The best interests of both the Orange Order and the Ulster Unionist Party would be served by a redefinition of their relationship, says Brian Kennaway.
Over the past few years the relationship between the Orange Institution and the Ulster Unionist Party has been the subject of some discussion, much of it ill-informed. Whether this is a genuine result of ignorance or malevolence is an open question.
The relationship has not always been clearly understood, even by those within the both the party and the institution. The Orange Order is, along with many other groups, an affiliated body of the Ulster Unionist Council.
As a result of this affiliation seven of the eight county grand lodges in Northern Ireland, (Belfast, Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh and Co Londonderry), have, according to the present constitution of the UUC, the right to send, "up to 122 delegates" to the council.
These delegates are selected, "on a county basis according to membership". They are elected annually from their counties, and must be members in good standing in their Unionist Party branch.
In spite of all the discussion and speculation the Orange Institution has continued to take up its entitlement of 113 delegates to the council - at present distributed "on a county basis according to membership" - Armagh 12, Antrim 24, Belfast 24, Down 22, Fermanagh 10, Tyrone 11, Co Londonderry 10.
This year all the counties, with the exception of Down which returned 17, took up their full entitlement of delegates.
Essentially, therefore, the relationship is between the council and the seven county grand lodges, not between the party and the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland. Since it is the county grand lodge which is affiliated to the council, the question of retaining that affiliation is a matter within the competence of the county itself.
This is not a matter for discussion at grand lodge level, as it is outside its competence. The only relationship between the grand lodge and the council involves the Central Committee of Grand Lodge, which sends 12 of those elected from their county grand lodges to the executive committee of the Ulster Unionist Party.
The fact that this relationship is not clearly understood within the Orange Institution was revealed when, on February 5th 1999, the County Antrim Grand Orange Lodge publicly called for the institution to disaffiliate from the UUP. They revealed they had passed a resolution to "disaffiliate", but failed to carry through the substance of the resolution by sending this decision to the council of the Ulster Unionist Party.
Because the essential relationship is between the council and the county, all that is required for a county to "disaffiliate" is to make the decision and communicate it to the council.
This confusion was compounded by the fact that the county that decided to disaffiliate also decided to send its full entitlement of delegates to the council!
In spite of all their bluster, the County Antrim Grand Orange Lodge has still failed to implement its decision, and continues to send delegates to the UUC.
If the constitutional phrase, "on a county basis according to membership" was to be strictly adhered to by the UUC, the distribution of delegates from the county grand lodges would look very different.
Given the numerical strength and distribution of membership within the institution, the present distribution of delegates is clearly out of synch, when Belfast and Antrim both lay claim to 24 delegates.
This issue of the relationship between the institution and the party has been brought into the public domain recently by a decision of the UUC. To add further to the difficulties of this relationship, the council now requires £100 from each Orange delegate to the council. It places a heavy burden on any organisation when increasing costs are to be borne by a declining membership.The Orange Institution is no exception.
This is all the more significant when both Antrim and Belfast county lodges have to raise £2,400 each year to retain an affiliation which many are evidently unhappy about.
It might very well be that it is finance which concentrates the mind towards "breaking the link". It will be interesting to see which of the county grand lodges have the courage of their convictions and be the first to take the step.
The influence of the 113 Orange delegates to the Ulster Unionist Council is, like many things within the Orange and Unionist community, largely overstated. It would therefore be in the best interests of both the Orange Institution and the Ulster Unionist Council to redefine their relationship.
Rev Brian Kennaway is a Presbyterian minister at Crumlin in Belfast and former education convenor with the Orange Order