TUV Manifesto Analysis
Traditional Unionist Voices (TUV) is a moderate-to-far right political party who advocates for the strongest form of unionism in the assembly. Due to Jim Allister being the only member of the party, it is solely represented by his interests. This would explain the obsession with espousing a hardline position on the unionist agenda which affects every facet of the parties thinking. Unlike other parties where the opinion on the national question informs the political opinion, the TUV can only find answers to political questions if they are posed in the form of a national question. This is represented in the manifesto where the TUV’s own ideological position can be difficult to find on various issues as the party only describes what they do not believe in and who they disagree with. Despite this, there is a blurred right wing view which can be found from the party with a rejection of any left leaning ideals (outside of support for the NHS - as it is seen as a British institution, again informed by their position on the national question).
The TUV received a 44% right rating (however, when removing some less coherent sections of the manifesto, we found it to be closer to 60% to the right).
For the most part, their positions are predictable for a moderate-to-far right party. One of their first non-sectarian points is proclaiming their support for traditional family values and their opposition to abortion. They vigorously support the military and police force while also taking a hardline against paramilitarism within Northern Ireland. They are economically centre right, with a support for generally lowering taxes and providing less funding for some institutions.
In general, when a right/left position can be pulled from the TUV manifesto, it is clear that the beliefs are of a moderate-to-far right variety. However, the manifesto lacks much in the way of policy responses to issues, which creates a clear image of Jim Allister’s intent with the party in its current form. The idea of actually creating policy or growing his base is not of interest to Jim Allister at this point in his career. After all, why would a moderate-to-far right unionist vote for Jim Allister when the DUP inhibits a similar ideological position (even though they are not as radical) and are in a better position to maintain the union. Jim Allister’s true role in Northern Irish politics truly lies in his ability to criticize the DUP and Sinn Fein every chance he can get. When either of the big two attempt to push through policy or skip debates, Jim is always vocal about the perceived underhanded nature of Assembly dealings. In that, it must be given to Jim Allister, he often plays the role of opposition better than either the UUP or the SDLP.
