Steve Aiken

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[a]
Commander
Steve Aiken
OBE MLA
Steve Aiken (2020).png
Deputy Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office
3 February 2024
Incumbent
Assumed office
5 May 2016

Aiken was born in South Antrim, attended Thompson Primary School, Ballyrobert, and then was educated at Belfast High School. He joined the Sea Cadets in 1982 based at HMS Caroline (1914), which remains in its original dock as a Museum Ship. During his naval career he undertook further study and holds a PhD and MPhil in International Relations from the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Cambridge, with his thesis research on India and its growing military power. He also has a MA in Defence Studies from the Department of Defence Studies at King's College London. [2]

Military career

Aiken served for 32 years in the Royal Navy as a submariner, ultimately in many senior operational roles, including commanding two nuclear-powered submarines, being Joint Plans Officer for operations in the Middle-East in 2002-04 (for which he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)). [3] At the end of his service in the Royal Navy, he became the founding CEO of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce, a post he held for three years during which time he lived in Dublin with his family. [4] [5]

Political career

Aiken was one of three Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) candidates to run in South Antrim at the 2016 Northern Ireland Assembly election. [6] He was elected on the seventh count, with 3,280 first-preference votes (9.3%), being the only UUP candidate to be returned in the constituency. [7] [8]

At the 2017 Assembly election, Aiken was re-elected on the fifth count with 14.8% of first-preferences [9] [10]

Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party

When Robin Swann MLA announced his sudden resignation as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party in 2019, Aiken stood for the leadership. [11] [12] He was elected unopposed as leader in November 2019 and led the party through difficult periods addressing concerns about Brexit, the Protocol and pandemic. [13] He promptly opted for the UUP to take the Ministry of Health Department, when no other party would take it, and appointed Mr Swann MLA as Minister. [14] He announced his resignation as leader eighteen months later [15] because he held a firm position that the Chief Constable needed to resign in 2021. [16]

Post-leadership

In October 2021 Aiken was reselected to be a UUP candidate for South Antrim in the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election. [17] He was reelected in the May 2022 poll and, despite the lack of a functioning Northern Ireland Assembly since February 2022, he continues to serve the people of South Antrim and remains the Party Spokesperson on the Northern Ireland Protocol and Finance, in addition to his private consulting business. [18]

Suspension from the Assembly

In 2024, Aiken received a two-day suspension from the Assembly after being accused of breaching the "confidentiality" of the assembly complaints process. The standards committee recommended a sanction over Aiken disclosing a complaint he had made against another MLA. On 7 May 2024, MLAs backed a motion to suspend him from attending business on the 13th and 14th of May. Alliance MLA Paula Bradshaw called on Aiken to consider his position as deputy speaker. [19]

Row with Nuala McAllister

On 9 September 2025, while sitting in the chair as deputy speaker, Aiken clashed with Alliance MLA Nuala McAllister, after she accused of him of "patronising behaviour." This occurred after the Minister for Education, Paul Givan, delivered a statement in the Assembly chamber, during which Aiken responded to McAllister's point of order with "just a second, just a second, just a second". Once Givan had finished his statement, Aiken invited McAllister to speak, during which she told Aiken that she "did not need to be patronised." Aiken then asked McAllister to withdraw her remarks, which she refused to do so, and was asked to leave the chamber as a result. [20] [21] [22] [23]

References

  1. ↑ "Steve Aiken suspended from assembly after vote". BBC News. 7 May 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  2. ↑ "South Antrim". UUP Live. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  3. ↑ "Former submariner Steve Aiken surfaces at Stormont". 10 May 2016.
  4. ↑ Aiken, Steve (31 January 2013). "Speech by Steve Aiken British Irish Chamber". issuu. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  5. ↑ Maguire, Patrick (25 November 2019). "Can Steve Aiken save the Ulster Unionist Party". The New Statesman. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  6. ↑ "South Antrim: Confident UUP have second seat in their sights". Irish Times. 22 April 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  7. ↑ "Assembly Election (NI) Thursday 5 May 2016". CAIN Web Service. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  8. ↑ "Assembly election 2016: South Antrim count complete as Clarke and Aiken elected". Northern Ireland World. 7 May 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  9. ↑ "South Antrim - Northern Ireland Assembly constituency - Election 2017 - BBC News". BBC News. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  10. ↑ "South Antrim results - NI Assembly 2017". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  11. ↑ "Steve Aiken confirms he will stand for Ulster Unionist leadership".
  12. ↑ "Steve Aiken: The ex-submariner set to lead the Ulster Unionists".
  13. ↑ "Steve Aiken: From submariner to Stormont party leader".
  14. ↑ "Steve Aiken takes over as new leader of Ulster Unionist Party". BBC News . 9 November 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  15. ↑ McCormack, Jayne (8 May 2021). "Steve Aiken resigns as Ulster Unionist leader". BBC News.
  16. ↑ "Bobby Storey funeral: UUP calls for resignation of Simon Byrne". 1 April 2021.
  17. ↑ "Stormont election: UUP candidates announced for South Antrim". Newtownabbey Times. 20 October 2021.
  18. ↑ "UUP MLA Steve Aiken sets up new consultancy business during Stormont's collapse". 3 July 2023.
  19. ↑ "Steve Aiken suspended from assembly after vote". BBC News. 7 May 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  20. ↑ "Alliance MLA asked to 'withdraw' from NI Assembly chamber". BBC News. 9 September 2025. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  21. ↑ "Alliance party says Assembly deputy speaker Aiken should 'reflect on conduct'". ITV News. 10 September 2025. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  22. ↑ "Female politician ejected from chamber after labelling Stormont deputy speaker 'patronising'". The Independent. 10 September 2025. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  23. ↑ "Alliance MLA ordered out of Assembly chamber over 'patronising' remark about deputy speaker". ITV News. 9 September 2025. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
Northern Ireland Assembly
Preceded by Member of the Legislative Assembly
for South Antrim
2016–present		Incumbent
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