Diana Armstrong | |
---|---|
Ulster Unionist Party spokesperson for the Economy | |
Assumed office 28 September 2024 | |
Leader | Mike Nesbitt |
Preceded by | Colin Crawford |
Member of the Legislative Assembly for Fermanagh and South Tyrone | |
Assumed office 27 September 2024 | |
Preceded by | Tom Elliott |
Member of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council | |
In office 8 June 2016 –27 September 2024 | |
Preceded by | Rosemary Barton |
Succeeded by | Rosemary Barton |
Constituency | Erne North |
Personal details | |
Born | February 1961 (age 63) County Fermanagh,Northern Ireland |
Political party | Ulster Unionist |
Parent(s) | Harry West (father) Maureen West (mother) |
Diana Armstrong (born February 1961) is a Northern Irish Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician who has been a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Fermanagh and South Tyrone since September 2024. [1]
Armstrong is the daughter of former UUP leader Harry West. [2]
She was co-opted onto Fermanagh and Omagh District Council in June 2016,following Rosemary Barton's election to the Northern Ireland Assembly,where she represented the Erne North District. [3] Armstrong went on to top the poll in the 2019 local elections,and was again re-elected in 2023. [4]
Armstrong was the UUP candidate for Fermanagh and South Tyrone in the 2024 general election,the most marginal seat in the United Kingdom with a Sinn Féin majority of just 56 votes over the UUP. [5] She finished in second place with 20,273 votes (39.7%) to Sinn Féin candidate Pat Cullen's 24,844 votes (48.6%). [6]
On 27 September 2024,Armstrong was co-opted to replace Tom Elliott as Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Fermanagh and South Tyrone,after he was given a peerage in July as part of the dissolution honours list. She is the only female MLA of the nine MLAs the UUP has at Stormont. [7]
Armstrong spoke of the importance of farming at the UUP's 2024 party conference,stating that "We recognise that farming is the backbone of our economy and will always work for farm families and rural dwellers to strive for better opportunities,accessibility and support..." [8] She was announced by UUP leader Mike Nesbitt as the party's new Economy spokesperson. [9]
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded as the Ulster Unionist Council in 1905,emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson,it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule movement. Following the partition of Ireland,it was the governing party of Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972. It was supported by most unionist voters throughout the conflict known as the Troubles,during which time it was often referred to as the Official Unionist Party (OUP).
Michelle Angela Gildernew is an Irish Sinn Féin politician from County Tyrone,Northern Ireland. She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Fermanagh and South Tyrone from 2017 to 2024,after previously holding the seat from 2001 to 2015.
Mid Ulster is a parliamentary constituency in the UK House of Commons. The current MP is Cathal Mallaghan,of Sinn Féin,who was first elected at the 2024 election.
Fermanagh and South Tyrone is a Northern Ireland parliamentary constituency in the British House of Commons. It is currently represented by Pat Cullen of Sinn Féin.
Thomas Beatty Elliott,Baron Elliott of Ballinamallard,is a Northern Irish unionist politician and farmer. He was the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 2010 to 2012,and was a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Fermanagh and South Tyrone from 2022 until 2024,having previously served from 2003 to 2015. Elliott was Member of Parliament (MP) for Fermanagh and South Tyrone from 2015 to 2017 and was appointed to the House of Lords in 2024.
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 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.
The 2010 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland occurred on 6 May 2010 and all 18 seats in Northern Ireland were contested. 1,169,184 people were eligible to vote,up 29,191 from the 2005 general election. 57.99% of eligible voters turned out,down 5.5 percentage points from the last general election.
The 2005 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland was held on 5 May 2005 and all 18 seats in Northern Ireland were contested. 1,139,993 people were eligible to vote,down 51,016 from the 2001 general election. 63.49% of eligible voters turned out,down 5.1 percentage points from the last general election.
The first election to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council,part of the Northern Ireland local elections on 22 May 2014,returned 40 members to the newly-formed council via Single Transferable Vote.
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.
Margaret Elizabeth Rosemary Barton is an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician and former schoolteacher who has been a Fermanagh and Omagh Councillor for the Erne North DEA since October 2024,having previously represented the area from 2014 to 2016. Barton was also a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Fermanagh and South Tyrone from 2016 to 2022. She lost her seat in the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election,and was succeeded by The Lord Elliot of Ballinamallard.
The 2019 United Kingdom general election was held on 12 December 2019 to elect all 650 members of the House of Commons,including 18 seats in Northern Ireland. 1,293,971 people were eligible to vote,up 51,273 from the 2017 general election. 62.09% of eligible voters turned out,down 3.5 percentage points from the last general election. For the first time in history,nationalist parties won more seats than unionist parties.
Deborah Erskine is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician from Northern Ireland. She was elected as a councillor for Erne North in the 2019 Fermanagh and Omagh District Council election,and has been a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Fermanagh and South Tyrone since 11 October 2021. Erskine is the DUP Spokesperson for Promoting the Union with Young People and New Communities.
This is a list of the 90 members of the seventh Northern Ireland Assembly,the unicameral devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. The election took place on 5 May 2022,with counting continuing the following 2 days;voter turnout was estimated at 64.4%.
Enniskillen is one of the seven district electoral areas (DEA) in Fermanagh and Omagh,Northern Ireland. The district elects six members to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council and contains the wards of Castlecoole,Erne,Lisbellaw,Lisnarrick,Portora and Rossory. Enniskillen forms part of the Fermanagh and South Tyrone constituencies for the Northern Ireland Assembly and UK Parliament.
Erne North is one of the seven district electoral areas (DEA) in Fermanagh and Omagh,Northern Ireland. The district elects five members to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council and contains the wards of Ballinamallard,Belleek and Boa,Ederney and Kesh,Irvinestown and Tempo. Erne North forms part of the Fermanagh and South Tyrone constituencies for the Northern Ireland Assembly and UK Parliament.
Erne East is one of the seven district electoral areas (DEA) in Fermanagh and Omagh,Northern Ireland. The district elects six members to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council and contains the wards of Brookeborough,Donagh,Lisnaskea,Maguiresbridge,Newtownbutler and Rosslea. Erne East forms part of the Fermanagh and South Tyrone constituencies for the Northern Ireland Assembly and UK Parliament.
Erne West is one of the seven district electoral areas (DEA) in Fermanagh and Omagh,Northern Ireland. The district elects five members to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council and contains the wards of Belcoo and Garrison,Boho,Cleenish and Letterbreen,Derrygonnelly,Derrylin and Florence Court and Kinawley. Erne West forms part of the Fermanagh and South Tyrone constituencies for the Northern Ireland Assembly and UK Parliament.