The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention was an elected body set up in 1975 by the Labour government of Harold Wilson as an attempt to deal with constitutional issues surrounding the status of Northern Ireland. 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... The Labour Party is the principal centre-left political party in the United Kingdom (see British politics). ... This article is about the British politician. ... Royal motto: Quis separabit (Latin: Who will separate?) Northern Irelands location within the UK Official languages English, Irish, Ulster Scots Capital and largest city Belfast First Minister Office suspended Area  - Total Ranked 4th 13,843 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 4th 1,685,267 122/km² NUTS 1...

Formation of the Constitutional Convention

The idea for a NICC was first mooted by the Northern Ireland Office when it produced a white paper entitled The Northern Ireland Constitution [1] on the 4th July 1974. The document laid out plans to hold elections to a body which would seek to agree a political settlement for Northern Ireland. The proposals became law with the Northern Ireland Act of 1974 [2] later that month. With Lord Chief Justice Robert Lowry appointed to chair the new body, elections were announced for the 1st May 1975. The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) is an arm of the United Kingdom government, responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. ... A white paper can be an authoritative report on a major issue, as by a team of experts; a government report outlining policy; or a short treatise whose purpose is to educate (contrast position paper) industry customers. ... July 4 is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 180 days remaining. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... (Redirected from 1st May) May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ...

The elections were held for the 78 member assembly using the Single Transferable Vote system of proportional representation in each of Northern Ireland's existing 12 constituencies. Initially the body was intended to be purely consultative, although it was hoped that executive and legislative functions could be devolved to the NICC as agreements were made. This STV ballot for the Australian Senate illustrates group voting tickets. ... Proportional representation (PR) is any election system which ensures a proportionally representative result of a democratic election, x% of votes should be represented by x% in the democratic institutions, parliament or congress. ... A legislature is a governmental deliberative assembly with the power to adopt laws. ... Devolution or home rule is the granting of powers from central government to government at regional or local level. ...

Results

Unionists opposed to the NICC once again banded together under the umbrella of the United Ulster Unionist Council and this coalition proved the most successful. The eventual seat allocation was as follows. In the context of Irish politics, Unionists are people in Northern Ireland, who wish to see the continuation of the Act of Union 1800, as amended by the Government of Ireland Act 1920, under which Northern Ireland, created in that latter Act, remains part of the United Kingdom of Great...

• UUUC - 46 seats
  • Ulster Unionist Party - 19 seats
  • Vanguard Progressive Unionist Party - 14 seats
  • Democratic Unionist Party - 12 seats
  • Independent Unionist - 1 seat
• Social Democratic and Labour Party - 17 seats
• Alliance Party of Northern Ireland - 8 seats
• Unionist Party of Northern Ireland - 5 seats
• Northern Ireland Labour Party - 1 seat
• Independent Loyalist (later the PUP) - 1 seat

As well as Independents, the only other (unsuccessful) groups to stand were the Republican Clubs and the Communist Party of Ireland. The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP, sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or OUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland, and was the party of government in Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972. ... The Vanguard Progressive Unionist Party, also known as the Vanguard Ulster Progressive Party (and several variations of word order), was a unionist political party which existed in Northern Ireland between 1973 and 1978. ... The Democratic Unionist Party is a hardline Unionist party in Northern Ireland led by Ian Paisley. ... The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP — Irish: Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is the smaller of the two major nationalist parties in Northern Ireland. ... The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI), is a political party operating in Northern Ireland. ... The Unionist Party of Northern Ireland was a political party founded by Brian Faulkner in September 1974. ... The Northern Ireland Labour Party was a political party which operated from 1924 until the 1980s. ... The Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) are a small political party from Northern Ireland. ... The Workers Party (in Irish Páirtí na nOibrithe) is an Irish left wing political party that evolved from Official Sinn Féin. ... The Communist Party of Ireland (CPI) is a very small all-Ireland marxist party. ...

Leading Members

A number of leading Northern Irish politicians were elected to the NICC, increasing hope that the body might achieve some of its aims. Also elected were a number of younger figures who would go on to become leading figures in the future of Northern Irish politics. These included:

• Glenn Barr - VPUP
• Lord Brookeborough - UPNI
• William Craig - VPUP
• Austin Currie - SDLP
• Reg Empey - VPUP
• Brian Faulkner - UPNI
• Gerry Fitt - SDLP
• John Hume - SDLP
• James Kilfedder - UUP
• Seamus Mallon - SDLP
• Oliver Napier - APNI
• Ian Paisley - DUP
• Martin Smyth - UUP
• John Taylor - UUP
• David Trimble - VPUP
• Harry West - UUP

