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The Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) are a small political party from Northern Ireland. They were formed from the Independent Unionist Group operating in the Shankill area of Belfast becoming the PUP in 1979. Linked to the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) they are the left-wing party of unionism in Northern Ireland, with their main support base in the Protestant working class communities of Belfast.The party has had a degree of electoral success. In 1994 PUP leader Hugh Smyth became Lord Mayor of Belfast, and in the 1996 elections to the Northern Ireland Forum they secured two seats, with Billy Hutchinson and David Ervine both being elected. The PUP supported the Belfast Agreement and in the 1998 election to the Northern Ireland Assembly they also won two seats, with representatives elected from the Belfast North and East constituencies.
Their position on the left of the political spectrum differentiates them from the other unionist parties (such as the Ulster Unionist PartyThe Ulster Unionist Party UUP sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or OUP is a political party in Northern Ireland representing the unionist community, and was the party of government in Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972. Until 2003 i and the Democratic Unionist PartyThe Democratic Unionist Party is a hardline Unionist party in Northern Ireland led by Ian Paisley. It is the largest unionist party at both the Northern Ireland Assembly level and in the Westminster Parliament. Established in the 1970s by Ian Paisley, it) which tend to be more conservative in outlook.
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Northern Ireland political parties
