Brief Biography:

Bill Craig entered politics in 1960 when returned as the new Unionist MP for the constituency of Larne in the Stormont parliament(1960-72). Craig soon established himself within the parliamentary party and this then led to a number of ministerial positions as Chief Whip (1962-63), Minister of Home Affairs (1963-64), Minister of Health and Local Government (1964-65), Minister of Development (1965-66), and Minister of Home Affairs (1966-68). It was in this latter role that he provoked some controversy in October 1968 by banning a proposed civil rights march through Derry. When the demonstration went ahead on 5 October the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) broke-up the march using batons and left many people injured including a number of MPs. For many historians and commentators the events of the day marked the beginning of 'the Troubles'.

In the wake of the events in Derry it came as no surprise when Craig was sacked as Minister of Home Affairs by Captain Terence O'Neill, then Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, in December 1968. For some time relations between the two had been strained over O'Neill's failure, in the view of Craig, to take a tougher line on the civil rights movement as a whole. As a consequence of recent developments the disputes between both men had now become impossible to solve and as a result O'Neill chose to act. On the backbenches Craig became a critic of government policies, not only of O'Neill but those of his successors James Chichester-Clark and Brian Faulkner. In March 1972 following the suspension of Stormont Craig was at the forefront of demonstrations against the introduction of direct rule from Westminster.

To assist with this campaign he went on to form the Ulster Vanguard Movement. This later evolved in 1973 into the Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party (VUPP) and with Craig as its leader the VUPP proposed a policy of independence for Northern Ireland. He was then elected in June 1973 to the Northern Ireland Assembly (1973-74) and for East Belfast (1974-79) in the Westminster general election of February 1974. As a result of his opposition to the 1973 Sunningdale Agreement and the power sharing Executive (January-May 1974) Craig joined with other elements of Loyalist and Unionist opinion in the United Ulster Unionist Council (UUUC). In addition he was also to play a part in the Ulster Workers' Council (UWC) strike of May 1974 which was to bring down both the Executive and the Assembly. He then led the VUUP into the Constitutional Convention (1975-76) but his subsequent support for the creation of a voluntary coalition of parties, including the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), to administer Northern Ireland was opposed by many of his former allies. As a result the VUPP split and whilst a few supported him the majority of the party left to create their own organisation. By 1978 the VUPP had ceased to exist as a meaningful party although for a time it did it attempt to revert back to its origins as a political pressure group. When this too failed Craig rejoined the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and at the 1979 Westminster general election stood for the UUP in East Belfast. His narrow defeat in the contest marked an effective end of his political career although on occasions he has spoken out on political developments in Northern Ireland.

Book References:

Anderson, Don. (1994), 14 May Days: The Inside Story of the Loyalist Strike of 1974. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan.
Elliott, Sydney., and Flackes, W.D. (1999), Northern Ireland: A Political Directory 1968-1999. Belfast: Blackstaff Press.
Harbinson, John Fitzsimons. (1973), The Ulster Unionist Party, 1882-1973:Its Development and Organisation. Belfast: Blackstaff Press.
Hennessey, Thomas. (1997), A History of Northern Ireland 1920-1996. Dublin: Gill & Macmillan.
McRedmond, Louis. (ed.) (1998), Modern Irish Lives: Dictionary of 20th-century Biography. Dublin: Gill & Macmillan.
Mulholland, Marc. (2000), Northern Ireland at the Crossroads: Ulster Unionism in the O'Neill Years 1960-9. London: Macmillan.

Web Sources:

[Entry written by B.Lynn - 28 March 2003]