At Westminster the coalition operated under the name of Unionist Parliamentary Coalition with West accepted as leader.

The UUUC remained fairly coherent as it united behind the Ulster......
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