John Warden Brooke, 2nd Viscount Brookeborough was an Ulster Unionist politician, the son of the Northern Irish UUP leader, who succeeded his father as Stormont MP for Lisnaskea in 1968. ... The Right Honourable William Craig (b. ... http://www. ... Sir Reginald Empey (born October 26, 1947) is a Northern Ireland politician and Member of the Legislative Assembly for East Belfast. ... The Right Honourable Arthur Brian Deane Faulkner, Baron Faulkner of Downpatrick (February 18, 1922 - March 3, 1977) was the sixth and last Prime Minister of Northern Ireland from 1971 until 1972. ... Gerrard Gerry Fitt, Baron Fitt (9 April 1926 – 26 August 2005) was a Northern Irish politician. ... John Hume John Hume (born January 18, 1937) is an Northern Irish politician. ... Sir James Alexander Kilfedder (July 16, 1928–March 20, 1995) was a Northern Ireland unionist politician. ... Seamus Mallon (born on August 17, 1936) is Northern Ireland politician and former Deputy Leader of the nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party. ... Sir Oliver Napier was the first leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland. ... The Reverend and Right Honourable Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, MP, MLA (born 6 April 1926), known widely in Northern Ireland as Dr. Ian Paisley, is a prominent politician and church leader from Northern Ireland, and is head of the Democratic Unionist Party. ... Reverend William Martin Smyth (born June 15, 1931) is a Northern Ireland unionist politician, and was Ulster Unionist Party Member of Parliament for South Belfast 1982-2005. ... John David Taylor, Baron Kilclooney, PC (NI), MLA (born December 24, 1937) is a former Ulster Unionist Party MP and now a life peer. ... The Right Honourable David Trimble (born on October 15, 1944 in Belfast) is a Northern Ireland politician, and former leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), former First Minister of Northern Ireland. ... Harry West (March 27, 1917-February 5, 2004) was a politician in Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party from 1974 until 1979. ...

Progress of the NICC

The elections left the body fundamentally weakened from its inception as an overall majority had been obtained by those Unionists who opposed power sharing as a concept. As a result the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention Report published on 20th November 1975 [3] recommended only a return to majority rule as had previously existed under the old Parliament of Northern Ireland government. As such a solution was completely unacceptable to the nationalist parties, the NICC was placed on hiatus. (Redirected from 20th November) November 20 is the 324th day of the year (325th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which existed from June 7, 1921 to March 30, 1972, when it was suspended. ...

Hoping to gain something from the exercise, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Merlyn Rees announced that the NICC would be reconvened on 3rd February 1976. However a series of meetings held between the UUUC and the SDLP failed to reach any agreement about SDLP participation in government and so the reconvened NICC once again produced the same results. As a result Rees announced the dissolution of the body on the 9th March 1976 and Northern Ireland was returned to direct rule. The NICC had, overall, been a failure as it failed to lessen the impasse in Northern Irish politics and so no changes enacted. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is the British cabinet minister who has responsibility for the government of Northern Ireland. ... Merlyn Rees, Baron Merlyn-Rees, PC (born 1920), was a British Labour party Member of Parliament from 1963 until 1992. ... February 3 is the 34th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... March 9 is the 68th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (69th in Leap years). ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Direct Rule is the term given to the running of the day-to-day administration of Northern Ireland directly from Westminster. ...

Significance of the NICC

On the face of it, the NICC was a total failure as it did not achieve its aims of agreement between the two sides or of introducing 'rolling devolution' (gradual introduction of devolution as and when the parties involved saw fit to accept it). Nevertheless, coming as it did not long after the Conservative-sponsored Sunningdale Agreement, the NICC indicated that no British government would be prepared to re-intorduce majority rule in Northern Ireland. Not long after the collapse of the NICC, William Craig accepted the possibility of power-sharing with the SDLP, a move that split the UUUC and precipitated the eventual collapse of the Vanguard. The Conservative Party is the largest political party on the centre-right in the United Kingdom. ... The Sunningdale Agreement on December 9, 1973, was an attempt to end the Northern Ireland troubles by forcing unionists to share power with nationalists. ...

The idea of electing a consultative body to thrash out a deal for devolution was also retained and in 1996 it was revived when the Northern Ireland Forum was elected on largely the same lines and with the same overall purpose. Given that the Forum led to the Belfast Agreement and the Northern Ireland Assembly, the importance of the NICC as a model for this second body is clear. 1996 (MCMXCVI) is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... The Belfast Agreement (also known as the Good Friday Agreement and, more rarely, as the Stormont Agreement) was a major step in the Northern Ireland peace process. ... The logo of the Northern Ireland Assembly is a six flowered linen or flax plant, chosen for the plants historical economic importance to the region. ...

External link

• A full discussion of the election results