The Ulster loyalist political parties : towards a new respectability

Abstract

This paper analyses the identity and politics of key sections of Ulster loyalism, particularly those represented by the Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) and the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP). This will be considered within the context of the contemporary « peace process » and the search for a negotiated settlement. It further examines the current politics and political discourse of the mam political representatives of loyalism, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). It also suggests the basis for some of the major conflicts within contemporary loyalism and outlines the political alternatives on offer to loyalists. Finally, it considers the responses of the Protestant working class to these processes and the possible future roles and political directions of the loyalist paramilitaries.