William Joseph Long

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(23 April 1922 – 10 February 2008) was a Unionist

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

Early life

Long was born in

Stockton-on-Tees Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in County Durham, England, with a population of 84,815 at the 2021 UK census. It gives its name to and is the largest settlement in the wider Borough of Stockton-on-Tees. It is part of Teesside and the Tees Val ...

in England and studied at the Friends' School in

Great Ayton Great Ayton is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. The River Leven (a tributary of the River Tees) flows through the village, which lies just north of the North York Moors. According to the 2021 Census, the parish has a popu ...

, the

Royal Veterinary College The Royal Veterinary College (informally the RVC) is a veterinary school located in London and a member institution of the federal University of London. The RVC was founded in 1791 and joined the University of London in 1949. It is the oldest an ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

. He became an officer in the

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was an Ireland, Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot and the 108th (Ma ...

and was posted to Northern Ireland in 1940. While there, he married Doreen Mercer, a local doctor, and in 1942, the two settled in Northern Ireland.Anne McHardy,
Obituary: William Long
, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 11 April 2008 Long left the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

in 1948 and became the Secretary of the Northern Ireland Marriage Guidance Council. In 1951, he became Secretary of the Northern Ireland Chest and Heart Association.Captain William Long
, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 15 April 2008 He joined the

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded as the Ulster Unionist Council in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it l ...

, and was elected to

Donaghadee Donaghadee ( , ) is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the northeast coast of the Ards Peninsula, about east of Belfast and about six miles (10 km) south east of Bangor, County Down, Bangor. It is in the Civil paris ...

Urban District Council In England and Wales, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected urban district council (UDC), which shared local government responsibilities with a county council. ...

in 1952, serving as chairman from 1955 until 1964. He was also a member of Down County Council Health and Education Committees.

Parliamentary career

At the

1962 Northern Ireland general election The 1962 Northern Ireland general election was held on 31 May 1962. While the Ulster Unionist Party lost three seats, they retained a large majority as in all previous elections to the Parliament of Northern Ireland. Results ''Al ...

, Long was elected MP for

Ards Ards (or ARDS, ARDs) may refer to: Medical * ARDS, Acute respiratory distress syndrome * ARDs, age-related diseases Places * Ards Peninsula, Northern Ireland ** Ards (territory), several historical territorial divisions on the Ards Peninsula ...

. Soon after his election, he made headlines by accusing the management of the

Harland and Wolff Harland & Wolff Holdings plc is a British shipbuilding and Metal fabrication, fabrication company headquartered in London with sites in Belfast, Arnish yard, Arnish, Appledore, Torridge, Appledore and Methil. It specialises in ship repair, ship ...

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...

of introducing "capital punishment" by sacking 2,000 men during a strike.Captain William Long
, ''

Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was foun ...

'', 14 April 2008 Long initially focussed on representing the

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

industry in his constituency, and when

Terence O'Neill Terence Marne O'Neill, Baron O'Neill of the Maine, Privy Council of Northern Ireland, 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). ...

became

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

in 1964, he appointed Long as Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, with special responsibility for fisheries. Long proved loyal to O'Neill and was rewarded in 1966 with promotion to

Minister for Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

. Long aimed to integrate

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

schools into the state school system, which overwhelmingly took pupils from

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

families. He negotiated a small role for the state in Catholic school governance in exchange for increasing state funding for those schools to cover all their costs. When in October 1968 students linked to the socialist group People's Democracy organised a

sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...

, Long joined them but asked them to go home. He refused to sign their petition and was not able to convince them to leave.

Minister of Home Affairs

In December 1968, Long was promoted to

Minister of Home Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

. Initially, he was minded to move to repeal legislation permitting

detention without trial Indefinite detention is the incarceration of an arrested person by a national government or law enforcement agency for an indefinite amount of time without a trial. The Human Rights Watch considers this practice as violating national and internatio ...

