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.
James Hugh Allister is a Northern Irish politician and barrister who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for North Antrim since the 2024 general election. He founded the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) in 2007 and has led the party since its formation. Prior to his election to Westminster,Allister was a member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for North Antrim,having been first elected in the 2011 Assembly election.
North Down is a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons. The current MP is Alex Easton,elected at the 2024 United Kingdom general election.
Stephen Anthony Farry is a Northern Irish former politician who was the deputy leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland from December 2016 to September 2024. Farry was the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Down from 2019,until he lost his seat to independent unionist Alex Easton at the 2024 general election.
Independent Unionist has been a label sometimes used by candidates in elections in the United Kingdom,indicating a support for British unionism.
Jim Wells is a Northern Irish unionist politician who was Minister of Health,Social Services and Public Safety from 2014 to 2015. He additionally served on an interim basis as deputy speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly between 2006 and 2007.
The Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. In common with all other Northern Irish unionist parties,the TUV's political programme has as its sine qua non the preservation of Northern Ireland's place within the United Kingdom. A founding precept of the party is that "nothing which is morally wrong can be politically right".
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.
The 2016 Northern Ireland Assembly election was held on Thursday,5 May 2016. It was the fifth election to take place since the devolved assembly was established in 1998. 1,281,595 individuals were registered to vote in the election. Turnout in the 2016 Assembly election was 703,744 (54.9%),a decline of less than one percentage point from the previous Assembly Election in 2011,but down 15 percentage points from the first election to the Assembly held in 1998.
The 2015 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland was held on 7 May 2015 and all 18 seats were contested. 1,236,765 people were eligible to vote,up 67,581 from the 2010 general election. 58.45% of eligible voters turned out,an increase of half a percentage point from the last general election. This election saw the return of Ulster Unionists to the House of Commons,after they targeted 4 seats but secured 2.
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.
Harold McKee is a Northern Irish unionist politician who was a Newry Mourne and Down Councillor for The Mournes DEA from 2014 to 2016,and then again from 2019 until 2023.
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 of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP),in protest against the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Sorcha-Lucy Eastwood is a Northern Irish politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Lagan Valley since 2024. A member of the Alliance Party,she previously served as a member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Lagan Valley from 2022 until her election to the House of Commons in 2024.
Eóin Tennyson is a Northern Irish politician who has been the deputy leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland since October 2024. He succeeded former deputy leader Stephen Farry who resigned from the position in 2024. He has been a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Upper Bann since 2022,where he defeated former Social Democratic and Labour Party incumbent Dolores Kelly to become the youngest MLA for the constituency.
Diane Forsythe is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician,serving as a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for South Down since 2022. Forsythe as the first female unionist MLA to represent the area. Forsythe is the DUP's Spokesperson for Communities,Childcare and Early Years.
Phillip Brett is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician,serving as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Belfast North since 2022. Brett is the Economy spokesperson for the DUP and Chairs the Committee for the Economy at the Northern Ireland Assembly
Connie Egan is a Northern Irish politician who is an Alliance Party Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). She was elected as an MLA in the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election for North Down.
The 2024 general election in Northern Ireland was held on 4 July 2024,with all 18 Northern Irish seats in the House of Commons contested. The general election occurred after the recently completed constituency boundaries review.
The 2024 Alliance Party of Northern Ireland deputy leadership election was triggered on 8 September 2024 by the resignation of Stephen Farry as deputy leader of the Alliance Party. Farry,who lost his seat in North Down to Alex Easton in the most recent general election back in July,had been in the role in the party since 2016. The party's finance spokesperson,Eóin Tennyson,was elected to succeed him.
