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.
Naomi Rachel Long MLA is a Northern Irish politician who served as Minister of Justice in the Northern Ireland Executive from January 2020 to October 2022. She has served as leader of the Alliance Party since 2016 and a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Belfast East since 2020.
Alex Maskey is an Irish politician who has been Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly since 2020 and was the first member of Sinn Féin to serve as Lord Mayor of Belfast from 2002 to 2003. He was Sinn Féin's longest sitting councillor, representing the Laganbank electoral area of Belfast. He was also an MLA for Belfast West for two periods, and also for Belfast South.
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.
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.
The 2007 Northern Ireland Assembly election was held on Wednesday, 7 March 2007. It was the third election to take place since the devolved assembly was established in 1998. The election saw endorsement of the St Andrews Agreement and the two largest parties, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin, along with the Alliance Party, increase their support, with falls in support for the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP).
Martina Anderson is an Irish former politician from Northern Ireland who served as Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Foyle from 2020 to 2021, and previously from 2007 to 2012. A member of Sinn Féin, she served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) representing Northern Ireland from 2012 to 2020.
Michelle O'Neill is an Irish politician who served as deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland between 2020 and 2022. She has been serving as Vice President of Sinn Féin since 2018 and is the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Mid Ulster since 2007.
The 2011 Northern Ireland Assembly election took place on Thursday, 5 May, following the dissolution of the Northern Ireland Assembly at midnight on 24 March 2011. It was the fourth election to take place since the devolved assembly was established in 1998.
Paul Jonathan Givan is a Unionist politician from Northern Ireland representing the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). Givan served as First Minister of Northern Ireland from June 2021 to February 2022, the youngest person to hold that office.
The fourth Northern Ireland Assembly was the unicameral devolved legislature of Northern Ireland following the 2011 assembly election on 5 May 2011. This iteration of the elected Assembly convened for the first time on 12 May 2011 in Parliament Buildings in Stormont, and ran for a full term.
Gordon Dunne was a Unionist politician from Northern Ireland representing the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).
Claire Sugden is a Northern Irish politician who was the Minister of Justice in the fourth Northern Ireland Executive from May 2016 to March 2017. She is a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for East Londonderry, having been co-opted to the position after the death of David McClarty in 2014, and won election to the seat in 2016, 2017 and 2022. She is an Independent Unionist, and is considered to be one of the most socially liberal unionist MLAs in the Assembly.
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.
This is a list of the members of the fifth Northern Ireland Assembly, the unicameral devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) elected on 5 May 2016 or subsequently co-opted are listed by party and by constituency.
The Renewable Heat Incentive scandal, also referred to as RHIgate and the Cash for Ash scandal, is a political scandal in Northern Ireland that centres on a failed renewable energy incentive scheme that has been reported to potentially cost the public purse almost £500 million. The plan, initiated in 2012, was overseen by Arlene Foster of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the then-Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment. Foster failed to introduce proper cost controls, allowing the plan to spiral out of control. The scheme worked by paying applicants to use renewable energy. However, the rate paid was more than the cost of the fuel, and thus many applicants were making profits simply by heating their properties.
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 Identity and Language Act 2022 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom providing "official recognition of the status of the Irish language" in Northern Ireland, with Ulster Scots being an officially recognised minority language.
A Northern Ireland Assembly election has to be held to elect 90 members to the Northern Ireland Assembly if the parties fail to form an Executive, which they have yet to do so. After the Northern Ireland Assembly election on 5 May 2022, the DUP declined to agree on the appointment of Speaker to the Assembly, preventing the formation of an Executive. Chris Heaton-Harris, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, confirmed a legal obligation to call an election if no Executive was formed by a 27 October 2022 deadline. No Executive was formed by this deadline, but the deadline was extended by legislation in the Westminster Parliament. A deadline of 18 January 2024 is now proposed.
As elected, 2 March 2017
9 May 2018
Current composition, from 10 January 2019
Current composition following the election of the Speaker from Sinn Féin, 11 January 2020
