The New Ulster Movement (NUM) was a political pressure group in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

which aimed to promote moderate and non-sectarian policies and to help candidates who supported

Terence O'Neill Terence Marne O'Neill, Baron O'Neill of the Maine, PC (NI) (10 September 1914 – 12 June 1990), was the fourth prime minister of Northern Ireland and leader (1963–1969) of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). A moderate unionist, who sought ...

, the Northern Ireland Prime Minister, in the election on 24 February 1969 which saw a split between candidates of the ruling

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule m ...

. The organisation was established in early 1969 under the Chairmanship of Brian Walker, and soon had a membership of around 8,000 people. Later in the year,

Oliver Napier Sir Oliver Napier (11 July 1935 – 2 July 2011) was the first leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland. In 1974 he served as the first and only Legal Minister and head of the Office of Legal Reform in the Northern Ireland power-shar ...

of the

Ulster Liberal Party The Ulster Liberal Party was a liberal and non-sectarian political party in Northern Ireland linked to the British Liberal Party. The party was officially neutral on the constitutional position of Northern Ireland. Members expressed different vi ...

and Bob Cooper, formerly of the

, were appointed as joint Chairmen of its political committee.Thomas G. Mitchell, ''Indispensable Traitors'' Napier and Cooper wished to establish a new

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

, a position which was strongly opposed by Walker. A meeting of the NUM was held on 30 December 1969 to decide on the way forward, and a committee was elected to investigate the feasibility of launching a new party at Easter in 1970. David Corkey, a member of the NUM, stood as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

candidate in a by-election in South Antrim. He received 25.7% of the votes cast, and this helped build enthusiasm for the party. Napier and Cooper launched the

Alliance Party of Northern Ireland The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI), or simply Alliance, is a liberal and centrist political party in Northern Ireland. As of the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election, it is the third-largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembl ...

(APNI) on 21 April 1970, and used their access to the membership lists of the NUM to canvass for party members. Napier later estimated that 95–99% of NUM members left to join APNI, including eleven executive members. In October, the NUM rewrote its constitution to prevent it from intervening in elections, and redefined itself as a

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

. It dissolved in 1978.

References

{{Authority control Alliance Party of Northern Ireland Defunct political parties in Northern Ireland Political parties established in 1969 Political parties disestablished in 1978 1969 establishments in Northern Ireland 1978 disestablishments in Northern Ireland