The Volunteer Political Party was a political party formed in Northern Ireland in 1974 by members of the then recently legalised Ulster Volunteer Force under the leadership of Ken Gibson. The UVF had been banned by the Unionist government in 1966 but legalised at the same time as Sinn Féin by Labour Secretary of State Merlyn Rees in April 1974 in order to encourage a political path for loyalist and republican extremists. It contested the West Belfast seat in the October 1974 UK general election, claiming to stand for the working class, but won only 2,690 votes. The Elections and Parties Series Democracy Representative democracy History of democracy Referenda Liberal democracy Representation Voting Voting systems Ideology Elections Elections by country Elections by calendar Electoral systems Politics Politics by country Political campaigns Political science Political philosophy Related topics Political parties Parties by country Parties by name Parties by... 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... 1974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is a loyalist paramilitary (terrorist) group in Northern Ireland. ... The name Sinn Féin (pronounced in English, in Irish), which means ourselves or we ourselves (not as sometimes incorrectly translated, ourselves alone or we alone) has been applied to a series of political movements since 1905 in Ireland, each of which claim or claimed sole descent from the original... Merlyn Rees, Baron Merlyn-Rees, PC (born 1920), was a British Labour party Member of Parliament from 1963 until 1992. ... West Belfast is a Parliamentary Constituency in the House of Commons and also an Assembly constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly. ... The UK general election of October 1974 took place on October 10, 1974. ... The term working class is used to denote a social class. ...

Given this failure, the party was dissolved, most of its members returning to the UVF some of whom were later to form the Progressive Unionist Party. The UVF returned to war and was banned again by the British government in October 1975. The Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) are a small political party from Northern Ireland. ...