The Ulster Third Way was the

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 ...

branch of the

Third Way The Third Way is a centrist political position that attempts to reconcile right-wing and left-wing politics by advocating a varying synthesis of centre-right economic policies with centre-left social policies. The Third Way was born from ...

and was organised by David Kerr, who had previously campaigned as an 'independent Unionist' (chairing the small North Belfast Independent Unionist Association) as well as for the

British National Front The National Front (NF) is a far-right, fascist political party in the United Kingdom. It is currently led by Tony Martin. As a minor party, it has never had its representatives elected to the British or European Parliaments, although it gai ...

. It followed an Ulster nationalist ideology.

Policies

As well as sharing the Third Way's aims U3W (as it is sometimes shortened to) was committed to securing independence for Northern Ireland from both the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. U3W tended to focus its attentions on trying to build up grass-roots support in loyalist areas, emphasising Ulster-Scots and the

Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ga, Cath na Bóinne ) was a battle in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II of England and Ireland, VII of Scotland, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and J ...

commemorations and has its main office in the Shankill area of

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

. It advocated the creation of an "all-Northern Ireland" identity as a basis for independence and as a solution to

the Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...

. During the 1990s it also advocated Protestants learning the

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

. Despite concentrating its efforts on the Protestant community U3W remained a very minor force in Northern Irish politics. The group published a journal ''Ulster Nation'', as well as irregular books and pamphlets about Ulster nationalism. The group compared its aims with those of

Neo-Confederate Neo-Confederates are groups and individuals who portray the Confederate States of America and its actions during the American Civil War in a positive light. The League of the South, the Sons of Confederate Veterans and other neo-Confederate org ...

in the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

and declared its support for the re-establishment of the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

. However, in an interview conducted for

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

in 2003 Kerr confirmed that, despite the group taking this position, U3W had established no formal links with any Neo-Confederate groups.

Elections

The party largely confined its activities to the Belfast West constituency, campaigning only there in the 2001 general election (with Kerr winning 116 votes for a 0.3% share).West Belfast elections
/ref> As well as in the west of

U3W also offered candidates in north Belfast in the 2001 local elections. The unsuccessful 2001 campaign was conducted entirely online by the party. Kerr represented the party in West Belfast again in the 2003 assembly election. The 16 votes the party captured in that election were the lowest province-wide. As leader of the group Kerr was also a candidate in the 1994 European election for the single Northern Ireland constituency under the title "Independent Ulster", capturing 578 votes (0.1%) to finish 14th out of 17 candidates. Kerr also served as a candidate for the larger

Ulster Independence Movement The Ulster Independence Movement was an Ulster nationalist political party founded (as the Ulster Independence Committee) on 17 November 1988. The group emerged from the Ulster Clubs, after a series of 15 public meetings across Northern Ireland. ...

Deregistration

The party deregistered on 8 December 2005. The name "National Liberal Party Ulster Third Way" was registered by the UK's National Liberal Party,Registration Search on

Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

website, accessed 13 May 2014. a group closely linked to Third Way.

References

External links

Ulster Nation webpage
{{Defunct political parties in Northern Ireland Defunct political parties in Northern Ireland Ulster nationalist parties Eurosceptic parties in the United Kingdom Third Position