Ian Richard Kyle Paisley Jr is a British unionist politician. A member of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP),he has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Antrim since the 2010 general election,and was previously a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for North Antrim from 1998 to 2010. He is a son of the DUP's founder Ian Paisley.
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist,loyalist,and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley,who led the party for the next 37 years. Currently led by Jeffrey Donaldson,it is the second largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly,and is the fifth-largest party in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The party has been described as centre-right to right-wing and socially conservative,being anti-abortion and opposing same-sex marriage. The DUP sees itself as defending Britishness and Ulster Protestant culture against Irish nationalism and republicanism. It is also Eurosceptic and supported Brexit.
The Northern Ireland Assembly,often referred to by the metonym Stormont,is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom,and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive. It sits at Parliament Buildings at Stormont in Belfast.
Sir Jeffrey Mark Donaldson is a Northern Irish politician who has served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) since June 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lagan Valley since 1997,and leader of the DUP in the UK House of Commons since 2019. As of 2022,he is Northern Ireland's longest-serving MP.
Nigel Alexander Dodds,Baron Dodds of Duncairn,,is a British unionist politician who has been the Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in the House of Lords since 2021,and was the deputy leader of the DUP from 2008 to 2021.
James Hugh Allister,is a British Unionist politician and barrister in Northern Ireland. He founded the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) political party in 2007,leading the party since its formation. Allister has served as a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for North Antrim since 2011,and is the TUV’s only representative in the Assembly.
Reginald Norman Morgan Empey,Baron Empey,,best known as Reg Empey,is a Unionist politician from Northern Ireland,who was the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 2005 to 2010. He was the chairman of the Ulster Unionist Party from 2012 to 2019. Empey was also twice Lord Mayor of Belfast and was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for East Belfast from 1998 to 2011.
Samuel Wilson is a Northern Irish politician,serving as Chief Whip of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in the House of Commons since 2019. Wilson has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for East Antrim since 2005. He served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Belfast East from 1998 to 2003 and for East Antrim from 2003 until 2015. He served as Lord Mayor of Belfast from 1986 to 1987 and again from 2000 to 2001,the first person from the DUP to hold the office. He has also served as Minister of Finance and Personnel and Minister of the Environment in the Northern Ireland Executive.
Arlene Isobel Foster,Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee,is a British broadcaster and former politician from Northern Ireland who served as First Minister of Northern Ireland from 2016 to 2017 and from 2020 to 2021 and as Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 2015 to 2021. She was the first woman to hold either position. Foster is a Member of the House of Lords,having previously been a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Fermanagh and South Tyrone from 2003 to 2021.
Eileen Emily Paisley,Baroness Paisley of St George's,Lady Bannside,is a Northern Irish Unionist politician,a vice-president of the Democratic Unionist Party,and the widow of Ian Paisley,Lord Bannside,former leader of the DUP. She became a life peer in 2006. She retired from the House of Lords on 30 October 2017.
Maurice George Morrow,Baron Morrow is a Unionist politician from Northern Ireland representing the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) who has been Chairman of the DUP since 2000. He was made a life peer in June 2006. He was also a councillor on Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council representing Dungannon Town.
Edwin Poots is a British politician in Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from May to June 2021. He was first elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in 1998.
Richard James Shannon is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician in Northern Ireland. He has sat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom since 2010 as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Strangford. He had previously sat in the Northern Ireland Assembly from 1998 to 2010 as the Member of the Legislative Assembly of Northern Ireland (MLA) for Strangford. He is an advocate for Leave Means Leave,a pro-Brexit campaign.
William Alexander Hay,Baron Hay of Ballyore is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician,who was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Foyle from 1998 to 2014.
DaithíGerard McKay is a newspaper columnist and former Irish politician. He was the Chair of the Finance Committee in the Northern Ireland Assembly and a Sinn Féin MLA for North Antrim for 9 years. He brought forward legislation that led to the introduction of a Carrier Bag Levy in Northern Ireland and the abolishment of rates for Community Amateur Sport Clubs.
The 2017 Northern Ireland Assembly election was held on Thursday,2 March 2017. The election was held to elect members (MLAs) following the resignation of deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness in protest over the Renewable Heat Incentive scandal. McGuinness' position was not filled,and thus by law his resignation triggered an election.
Emma Little-Pengelly is a Northern Irish barrister and Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician. She has been a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Lagan Valley since 12 May 2022 when she was co-opted to replace DUP party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson who declined to take up his seat after being elected at the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election to remain in the House of Commons. She previously served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Belfast South constituency in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 2017 until 2019,when she lost her seat to Claire Hanna of the SDLP,and as an MLA for the Belfast South constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
The 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election was held on 5 May 2022. It elected 90 members to the Northern Ireland Assembly. It was the seventh assembly election since the establishment of the assembly in 1998. The election was held three months after the Northern Ireland Executive collapsed due to the resignation of the First Minister,Paul Givan (DUP),in protest against the Northern Ireland Protocol.
The Executive of the 7th Northern Ireland Assembly is yet to be appointed,following the 2022 election to the seventh Northern Ireland Assembly held on 5 May. The newly elected assembly will meet for the first time on 13 May,and may elect a First Minister and Deputy First Minister,as well as an executive.
The Northern Ireland Protocol Bill of 2022–23 is a proposed Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that seeks to unilaterally override parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol (NIP). The NIP is the part of the Brexit withdrawal agreement that governs some aspects of trade in goods between Northern Ireland and Great Britain,as well as between Northern Ireland and the European Union. The bill was introduced to address what the government call 'unacceptable barriers to trade' that the protocol introduced within the UK internal market. The bill has been criticised by most members of the Northern Ireland Assembly,by the European Commission,and by member states of the European Union. It has been characterised in the UK and abroad as a breach of international law.
