Unionism in the United Kingdom

Unionism in the United Kingdom is a political tradition that supports the state's continued unity and opposes the secession of its constituent nations or territories.

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Acts of Union 1707: Legislation united the kingdoms of England and Scotland as the Kingdom of Great Britain. The union of England and Scotland became a central constitutional foundation for British unionism.
Conservative Party (UK): A major British political party traditionally associated with maintaining the United Kingdom's territorial integrity. The party has often served as the principal UK-wide parliamentary vehicle for unionist politics.
Scottish independence: The political movement seeking to end Scotland's membership in the United Kingdom and establish an independent state. It is the principal modern challenge to the territorial unity unionists seek to preserve.
Government of Ireland Act 1920: A 1920 British law establishing separate parliaments for Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. It provided the legal framework for Northern Ireland's continued place within the United Kingdom.
Acts of Union 1800: Legislation united Great Britain and Ireland as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. This union made Ireland part of the state whose unity unionists later defended.
Democratic Unionist Party: A Northern Irish political party founded in 1971 that supports Northern Ireland remaining in the United Kingdom. It is a major contemporary party explicitly organized around Northern Ireland's place in the UK.
Welsh independence: The political movement seeking to establish Wales as a sovereign independent state. Its growth tests unionist claims that the UK remains a legitimate political home for Wales.
Good Friday Agreement: The 1998 agreement that established a framework for power-sharing and consent in Northern Ireland. It reconciled the constitutional dispute through a principle that Northern Ireland's status depends on majority consent.
Irish Home Rule movement: A campaign for an Irish parliament within the United Kingdom, especially prominent from the late nineteenth century. Its demand for devolved government provoked organized opposition among Irish and British unionists.
Ulster Unionist Party: A Northern Irish political party founded in 1905 that supports the union with Great Britain. It dominated unionist politics in Northern Ireland for much of the twentieth century.