List of political parties in Northern Ireland facts for kids

Political parties in Northern Ireland are groups of people who share similar ideas about how the country should be run. They work together to get their members elected to government.

Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom, but its political system is quite different from the rest of the UK. For example, the main UK parties like the Labour Party and Liberal Democrats don't usually run in elections here. Instead, Northern Ireland has its own unique parties.

Many parties in Northern Ireland are based on people's religious and cultural backgrounds. Some parties, like Sinn Féin, are active across the whole island of Ireland. Others, like the Conservative Party, are part of UK-wide parties. But most parties are specific to Northern Ireland.

It can sometimes be tricky to put parties into simple "unionist," "nationalist," or "other" groups.

• Unionist parties want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom.
• Nationalist parties want Northern Ireland to join with the Republic of Ireland to form a united Ireland.
• Other parties try to focus on different issues, not just whether Northern Ireland should be part of the UK or a united Ireland. They often aim to bring people from different backgrounds together.

In the Northern Ireland Assembly, politicians must say if they are "Unionist," "Nationalist," or "Other." This helps with how the government is formed, as different groups need to share power.

Main Political Parties in Northern Ireland

Here are some of the main political parties that have members elected to local councils, the Northern Ireland Assembly, or the UK Parliament.

Party Details

Party		Founded	General Beliefs	Main Ideas	Designation	Leader(s)		Local Councils	Northern Ireland Assembly	UK Parliament (NI Seats)	House of Lords
	Sinn Féin English: We ourselves	1905 1970 (current form)	Centre-left to left-wing	Irish republicanism Democratic socialism Left-wing nationalism	Nationalist		Michelle O'Neill	144 / 462	27 / 90	7 / 18 (They do not take their seats)	N/A
	Democratic Unionist Party	1971	Right-wing	British unionism British nationalism National conservatism Right-wing populism Euroscepticism	Unionist		Gavin Robinson	122 / 462	25 / 90	8 / 18	6 / 779
	Alliance Party of Northern Ireland	1970	Centre-left	Liberalism Non-sectarianism Pro-Europeanism	Other		Naomi Long	67 / 462	17 / 90	1 / 18	0 / 779
	Ulster Unionist Party	1905	Centre-right	British unionism Conservatism	Unionist		Doug Beattie	54 / 462	9 / 90	N/A	2 / 779
	Social Democratic and Labour Party	1970	Centre-left	Social democracy Irish nationalism Pro-Europeanism	Nationalist		Colum Eastwood	39 / 462	8 / 90	2 / 18	0 / 779
	Traditional Unionist Voice	2007	Right-wing	British unionism Social conservatism Against the Good Friday Agreement Strongly against the EU	Unionist		Jim Allister	10 / 462	1 / 90	N/A	N/A
	People Before Profit	2005	Left-wing to far-left	Trotskyism Socialism Against capitalism Irish reunification	Other	N/A	Collective leadership	2 / 462	1 / 90	N/A	N/A
	Green Party NI	1985	Centre-left to left-wing	Green politics (focus on environment) Non-sectarianism Pro-European	Other	N/A	Malachai O'Hara	5 / 462	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Progressive Unionist Party	1985	Centre-left to left-wing	British unionism Ulster loyalism Democratic socialism Social democracy	Unionist	N/A	Russell Watton	1 / 462	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Northern Ireland Conservatives	1989	Centre-right	British unionism Conservatism Economic freedom	Unionist	N/A	Paul Leeman	N/A	N/A	N/A	3 / 779

How Parties are Represented

This table shows how many elected members each party has in different levels of government.

Other Registered Parties

These parties are officially registered but currently do not have elected members in the main government bodies listed above.

Nationalist and Republican Parties

Party		Founded	General Beliefs	Main Ideas	Leader(s)
	Aontú English: Unity	2019	N/A	Irish republicanism Social conservatism Slightly against the EU		Peadar Tóibín
	Communist Party of Ireland Irish: An Páirtí Cumannach na hÉireann	1933 1970 (restarted)	Far-left	Communism Marxism-Leninism Irish reunification	N/A	Jimmy Corcoran (General Secretary)
	Fianna Fáil English: Warriors of Fál or Soldiers of Destiny	1926	Centre to centre-right	Irish republicanism Conservatism Christian democracy Populism		Micheál Martin
	Irish Republican Socialist Party	1974	Far-left	Communism Marxism-Leninism Irish republicanism Dissident republicanism Strongly against the EU	N/A	Ard Chomhairle English: National Executive
	Republican Network for Unity	2007	Left-wing	Irish republicanism Dissident republicanism Socialism	N/A	N/A
	Saoradh English: Liberation	2016	Far-left	Irish republicanism Dissident republicanism Revolutionary socialism Strongly against the EU Against imperialism	N/A	Stephen Murney
	Workers' Party Irish: An Páirtí na nOibrithe	1905	Far-left	Communism Marxism-Leninism Irish republicanism	N/A	Collective leadership

Other Registered Parties (Not Unionist or Nationalist)

Images for kids

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  A flowchart showing many political parties that have existed in Northern Ireland's history.

See also

• Politics of Northern Ireland
• Lists of political parties