Editing Ulster Unionist Party (section)

==Structure==

{{unreferenced section|date=March 2019}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Sections and subsections
!Membership
|-
|Executive Committee
|Delegates and substitute delegates elected from across all sections of the UUP.
|-
|Council
|All UUP members.
|-
|Management Board
|Party officers elected by the Council, and party officers and secretary appointed by the Leader.
|-
|Representative Bodies
|The Ulster Young Unionist Council, the Ulster Women’s Unionist Council, the Ulster Unionist Councillors’ Association and the Westminster Ulster Unionist Association.
|-
|Associations
|All UUP members in a single or group of parliamentary constituencies.
|-
|Divisional Associations
|All UUP members in a group of branches within an Association.
|-
|Branches
|All UUP members in a subsection of an Association.
|}
The UUP is organised around the Ulster Unionist Council, which was from 1905 until 2004 the only legal representation of the party. Following the adoption of a new Constitution in 2004, the UUP has been an entity in its own right, however the UUC still exists as the supreme decision-making body of the Party.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} In autumn 2007 the delegates system was done away with, and today all UUP members are members of the Ulster Unionist Council, with entitlements to vote for the Leader, party officers and on major policy decisions.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} The UUP's Executive Committee includes a delegates system with delegates and substitute delegates drawn from across the Party. The UUP's Management Board was created following the adoption of a new Constitution in 2025. It includes all elected and appointed party officers.

Each constituency in Northern Ireland forms the boundary of a UUP constituency association, which is made up of branches formed along local boundaries (usually district electoral areas). There are also four 'representative bodies', the Ulster Women's Unionist Council, the [[Young Unionists|Ulster Young Unionist Council]], the Westminster Unionist Association (the party's Great Britain branch) and the Ulster Unionist Councillors Association. Each constituency association and representative body elects a number of delegates to the executive committee, which governs many areas of party administration such as membership and candidate selection.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}

The UUP maintained a formal connection with the Orange Order from its foundation until 2005, and with the [[Apprentice Boys of Derry]] until 1975.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} While the party was considering structural reforms, including the connection with the Order, it was the Order itself that severed the connection in 2004. The connection with the Apprentice Boys was cut in a 1975 review of the party's structure as they had not taken up their delegates for several years beforehand.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}

===Youth wing===
The UUP's youth organisation is the [[Young Unionists]], which was re-constituted by young activists in March 2004 as a rebrand of the Ulster Young Unionist Council. The UYUC was formed in 1946 and disbanded twice, in 1974 and 2004. There is a Young Unionist student association in [[Queen's University Belfast]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://home.q-su.org/clubssocieties/youngunionists/ |title=QUB Young Unionists |publisher=Queens Students Union }}</ref>

=== LGBT+ wing ===
The UUP formed a LGBT+ organisation in 2024 called Pride in the Union, led by the late David Trimble's daughter Vicky Trimble.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-10-19 |title=Gay and unionist - a changing of the times? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce8drzl28dko |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> The UUP have participated in Pride events for many years. [[Jeff Dudgeon]] who campaigned successfully for the decriminalisation of homosexuality is a member.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-03-06 |title=The Secret’s Out - Our Generation |url=https://ourgeneration.northernvisions.org/our-generation/features/the-secrets-out/ |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=ourgeneration.northernvisions.org |language=en-US}}</ref>