. Two weeks after his appointment, People's Democracy activists launched their Belfast-to-Derry march, calling for

electoral An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated s ...

and legal reform, action to reduce unemployment and to provide decent homes. Long met with

Ian Paisley Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, (6 April 1926 – 12 September 2014) was a loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader from Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 1971 to 2008 and ...

and Ronald Bunting, who called on him to ban the march. Long refused to so, and the march set off. It was attacked by

loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

s on several occasions, finally at Burntollet Bridge where there were numerous injuries. Long claimed that Paisley and Bunting had not "threatened or hinted that their followers would cause any trouble in Derry", and claimed that Paisley's supporters had not participated in the violence. The ''

Belfast Telegraph The ''Belfast Telegraph'' is a daily newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by Independent News & Media, which also publishes the Irish Independent, the Sunday Independent and various other newspapers and magazines in Ireland. Its e ...

'' disputed this, and claimed that Long was being partisan. The following week, People's Democracy organised a march in

Newry Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, standing on the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Down, Down and County Armagh, Armagh. It is near Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, the border with the ...

. It was again surrounded by violence, and several police officers were injured. O'Neill claimed that this showed that People's Democracy was not a non-violent organisation. He responded to this by introducing a new Public Order Bill, which amended the

Public Order Act (Northern Ireland) 1951 The Public Order Act (Northern Ireland) 1951 (1951 c. 19 (N.I.)) was an act of the Parliament of Northern Ireland. The Act concerned meetings and 'non traditional' parades, although a 1970 amendment considerably broadened the Act's scope to inclu ...

and among other measures made it an offence to knowingly take part in an illegal procession or meeting.

Later political career

After only three months as Minister of Home Affairs, in March 1969, Long moved to become Minister of Development. He was appointed to a four-person cabinet Security Committee which, in April, decided to request British troops to maintain order. Long loyally supported O'Neill, and when he resigned in May, many people expected Long to lose his cabinet role. Instead, new Prime Minister

James Chichester-Clark James Dawson Chichester-Clark, Baron Moyola (12 February 1923 – 17 May 2002) was the penultimate Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and eighth leader of the Ulster Unionist Party between 1969 and March 1971. He was Member of the Northern I ...

moved Long back to the Minister of Education post. In August 1969, Long had a 95-minute meeting with Paisley. Paisley had a list of demands to which Long listened patiently but did not act upon. He attended the funerals of some members of the

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the ...

and British Army who were killed in

The Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...

, and placed more welfare officers in inner city schools after claiming that riots were poisoning children's minds. Long remained in post under

Brian Faulkner Arthur Brian Deane Faulkner, Baron Faulkner of Downpatrick, (18 February 1921 – 3 March 1977), was the sixth and last Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, from March 1971 until his resignation in March 1972. He was also the Chief Executive ...

, despite speculation that he might resign in protest at increased use of

internment Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...

. When

British Prime Minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet, and selects its ministers. Modern pri ...

Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 ...

imposed direct rule, Long protested that this was merely a political gambit, in exchange for Labour Party leader

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...

softening his party's opposition to Britain joining the

Common Market A single market, sometimes called common market or internal market, is a type of trade bloc in which most trade barriers have been removed (for goods) with some common policies on product regulation, and freedom of movement of the factors of ...

. He opposed

Willie Whitelaw William Stephen Ian Whitelaw, 1st Viscount Whitelaw (28 June 1918 – 1 July 1999) was a British Conservative Party politician who served in a wide number of Cabinet positions, most notably as Home Secretary from 1979 to 1983 and as '' de fac ...

's reduced use of internment, claiming that "there is no doubt units of the IRA that have been broken down by internment have been able to become active again". Long was also President of the Yorkshire Association for a British Ulster; in April 1974, a member was charged with

gun running Arms trafficking or gunrunning is the illicit trade of contraband small arms, explosives, and ammunition, which constitutes part of a broad range of illegal activities often associated with transnational criminal organizations. The illegal tra ...

to violent loyalists, a group which Long had described as "the very antithesis of Loyalism".

Life after politics

Out of politics, Long became the owner and skipper of a fishing boat, and also the Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Fish Producers' Association. In 1982, he chaired the UK Association of Fish Producing Organisations. He was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the 1985

New Year Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

, and retired in 1987, soon moving to

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

. In 2007, he married Valerie Bryans, who had been his secretary at Stormont.

References