Units 4.9 to 4.12 summary

The executive takes power
1. On the first of January the power sharing executive and assembly took power but before long the future of power sharing looked bleak
  1. On the fourth of January the ruling committee of the UUP voted to reject the Sunningdale Agreement
    1. In response Brian Faulkner resigned as leader and was replaced by Harry West
    2. This was because of the so-called 'Irish Dimension'
    3. 19 of 21 Ulster Unionist Assembly members still supported Faulkner and so he stayed on as chief executive
      1. Although, it was clear he was isolated within unionism
  2. At the end of February 1974 a General Election for the Westminster Parliament was held
    1. All but one of the seats won in NI were UUUC MPs who opposed power sharing, the Sunningdale Agreement and Faulkner
      1. The result showed that most people in NI opposed the agreement
    2. The UUC portrayed the General election as a referendum on the Sunningdale Agreement
More impacts of the 1974 General Election
1. A new Labour Government in London
  1. The election led to a change of government in London with the Conservatives losing to the labour Party
    1. Edward heath was replaced as PM by Harold Wilson
      1. Merlyn Rees became the new secretary of state
        He was then forced to spend a lot of his time in London and didn't spend enough time trying to keep power sharing up and running in NI
2. These political developments took place at the same time as the violence continued and the 100th victim of the troubles was killed on April 1974 (James May)
  1. As well as this, regular unionist protests continued against the Sunningdale Agreement
    1. The British government insisted there was no alternative
The Ulster Worker's Strike
1. The Background and Aim
  1. On the 14th of may 1974, a debate was held in the NI Assembly on power sharing and the Council of Ireland
    1. Defeated by 44 votes to 28
    2. Shortly after, Harry Murray who was the Harland and Wolff shop steward and Ulster Workers Council organiser told journalists that a general strike would begin the day after
      1. The UWC was a group of Protestant Trade Unionists who had gained a lot of political and paramilitary support
        Their aim was to show 'grassroots' unionist opposition to the Sunningdale Agreement
2. The Strike
  1. At first, support for the strike was limited but intimidation by the UDA and better coordination by the UWC meant that by the end of the first week, NI came to a standstill which lasted 14 days
    1. Attempts were made by some trade unionists to organise back-to-work demonstartions but these got little support
    2. The country was brought to a standstill for 14 days
3. The British Government's response to the UWC strike
  1. The army
    1. Although there were 17500 soldiers stationed in NI, they were wary of taking action as they though the strike was a political not terrorist action
  2. The British PM
    1. Harold Wilson ran out of patience with the situation and went on Tv on the 25th of may to denounce the strike and called the organisers 'spongers'
      1. this was interpreted by unionists as an attack on them and galvanised support for the strike and wore a sponge to show their support the following morning
4. Dublin and Monaghan bombings (17th may 1974)
  1. car bombs believed to have been planted by loyalists exploded killing 33 and wounding 300 more
The Re-introduction of Direct Rule
1. Although the government was not prepared to use the army to break the strike, it did order it to take over twenty petrol stations
  1. In response the UWC ordered a total shutdown across NI and that at midnight Ballylumford power station would be closed as the workers joined the strike
2. Faulkner resigned as Chief Executive on the 28th of may as the SDLP were refusing to negotiate and there were no other obvious solutions
  1. The other unionist members then resigned thus ending power sharing
3. Having achieved its goal of showing its opposition to power sharing, the UWC called off the strike on the 29th of may 1974
  1. The assembly was suspended on the 30th of may and direct rule was re introduced

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