Young
Unionists

This blogpiece was written by former Young Unionist and current Ulster Unionist Party member, Graham Truesdale.

Since its foundation in 1905, the Ulster Unionist Council had been closely linked with the Conservative Party. However, the Conservatives were out of office from 1905-15, so there was no opportunity for Unionist MP’s from Ulster to obtain government posts during those years.

1915 Coalition under Asquith

In 1915 the Conservatives entered a wartime Coalition under Liberal Prime Minister Asquith. Sir Edward Carson, the Unionist leader in the House of Commons at Westminster, became Attorney-General for England and Wales (although he was at that time MP for Trinity College, Dublin). John Gordon, Unionist member for South Londonderry, became Attorney-General for Ireland. Carson resigned from the government later in 1915 in a dispute over war policy, and Gordon became a High Court Judge in 1916.

1916 Coalition under Lloyd George

In December 1916 Asquith was replaced as PM by Lloyd George. Sir Edward Carson re-entered government as First Lord of the Admiralty, with a seat in the Cabinet. The next year he became Minister without Portfolio and a member of the War Cabinet – he resigned, again on an issue of war policy, in 1918. In March 1917 James Chambers, Unionist MP for South Belfast, became Solicitor-General for Ireland (he died on 11^th June that year).

1918 election

This election saw a redrawing of constituency boundaries, and an increase in the number of Unionist seats in the future Northern Ireland to 23. Denis Henry, John Gordon’s successor as Unionist MP for South Londonderry, became Solicitor-General for Ireland. James Craig, Unionist MP for Mid Down, became Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Pensions (1919-1920) and Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty (1920-1921). In July 1919 Denis Henry was promoted to Attorney-General for Ireland, and Daniel Wilson, Unionist MP for West Down, replaced him as Solicitor-General for Ireland. Wilson became Recorder of Belfast in June 1921, and was replaced as Solicitor-General for Ireland on 12^th June by Thomas Brown, Unionist MP for North Down. On 5^th August 1921, Henry left office as Attorney-General to become the first Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, and Brown briefly replaced him as Attorney-General, before becoming a Northern Ireland High Court Judge himself.

The Stormont Era

Sir Robert William Hugh O’Neill, one of the Westminster MP’s for Antrim was Chairman of the Conservative Members’ (‘1922’) Committee from 1935 to 1939 – a post described as ‘a very influential figure He was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for India and Burma from 11th September 1939 to 10th May 1940.

Sir Knox Cunningham, MP for South Antrim. Between 1959 and 1963 he was Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister Harold Macmillan (a position refereed to as ‘a spare brain’ in the BBC fiction series about PM Francis Urquhart).  In Mr. Macmillan’s resignation honours list, Knox Cunningham was created a Baronet.

Rafton Pounder, MP for South Belfast was Private Secretary to the Secretary of State of Trade and Industry, 1970-1

Robin Chichester-Clark MP for Londonderry was consistently either a Front Bench Spokesman for the Opposition or a member of the Government of Harold Macmillan and, later, Edward Heath. He held the position of Assistant Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, Comptroller of the Household, was Conservative Spokesman for Northern Ireland and on the Arts, Shadow Minister of Public Building and Works and, ultimately, Minister of State for Employment. In 1970 he remained outside the UK government because of the Premiership of his brother in Northern Ireland. When Edward Heath suspended the Stormont Government and Parliament in 1972, he asked Chichester-Clark to go with William Whitelaw to Northern Ireland as Minister of State. Chichester-Clark did not accept but later joined the administration as Minister of State for Employment.

Ulster Unionist Peer

The 7th Marquess of Londonderry, Charles Stewart was a Northern Ireland Senator, 1921-9 and NI Minister for Education, 1921-6. From 1928-35 he was a member of every Cabinet which had Conservative representation, as First Commissioner of Works, Secretary of State for Air, Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal