Tom Elliott, Baron Elliott of Ballinamallard

Last updated

Anne
​
(m. 1989)​
The Right Honourable
The Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard
Tom Elliott MLA Feb 24 (cropped).jpg
Elliott in 2024
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Incumbent
Assumed office
16 August 2024
Life peerage
Preceded by Reg Empey
Succeeded by Mike Nesbitt
Children2
Alma mater Enniskillen College of Agriculture
Military service
AllegianceFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
Branch/service British Army
Unit
Battles/wars The Troubles

Thomas Beatty Elliott, Baron Elliott of Ballinamallard (born 11 December 1963), is a Northern Irish unionist politician and farmer. He was the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 2010 to 2012, [1] 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.

Contents

Elliott was a soldier in the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) from 1982 to 1992, and its successor the Royal Irish Regiment from 1992 to 1999. [2] He backed a Leave vote in the 2016 Brexit referendum. [2]

Early life and education

Elliott was born on 11 December 1963 to John and Noreen Elliott, and received his primary and high school education in his native Ballinamallard in County Fermanagh. He earned a college certificate in agriculture from the Enniskillen College of Agriculture. [3] [4]

Political career

Elliott has been an activist in the Ballinamallard Ward Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) committee for many years and is chairman of that committee. He has also been Honorary Secretary of the Fermanagh Divisional Unionist Association since 1998 and was chairman of the internal Ulster Unionist ad hoc Review Group for its duration. [4]

In November 2003 he was elected as a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly representing Fermanagh and South Tyrone, a position to which he was re-elected in March 2007 and May 2011. In this role he served as Ulster Unionist Assembly spokesperson on Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Elliott was selected as the UUP candidate for Fermanagh and South Tyrone UK Parliament constituency in the 2005 general election and came in third behind the Sinn Féin and DUP candidates. The UUP share of the vote fell from 34% in 2001 to 18% in 2005.

He was reselected for the 2010 general election, but stood down in favour of independent Unionist candidate Rodney Connor. With the DUP, TUV, UKIP and the Conservatives not contesting the seat.

Party leadership

In June 2010, Elliott announced his intention to run in the 2010 Ulster Unionist Party leadership election. [5] He was elected although not without some controversy. It emerged shortly before the leadership election that a quarter of the UUP membership came from Fermanagh and South Tyrone, a disproportionately high figure. [6] The Phoenix , an Irish political magazine, described Elliott as a "blast from the past" and that his election signified "a significant shift to the right" by the UUP.[ citation needed ]

The political editor of BBC Northern Ireland asssessed that Elliott "slipped on a number of banana skins, most of his own making" and that "his charm did not transmit well over the airwaves." [7]

When Elliott took over the leadership of the UUP in 2010, the party had recently received 102,361 votes at the May general election, which amounted to 15.2% of the vote. [8] At the 2011 Assembly election, which was Elliott's first election as party leader, the UUP only received 87,531 votes which amounted to 13.2% of the vote and resulted in the party losing two of its MLAs. [9] On the same day in 2011 the UUP also lost 16 of its Council seats. [10]

In March 2012, he announced that he would step down as party leader. [11]

When asked about his reasoning for standing down, he said that "some people have not given [him] a fair opportunity at developing and progressing many initiatives", going on to say that some of the hostility began immediately after he was selected as leader. He also accused some party members of making his job more difficult by briefing journalists. [12]

His resignation triggered the 2012 Ulster Unionist Party leadership election. [13]

House of Commons

Elliott was selected as the UUP candidate for Fermanagh and South Tyrone at the 2015 general election. He successfully won back the seat for the party, defeating the incumbent MP, Michelle Gildernew of Sinn Féin, with 46.4 per cent of votes cast and a majority of 530. [14] Elliott's win was one of two victories for the Ulster Unionist Party at the election and returned the UUP to the Commons for the first time in five years.

In the run-up to the 2017 general election, Elliott stated that the UUP was open to an electoral pact with the Democratic Unionist Party, [15] but no such pact was agreed. He lost his seat to Gildernew at the election. [16]

Elliott again contested Fermanagh and South Tyrone at the 2019 general election, coming only 57 votes short of retaking the seat, with 43.3% of votes cast. [17]

Return to Stormont

Elliott was one of two UUP candidates for Fermanagh and South Tyrone at the 2022 Assembly election. He was elected on the second count, with 5,442 first-preference votes (10.2%). Elliott's election came at the expense of his running mate, the incumbent MLA, Rosemary Barton.

Elliott serves as the Ulster Unionist Party's agriculture spokesperson. [18] In this role, he has raised concerns about the rise of rural crime in Northern Ireland and outlined that the UUP is "committed to challenging serious and organised crimes." [19]

In August 2023, Elliott met with Dame Brenda King, Attorney General for Northern Ireland, to express concerns at the perceived imbalance in Troubles legacy cases being directed for inquests. [20]

Peerage

Elliott was nominated for a life peerage in the 2024 Dissolution Honours. [21] [22] [23] He was created Baron Elliott of Ballinamallard, of Ballinamallard in the County of Fermanagh, on 16 August 2024. [24]

Controversies

In 2010 when Elliott was campaigning to be party leader he stated publicly that he wouldn't attend gay pride parades or Gaelic Athletic Association matches, [25] and these comments were interpreted as a move by him to appeal to more socially conservative elements in his party and a rebuke to his opponent Basil McCrea. [26] Elliott later met with some gay rights groups and GAA figures in Northern Ireland. [27] [28]

