Jim Kirkpatrick | |
---|---|
High Sheriff of Belfast | |
In office 2007–2008 | |
Preceded by | William Humphrey |
Succeeded by | Mary McKenzie |
In office 1990–1991 | |
Preceded by | Vacant |
Succeeded by | Joe Coggle |
Member of Belfast City Council | |
In office 5 May 2005 –5 May 2011 | |
Preceded by | Mary Crooks |
Succeeded by | Máirtín ÓMuilleoir |
Constituency | Balmoral |
In office 15 May 1985 –21 May 1997 | |
Preceded by | District created |
Succeeded by | Bob Stoker |
Constituency | Balmoral |
Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Belfast South | |
In office 1982–1986 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Belfast,Northern Ireland |
Political party | UUP (pre 1996;1997-2004;2009 - present) |
Other political affiliations | DUP (1996-1997;2004-2009) |
Jim Kirkpatrick is a Northern Irish unionist politician who has represented the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) three times and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) twice.
Kirkpatrick was first elected as a UUP member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Belfast South in 1982. Three years later he was elected to Belfast City Council,representing the Balmoral electoral area,which covered the Lisburn,Malone and Donegal Road areas of the city. [1]
Kirkpatrick joined the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in 1996 and lost his council seat in 1997,having moved from Balmoral to Laganbank. He subsequently rejoined the UUP and became chairman of the Drumbo branch in Lagan Valley. [2]
He was selected to contest the elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2003 by Lagan Valley UUP in a controversial selection meeting [3] but polled fewer than 700 votes and was quickly eliminated. [4]
Following this,in December 2004 he again defected to the DUP and was returned for that party to Belfast City Council in 2005,regaining his original seat in Balmoral. In 2007 however,Kirkpatrick was pictured at a fundraising dinner with Jim Allister MEP,held to raise funds for a new Unionist Party opposed to powersharing. [5] On 2 June 2009 he again defected back to the UUP,accusing senior DUP members of "caring more about dynasty building and expense claims than voters." [6] He lost his seat at the 2011 council elections to businessman and publisher Máirtín ÓMuilleoir (Sinn Féin).[ citation needed ]
Kirkpatrick served as High Sheriff before,having fulfilled the role in 1990. He was sworn in again as High Sheriff of Belfast in a traditional ceremony at Belfast City Hall in January 2007,succeeding Councillor William Humphrey. He is a member of Malone Presbyterian Church,the Masonic Order and the Orange Order. [7]
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).
James Henry Molyneaux,Baron Molyneaux of Killead,KBE,PC,often known as Jim Molyneaux,was a unionist politician from Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1979 to 1995,and as the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Antrim from 1970 to 1983,and later Lagan Valley from 1983 to 1997. An Orangeman,he was also Sovereign Grand Master of the Royal Black Institution from 1971 to 1995,and a leading member of the Conservative Monday Club.
South Antrim is a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons. The current MP is Robin Swann (UUP)
Belfast South was a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons.
Lisburn City Council was the local authority for an area partly in County Antrim and partly in County Down in Northern Ireland. As of May 2015 it was merged with Castlereagh Borough Council as part of the reform of local government in Northern Ireland to become Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council.
Norah Beare is a former Northern Irish unionist politician who served as a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Lagan Valley from 2003 to 2007.
Michael McGimpsey is a former Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician who was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Belfast South from 1998 to 2016.
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).
Fred Cobain,MBE is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician from Northern Ireland,serving as a Belfast City Councillor for the Castle DEA since 2019. He was previously an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Belfast North from 1998 until 2011.
The Northern Ireland Conservatives is a section of the United Kingdom's Conservative Party that operates in Northern Ireland. The Conservatives are the only major British party to field candidates within Northern Ireland and typically contests only a fraction of seats in elections. The party won 0.03% of the vote in the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election and 0.1% of the vote in the 2024 United Kingdom General election in Northern Ireland.
Ivan Davis was a Northern Irish unionist politician. Davis was an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Lagan Valley from 1998 to 2003.
Cecil Calvert was a Northern Irish unionist politician,who was a long-serving councillor on Lisburn City Council.
Balmoral is the most southern of ten district electoral areas (DEA) in Belfast,Northern Ireland. The district elects five members to Belfast City Council and contains the wards of Belvoir;Finaghy;Malone;Musgrave;Windsor;and Upper Malone. Balmoral,along with neighbouring Botanic,forms the greater part of the Belfast South constituencies for the Northern Ireland Assembly and UK Parliament.
Laganbank was one of the nine district electoral areas in Belfast,Northern Ireland which existed from 1985 to 2014. Located in the south of the city,the district elected five members to Belfast City Council and contained the wards of Ballynafeigh,Botanic,Shaftesbury,Stranmillis,and Rosetta. Laganbank,along with neighbouring Balmoral,formed the greater part of the Belfast South constituencies for the Northern Ireland Assembly and UK Parliament.
The first election to Lisburn and Castlereagh City 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 Democratic Unionist Party won half of the seats.
The Ulster Unionist Party held the majority of Northern Ireland seats in most elections for the Westminster Parliament between 1922 and 2001. Since then its representation has been low or non-existent,having been eclipsed by the Democratic Unionist Party. It always had an absolute majority in the Stormont Parliament (1921–1972);since that Parliament was replaced by the Northern Ireland Assembly it has had a substantial minority representation there. Its share of the vote in Northern Ireland local government elections has tended to diminish,so that there too it is no longer the largest party. Finally,the party has always held one of the three Northern Ireland seats in the European Parliament. Its share of the Northern Ireland vote in the most recent elections to these bodies has been between 10.5% and 16.1%.
Christopher David Matthew Stalford was a Northern Irish politician who was a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for South Belfast from the 2016 election until his death in 2022.
Robbie Butler is a Northern Irish unionist politician,serving as Deputy Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) since May 2021,and a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Lagan Valley since 2016.
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.