Ulster Vanguard
Ulster Vanguard was a pressure group within unionism in Northern Ireland, launched under the leadership of William Craig at the beginning of 1972. It had its own paramilitary wing, the Vanguard Service Corps. In 1973 it became the Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party, but it re-emerged in 1978 when the party was wound up.[1]
Formation
A 1972 report for the Northern Ireland Ministry of Home Affairs, gave the following account of Vanguard's genesis:
- In mid-October, 1971, a group of "dissident Unionists met in Portadown and formed a fourteen man steering committee headed by William Craig M.P. in order to draft policies in opposition to policy changes proposed by the Government.[2]
According to the document, the "aims of the organisation would be to maintain Northern Ireland's Constitution; restore the powers taken away from Stormont in the field of internal security and 'the disastrous policies over the last few years'."[2]
External Resources
- CAIN, (1972). 'Ulster Unionist Vanguard', (23 March 1972), PRONI Public Records HA/32/5/10; 3 page, [PDF; 511KB]. Belfast: PRONI.
Notes
- ↑ W.D. Flackes, Sydney Elliot, Northern Ireland: A Political Directory 1968-88, Blackstaff Press, 1989, pp.285-286.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 CAIN, (1972). 'Ulster Unionist Vanguard', (23 March 1972), PRONI Public Records HA/32/5/10; 3 page, [PDF; 511KB]. Belfast: PRONI.
