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. It is currently led by Gavin Robinson, who initially stepped in as an interim after the resignation of Jeffrey Donaldson. It is the second-largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly, and won five seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom at the 2024 election. The party has been mostly described as 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.
Larne Borough Council was a Local Council in County Antrim in Northern Ireland. It merged with Ballymena Borough Council and Carrickfergus Borough Council in May 2015 under the reorganisation of local government in Northern Ireland to become Mid and East Antrim Borough Council.
Daithí Gerard McKay is an Irish newspaper columnist and former Sinn Fein politician. He was the Chair of the Finance Committee in the Northern Ireland Assembly from 2012 to 2016, and a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for North Antrim from 2007 to 2016. He brought forward legislation that led to the introduction of a Carrier Bag Levy in Northern Ireland and the abolishment of rates for Community Amateur Sport Clubs.
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 served from 2003 to 2007. He was a Ballymoney Borough Councillor for the Bann Valley DEA from 2001 to 2014.
Michelle O'Neill is an Irish politician who has been the First Minister of Northern Ireland since February 2024 and Vice President of Sinn Féin since 2018. She has also been the MLA for Mid Ulster in the Northern Ireland Assembly since 2007. O'Neill was previously deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland from 2020 to 2022. O'Neill served on the Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council from 2005 to 2011.
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.
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.
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.
The first election to Causeway Coast and Glens 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 won a plurality of first-preference votes and seats.
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.
Douglas Ricardo Beattie is a Northern Irish politician and former member of the British Army, who was leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) between 27 May 2021 and 28 September 2024. He has been a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Upper Bann since 2016. He is characterised as a 'progressive' and 'liberal' unionist.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
