Mid and East Antrim Borough Council

Last updated

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council
Mid and East Antrim Borough Council logo.svg
Type
Type
History
Founded1 April 2015
Preceded by Ballymena Borough Council
Carrickfergus Borough Council
Larne Borough Council
Leadership
Mayor
Peter Johnston, Democratic Unionist Party
Deputy Mayor
Andrew Wilson, Ulster Unionist Party
Structure
Seats40
MidAndEastAntrim2023.svg
Political groups
Incoming Council
  DUP (13)
  UUP (8)
  Alliance (7)
  TUV (5)
  Sinn Féin (4)
  Independents (3)
Elections
Last election
18 May 2023
Meeting place
Ballymena Town Hall (geograph 6611054).jpg
The Braid
Website
www.midandeastantrim.gov.uk OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council is a local authority that was established on 1 April 2015. It replaced Ballymena Borough Council, Carrickfergus Borough Council and Larne Borough Council.

Contents

History

On 2 December 2021, the councils chief executive Anne Donaghy was suspended [1] and stated her intention to take legal action for discrimination. [2] In January 2023, she announced her retirement. [3]

In 2022, another DUP councillor, Marc Collins, was suspended for abusive tweets directed at Sinn Féin MP John Finucane and his family. [4]

Mayoralty

Mayor

FromToNameParty
20152016Billy Ashe DUP
20162017Audrey Wales DUP
20172018Paul Reid DUP
20182019Lindsay Millar Ulster Unionist
20192020Maureen Morrow Ulster Unionist
20202021Peter Johnston DUP
20212022William McCaughey DUP
2022PresentNoel Williams Alliance

Deputy Mayor

FromToNameParty
20152016Timothy Gaston TUV
20162017William McNeilly Ulster Unionist
20172018Cheryl Johnston DUP
20182019Cheryl Johnston DUP
20192020Beth Adger DUP
20202021Andrew Wilson Ulster Unionist
20212022Matthew Armstrong TUV
2022PresentBeth Adger DUP

Councillors

For the purpose of elections the council is divided into seven district electoral areas (DEA): [5]

AreaSeats
Ballymena7
Bannside6
Braid7
Carrick Castle5
Coast Road5
Knockagh5
Larne Lough5

Party strengths

PartyElected
2014
Elected
2019
Elected
2023

Current
DUP 16151413
UUP 9788
Alliance 3777
TUV 5555
Sinn Féin 3244
Independents 2323
SDLP 1100
UKIP 1000

Councillors by electoral area

For further details see 2023 Mid and East Antrim District Council election.

Current council members
District electoral areaNameParty
Ballymena Rodney Quigley Independent
Matthew Armstrong TUV
Colin Crawford Ulster Unionist
Bréanainn Lyness Sinn Féin
Reuben Glover DUP
Jack Gibson † Alliance
Lawrie Philpott DUP
Bannside Timothy Gaston TUV
Stewart McDonald TUV
Ian Friary Sinn Féin
Thomas Gordon DUP
Tyler Hoey DUP
Jackson Minford Ulster Unionist
Braid Archie Rae Sinn Féin
Beth Adger DUP
William McCaughey DUP
Christopher Jamieson TUV
Alan Barr Ulster Unionist
Chelsea Harwood Alliance
Matthew Warwick TUV
Carrick Castle Lauren Gray Alliance
David Clarke †‡ Independent
Billy Ashe DUP
Robin Stewart Ulster Unionist
Bethany Ferris Ulster Unionist
Coast Road James McKeown Sinn Féin
Andrew Clarke DUP
Geraldine Mulvenna Alliance
Angela Smyth DUP
Maureen Morrow Ulster Unionist
Knockagh Bobby Hadden Independent
Peter Johnston DUP
Marc Collins DUP
Andrew Wilson Ulster Unionist
Aaron Skinner Alliance
Larne Lough Maeve Donnelly Alliance
Gregg McKeen DUP
Roy Beggs Jr Ulster Unionist
Robert Logan Alliance
Paul Reid DUP

Population

The area covered by the new Council has a population of 135,338 residents according to the 2011 Northern Ireland census. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ulster Unionist Party</span> Political party in Northern Ireland

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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democratic Unionist Party</span> Political party in Northern Ireland

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist, loyalist, British nationalist 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip McGuigan</span> Northern Irish politician (born 1973)

Philip McGuigan is an Irish Sinn Féin politician who has been a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for North Antrim since 2016, having previously served from 2003 to 2007. He was a Ballymoney Borough Councillor for the Bann Valley DEA from 2001 to 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michelle O'Neill</span> First Minister of Northern Ireland since 2024

Michelle O'Neill is an Irish politician, serving as the First Minister of Northern Ireland since February 2024. She had previously served in office as deputy First Minister from 2020 to 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Traditional Unionist Voice</span> Political party in Northern Ireland

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".

