Political Career
At the 1885 UK general election, Ellison-Macartney ran for the House of Commons, and was elected as Conservative member for the newly-created constituency of Antrim South. In January 1886, he convened a meeting which lead to the formation of the Irish Unionist Party, for which he served as whip.
In 1895, he was appointed as Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty, holding the post until 1890, when a cabinet reshuffle resulted in the appointment of Liberal Unionist Hugh Oakeley Arnold-Forster. As a consolation, Ellison-Macartney was appointed to the Privy Council.
By 1900, Ellison-Macartney's political fortunes had waned: his popularity in his constituency of South Antrim had dropped considerably due to his reluctance to dispense favour upon Antrim during his time as a junior minister, and he was criticised by the Belfast newspaper The News Letter.
Hoping to reassert his place in the loyalist hierarchy, Ellison-Macartney led a "law-and-order" campaign, targeted in particular at the violence and agrarian crime committed by William O'Brien's United Irish League. He retired from politics in 1903, after being offered several government appointments.
Read more about this topic: William Ellison-Macartney
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