In its earliest days, it adopted the style associated with falangist parties with an honour guard, a common salute and a habit of wearing sashes.

This led to it being characterised as Mosleyite[4] or even neo-Nazi[5] with the Stormont unionist MP William McConnell claiming that Vanguard rallies involved "a certain Hitlerian-type figure ... walking up and down the lines, inspecting his so-called storm-troopers.

[9] Vanguard strongly criticised the imposition of direct rule and in its booklet 'Ulster – A Nation', published in April 1972, it pledged "resistance to an undemocratic and un-British regime" and suggested the possibility of a federal British Isles.

[12] In late 1973 it rejected the idea of compulsory power-sharing with Irish Nationalists and consequently refused invitations to take part in the conferences which led to the Sunningdale Agreement.

[15] The culmination was a large rally on 18 March 1972 in Belfast's Ormeau Park, attended by up to 60,000 people, at which Craig said, "We must build up the dossiers on the men and women who are a menace to this country, because one day, ladies and gentlemen, if the politicians fail, it will be our duty to liquidate the enemy.

On 3 June 1972, VUPP organised a march in Derry against the creation of no-go areas in nationalist districts, which ended in violence on the city's Craigavon Bridge.

[20] with Craig a leading member of the UWC co-ordinating committee[21] In addition to large rallies, Vanguard used other tactics to try to put pressure on the British Government.

[22] Several months later, on 19 October 1972, Craig addressed a meeting of the right wing Conservative Monday Club during which he claimed he could mobilise 80,000 men "who are prepared to come out and shoot and kill.

The Constitutional Convention was intended to serve as a forum to allow the politicians of Northern Ireland to draw up their own proposals for the political future of the province, though this proved unsuccessful.

Indeed, in January 1976, Deputy leader Ernest Baird warned that "If Westminster does not accept the Protestants' rejection of power-sharing, it must face the inevitable consequences of a final conflict.

[27] The 1977 local elections were overshadowed by the abortive United Unionist Action Council (UUAC) Strike, which was mainly supported by the DUP and the UUUM.

In the 1982 elections for the new Northern Ireland Assembly, Craig, who had once more left the Ulster Unionists after losing his seat at Westminster, revived the name Vanguard for his candidacy in East Belfast.

[33] Former deputy speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, Jim Wilson, served as a Vanguard councillor on Newtownabbey Borough Council from 1975 to 1976 before joining the UUP[34] Rev.

Martin Smyth, later a UUP MP and Grand Master of the Orange Order, was deputy leader of the Vanguard movement but declined to join the party.

This includes seven councillors elected as loyalists in 1973 who ran as VUPP candidates in 1977, namely Seymour, Armstrong, Semple and Stewart (Larne); Green and Mary O'Fee (North Down); and Glenn Barr (Londonderry).

A further four sitting councillors elected as Loyalists stood as UUUP candidates in 1977, namely McKeever (Larne), Ritchie (Carrickfergus), Scott (Castlereagh) and Parke (Cookstown).