UUP Manifesto Analysis
The UUP (Ulster unionist party) is a centrist political party focusing on maintaining Northern Ireland as part of the UK. In recent times the UUP has been in the shadow of the DUP’s electoral success and has become Unionism’s more nuanced party. It sits 20% left on the Beyond NI scale.
In terms of economic policy the UUP has mainly used centrist approaches, focusing on keeping Northern Ireland competitive with the ROI while also supporting the most vulnerable in society with some economic government intervention. However it must be stated that they use a mix of lowering taxes while also forming new ones. It supports abolishing Air traffic tax, lowering the hospitality sector’s taxes while also supporting a new concessionary VAT rate of 5% for the repair and maintenance of current homes. The UUP also supports the triple lock pension scheme which states that the UK pension will rise in line with inflation. Additionally, the UUP is keen to see that over 75’s do not have to pay the licence fee.
In terms of healthcare the UUP is essentially a left wing party. It is critical of the privatisation of the NHS, has voted against the reliance of agencies in the Northern Irish NHS and advocates for nurses to receive a pay rise. The party has also been extremely vocal for appointing a mental health champion, which it established earlier this year (2020). The UUP also wants to see increased borrowing in favour of the health sector to the tune of £200 million.
In terms of environmental policies, the party has keen targets of planting one million trees by 2025, introducing Northern Ireland specific climate change act (only place in the UK not to have one) and establishing a Northern Ireland environmental protection act which would set zero emission targets by 2035. This is specifically interesting as Westminster states that it wants to zero emission for the UK as a whole by 2050.
When it comes to education, again, the party shows left leanings, it wants to see lower interest rates for university loans and remove the cap in order to allow more students to study within Northern Ireland. The party also wants to see a single state education system to ensure that children from all socio - economic backgrounds are educated together.
In terms of international outlook, the party has its policy goals firmly based in right wing ideology, as it wants to ensure the survival of NATO and to see the UK maintain its 2% GDP commitment.
In conclusion the UUP is a Centrist party encompassing both right and left ideology. While it sits slightly left on our scale due to its out look on healthcare and education, its view on social norms and the economy being so Centrist may cause confusion among left wing voters who see the party as having one foot in, one foot out. It’s even more confusing when you factor in that their former leader David Trimble is a conservative lord and when the party had MEP’s they aligned themselves with the ECR.
It is clear that the party does not have the clearest message when approaching the electorate. While self-describing itself as the voice of nuance and reason, it has to be questioned if its subtle messaging gets lost in the arena of highly divided political camps.