Ballymena Borough Council was the local authority of Ballymena in Northern Ireland. It merged with Carrickfergus Borough Council and Larne Borough Council in May 2015 under local government reorganisation in Northern Ireland to become Mid and East Antrim Borough Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Belfast City Council election</span>

Elections to Belfast City Council were held on 22 May 2014 – on the same day as other local government elections in Northern Ireland – as part of the process of local government reform provided for in the Local Government Act 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council election</span>

The first election to Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough 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 a plurality of votes and seats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Mid and East Antrim District Council election</span>

The first election to Mid and East Antrim 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 Democratic Unionist Party were the largest party in both first-preference votes and seats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election</span> Election held in Northern Ireland

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Northern Ireland local elections</span> Local elections

Local elections were held in Northern Ireland on Thursday 2 May 2019. The last elections were held in 2014. 819 candidates contested 462 seats across Northern Ireland's 11 local government districts. 1,305,384 people aged 18 and over were eligible to vote, and 52.7% of the electorate turned out.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council election</span>

Elections to Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council, part of the Northern Ireland local elections on 2 May 2019, returned 40 members to the council using Single Transferable Vote. The Democratic Unionist Party were the largest party in both first-preference votes and seats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Mid and East Antrim District Council election</span>

Elections to Mid and East Antrim District Council, part of the Northern Ireland local elections on 2 May 2019, returned 40 members to the council using Single Transferable Vote. The Democratic Unionist Party were the largest party in both first-preference votes and seats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Finucane</span> Irish Sinn Féin politician

John Finucane is an Irish Sinn Féin politician and solicitor. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for the Belfast North constituency of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom since the 2019 general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Antrim Borough Council election</span> Local government election in Northern Ireland

Elections to Antrim Borough Council were held on 5 May 2011 on the same day as the other Northern Irish local government elections. The election used three district electoral areas to elect a total of 19 councillors.

Patricia O'Lynn is a Northern Irish academic, educator, and politician who was an Alliance Party Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from 2022 to 2023. She was elected as an MLA in the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election for North Antrim.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Northern Ireland local elections</span> Local elections

Local elections were held in Northern Ireland on 18 May 2023. The elections were delayed by two weeks to avoid overlapping with the coronation of King Charles III. Following the elections, Sinn Féin became the largest party in local government for the first time. It also marked the first time that nationalist parties had garnered a greater share of the vote than unionist parties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sian Mulholland</span> Alliance Party of Northern Ireland MLA

Sian Mulholland is a Northern Irish politician who has been an Alliance Party Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for North Antrim since April 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council election</span>

The 2023 election to Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council was held on 18 May 2023, alongside other local elections in Northern Ireland, two weeks after the local elections in England. The Northern Ireland elections were delayed by 2 weeks to avoid overlapping with the coronation of King Charles III.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Mid and East Antrim District Council election</span>

The 2023 election to Mid and East Antrim District Council was held on 18 May 2023, alongside other local elections in Northern Ireland, two weeks after local elections in England. The Northern Ireland elections were delayed by 2 weeks to avoid overlapping with the coronation of King Charles III.

References

  1. "Anne Donaghy: Suspended Mid and East Antrim chief takes legal action". BBC News. 2 December 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  2. Hughes, Brendan (2 December 2021). "Council boss taking legal action over 'disability discrimination'". BelfastLive. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  3. Hughes, Brendan (20 January 2023). "Council boss 'retires on health grounds' after year on suspension". BelfastLive. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  4. Hargan, Garrett (29 June 2022). "DUP councillor Marc Collins suspended over tweets directed at Sinn Fein's John Finucane". belfasttelegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  5. "Current review of district electoral areas" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2015.
  6. "NI Census 2011 - Key Statistics Summary Report, September 2014" (PDF). NI Statistics and Research Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 December 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2014.