DUP expanding outside Northern Ireland?

Is it possible for the Democratic Unionist Party to extend its reach outside of Northern Ireland, contesting elections in Great Britain? Could this possibly happen if, for example, the Conservative Party moves in a more centrist (economically and socially) direction? I'd be interested to see if such a situation could be possible (even if, of course, not favourable)...
 
Is it possible for the Democratic Unionist Party to extend its reach outside of Northern Ireland, contesting elections in Great Britain? Could this possibly happen if, for example, the Conservative Party moves in a more centrist (economically and socially) direction? I'd be interested to see if such a situation could be possible (even if, of course, not favourable)...

I'm going to go with No to be honest. They are far to hardline on social issues, not too mention they weren't even a majority until the UUP (which had connections to the Tories) declined.
 
Not to mention that they are well to the left of the Conservative party on economic issues and essentially a working and lower middle class reaction against an upper class dominated traditional Unionist party (basically a homophobic and sectarian version of centrist Labour or the LibDems). They are perceived outside NI as extremely right wing because they are anti-gay marriage and anti-nationalist (and a generation ago would be openly anti-Catholic). However they are strongly in favour of state spending and economic intervention. More likelihood of them hoovering up working class votes from a leftward swinging Labour than them appealing to ultra Tories I would imagine.
 
If anything it would probably be counterproductive.

Their raison d'etre was keepig Northern Ireland in the U.K. and preserving the privileged position of the Unionist community. Building a national profile would be counterproductive to keeping those things out of people's minds.
 
Maybe. Their mix of ideologies might work in parts of the UK, as seen by the Brexit results, where their windy mix of populism, nationalism and socialism flavoured with social conservatism might appeal to former Labour voters.
In fact, and I mean this in a strictly historical sense, their policies somewhat resemble those of the NSDAP.
 

shiftygiant

Gone Fishin'
As you may (actually you probably aren't because of how obscure this was) be aware, the DUP opened up a branch in Liverpool in 1999 and sought recruits among the Orangemen of the city, with Glasgow and London cited as possible future expansions. I can't find exactly what happened, but I understand the failure of the Liverpool branch to be related to a lack of interest even among the cities Orangemen. Of course then in 2004 Basingstoke MP Andrew Hunter joined the DUP, even going so far as to, after leaving Parliament, make plans to start a new career in Ulster, though he couldn't in the end due to family issues. It's also notable that the DUP have had some mainland presence, such as their infamous and surreal Metro wrap-around.

Now, it is notable that Hunter was a Monday Clubber, a member of the right-wing Conservative pressure group (though at the time of his defection the Monday Club had been deaffiliated for three years). It it also notable that the DUP wanted to exploit the vacuum left by the 1997 election in Liverpool. So what would be clear to me is that, for the DUP to really work on the mainland, it has to come in the wake of a far worse 1997 where there will be this far worse vacuum that can be exploited- perhaps even a genuine split in the Conservative Party. There is some appeal in working class oriented social conservatism and British Unionism, however the question becomes in how much initial support the DUP!Mainland can garner (be it council defections and MP's joining), and how far they can expand before the Conservative Party stabilises.
 
Other than a small number ultra-conservative Orange Protestants in Glasgow, who'd even care about them???

In their pure form (anti catholic party serving a tribal interest), that is about all who are going to care about them.

But.... not all political parties remain "pure". As Catsmate mentioned, some parts of their message which mixes political unionism with doses of economic socialism could be appealing to a cross section of mainland Britains. My guess is that to be effective, the DUP would need to modify their message and distance themselves from their tribal origins. Maybe.....

- De emphasize the anti Catholicism. This might be easier than it seems. Most of the elements in NI's tribal dispute were political, not religious. Sure, there were / are DUP members who have a deep animosity towards Catholicism as a religion, but these are few in number- and can be left in NI.

- De-emphasize their tribal interests and their connection to the associated tribal dispute. This could be harder to do, but de-emphasizing their "Orangeness" might be a good start.
 
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As you may (actually you probably aren't because of how obscure this was) be aware, the DUP opened up a branch in Liverpool in 1999 and sought recruits among the Orangemen of the city, with Glasgow and London cited as possible future expansions. I can't find exactly what happened, but I understand the failure of the Liverpool branch to be related to a lack of interest even among the cities Orangemen. Of course then in 2004 Basingstoke MP Andrew Hunter joined the DUP, even going so far as to, after leaving Parliament, make plans to start a new career in Ulster, though he couldn't in the end due to family issues. It's also notable that the DUP have had some mainland presence, such as their infamous and surreal Metro wrap-around.

