Progressive Unionist Party

The party was founded by Hugh Smyth in the mid-1970s as the "Independent Unionist Group" given the dissolution of the 1974 Volunteer Political Party. In 1977, two prominent members of the Northern Ireland Labour Party, David Overend and Jim McDonald, joined. Overend subsequently wrote many of the group's policy documents, incorporating much of the NILP's platform. In 1979, the group was renamed the "Progressive Unionist Party". Their position on the left of the political spectrum differentiates them from other unionist parties (such as the Ulster Unionist Party and the Democratic Unionist Party) which are ideologically right-wing. The party has had a degree of electoral success. In 1994,…

Following the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union, the PUP have been protesting against the Northern Ireland Protocol, part of the arrangements to prevent a 'hard border' in the Irish Sea. The party believes that the Protocol inhibits the Principle of consent, leading to Hutchinson saying that the PUP no longer support the Good Friday Agreement in November 2021. Conversely, in an interview on BBC's The View programme, John Kyle stated that the Protocol could have "significant advantages" if "fundamental" changes are made. Kyle's remarks sparked outrage among unionists, with the PUP releasing a statement clarifying that the party still remains opposed to the Protocol, and…