Now, it is notable that Hunter was a Monday Clubber, a member of the right-wing Conservative pressure group (though at the time of his defection the Monday Club had been deaffiliated for three years). It it also notable that the DUP wanted to exploit the vacuum left by the 1997 election in Liverpool. So what would be clear to me is that, for the DUP to really work on the mainland, it has to come in the wake of a far worse 1997 where there will be this far worse vacuum that can be exploited- perhaps even a genuine split in the Conservative Party. There is some appeal in working class oriented social conservatism and British Unionism, however the question becomes in how much initial support the DUP!Mainland can garner (be it council defections and MP's joining), and how far they can expand before the Conservative Party stabilises.
Do this
 
As you may (actually you probably aren't because of how obscure this was) be aware, the DUP opened up a branch in Liverpool in 1999 and sought recruits among the Orangemen of the city, with Glasgow and London cited as possible future expansions. I can't find exactly what happened, but I understand the failure of the Liverpool branch to be related to a lack of interest even among the cities Orangemen. Of course then in 2004 Basingstoke MP Andrew Hunter joined the DUP, even going so far as to, after leaving Parliament, make plans to start a new career in Ulster, though he couldn't in the end due to family issues. It's also notable that the DUP have had some mainland presence, such as their infamous and surreal Metro wrap-around.

Now, it is notable that Hunter was a Monday Clubber, a member of the right-wing Conservative pressure group (though at the time of his defection the Monday Club had been deaffiliated for three years). It it also notable that the DUP wanted to exploit the vacuum left by the 1997 election in Liverpool. So what would be clear to me is that, for the DUP to really work on the mainland, it has to come in the wake of a far worse 1997 where there will be this far worse vacuum that can be exploited- perhaps even a genuine split in the Conservative Party. There is some appeal in working class oriented social conservatism and British Unionism, however the question becomes in how much initial support the DUP!Mainland can garner (be it council defections and MP's joining), and how far they can expand before the Conservative Party stabilises.

I could see them maybe filling some sort of UKIP style vacuum - though it'd be far smaller and they'd need to be seen to be a far less Protestant orientated to allow something like that to happen.
 

Bulldoggus

Banned
Not to mention that they are well to the left of the Conservative party on economic issues and essentially a working and lower middle class reaction against an upper class dominated traditional Unionist party (basically a homophobic and sectarian version of centrist Labour or the LibDems). They are perceived outside NI as extremely right wing because they are anti-gay marriage and anti-nationalist (and a generation ago would be openly anti-Catholic). However they are strongly in favour of state spending and economic intervention. More likelihood of them hoovering up working class votes from a leftward swinging Labour than them appealing to ultra Tories I would imagine.
I could see a Christian Democrat-y offshoot, perhaps. Tries to win Old Labour types by running left on the economy and right on social issues.
 

shiftygiant

Gone Fishin'
:p
I could see them maybe filling some sort of UKIP style vacuum - though it'd be far smaller and they'd need to be seen to be a far less Protestant orientated to allow something like that to happen.
It's likely that they shift a focus on Law & Order over 'the Papists', and given the state of Britain at the Millennium, this will probably see some success.

However regarding their economic stance on the mainland, it's going to be informed by who jumps aboard. If the Tories shift towards the centre and modernise like Hague wanted, you'll see the more hardcore Thatcherite's and Monday Clubber's try and find a new home, and if that's in the DUP, then they'll pull the DUP-M into that direction, likely causing a rift in the DUP-U and DUP-M. If it's more a natural progression, picking up traditionally Conservatives who are to the right but aren't against the economic policy, and the WWC who aren't keen on immigration and crime but think the economic policy is fine and dandy, you'd end up with a more homogeneous cross-Irish Sea party. That said, I don't see the DUP-U and DUP-M surviving as a single party, and at some point there would likely be a split.
 
Didn't something like this just happen?

Well, if you're talking about the post-election horse trading, all that could happen is that the DUP members will enter into a pact to support the Tories in the House Of Commons. But that wouldn't qualify as an expansion, as all the DUP MPs will still be from Northern Ireland.

EDIT: CROSS-POSTED WITH GONZO.
 
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