After he was elected in the 2011 Assembly election, in his victory speech in Omagh Elliott referred to the Irish tricolour as a "flag of a foreign nation". When the audience started heckling him, he went on to describe nationalist supporters holding Irish flags as "the scum of Sinn Féin". [29] [30] Although initially refusing to retract his comment [31] he later issued an apology "to all those good nationalists, republicans, even Sinn Fein voters who felt offended by it." [32]

In August 2012, Elliott opposed money being spent on public inquests into people killed by the British Army and loyalist paramilitaries during the Troubles. He urged relatives of those killed by the IRA—whom he called "the real victims"—to band together to "choke the system up" and stop such inquests happening. [33] He later clarified his remarks saying "At no stage did I suggest or infer that anyone killed in the Troubles, who was not murdered by the IRA, were 'not real victims'". [34]

In February 2016, Elliott was criticised when he provided a statement to a court on behalf of a convicted benefit cheat. The judge in the case said he received a letter from a "senior politician" that spoke "glowingly" of the convicted man's work in the voluntary sector. [35] Elliott denied it was a character reference. That same month, he was criticised by a judge for writing a testimonial for a man convicted for driving while disqualified. [36] Although not naming Elliott in court he said he "crossed the line of the independence of the court" and "trespassed on the sentencing process." [37]

Elliott settled a defamation case with Attorney General John Larkin by issuing a statement through his barrister and donating an undisclosed sum of money to charity. [38] Under the terms of the settlement the following statement was read out by Elliott's senior counsel:

"On 20 April 2016, during the course of a live debate on the Stephen Nolan BBC Radio Ulster show, Mr Elliott made a number of statements which may have been taken to imply that the attorney general, John Larkin, had failed to discharge his professional duties impartially and with fairness. Mr Elliott wishes to confirm that he did not intend to impugn the integrity of Mr Larkin or for any such inferences to be taken from his statements. Mr Elliott regrets any embarrassment which this may have caused Mr Larkin." [39]

Personal life

Elliott married his wife Anne in 1989. They have two children, a son and a daughter, who were adopted at the age of two. [3] [40]

Elliott is a member of the Orange Order within Fermanagh, the Royal Black Preceptory and the Kesh branch of the Apprentice Boys of Derry (ABOD). [41]

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">Michelle Gildernew</span> Irish politician (born 1970)

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.

Kenneth Wiggins Maginnis, Baron Maginnis of Drumglass, is a Northern Irish politician and life peer. Since December 2020, he has been suspended from the House of Lords, where he formerly sat for the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). He was the Ulster Unionist Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Fermanagh and South Tyrone from 1983 to 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Tyrone (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom

West Tyrone is a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons. The current MP is Órfhlaith Begley, a member of Sinn Fein, since the 2024 United Kingdom general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mid Ulster (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1950 onwards

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fermanagh and South Tyrone (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1950 onwards

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 Northern Ireland Assembly election</span>

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).

The Ulster Conservatives and Unionists, officially registered as the Ulster Conservatives and Unionists – New Force (UCUNF), was an electoral alliance in Northern Ireland between the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and the Conservative Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Northern Ireland Assembly election</span>

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.

Rodney Connor is a retired Chief Executive of Fermanagh District Council in Northern Ireland and was a candidate for political office.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil Flanagan</span>

Phil Flanagan is an Irish Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) executive and former Sinn Fein politician who was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Fermanagh and South Tyrone from 2011 to 2016. He was the Sinn Féin spokesperson on Enterprise, Trade and Investment, and was also a Fermanagh District Councillor for the Erne West DEA from 2009 to 2011, and then briefly for Erne North in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2005 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Mid Ulster by-election</span>

A by-election for the UK House of Commons constituency of Mid Ulster in Northern Ireland was held on 7 March 2013. The election was triggered by the resignation of Martin McGuinness, who had been elected to the seat in 1997 as the Sinn Féin candidate. The election was won by Francie Molloy, also of Sinn Féin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Fermanagh and Omagh District Council election</span> 2014 Northern Irish local government 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland</span> Result of Northern Ireland element of the UK General Election

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diana Armstrong</span> Ulster Unionist Party politician

Diana Armstrong 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.

References

  1. ↑ Gareth Gordon (23 September 2010). "Ulster Unionists pick Tom Elliott as new party leader". BBC News. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Borderline fear: Brexit jitters awake past anxieties", Irish Times , 7 November 2016; retrieved 8 June 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Elliott, Thomas" . Who's Who . A & C Black. 2022. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U246178.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  4. 1 2 "Official Tom Elliott webpage". Official website. Tom Elliot MLA. Archived from the original on 1 July 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  5. ↑ "Elliott announces UUP leadership bid". BBC News. 22 June 2010.
  6. ↑ "Legal threat to the UUP leadership race ebbs". Belfast Telegraph. 17 September 2010. Archived from the original on 20 July 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
  7. ↑ "Tom Elliott's bumpy ride since taking over UUP leadership". BBC News. 8 March 2012.
  8. ↑ Whyte, Dr Nicholas. "2010 Westminster Elections". ark.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 1 June 2017. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  9. ↑ Whyte, Dr Nicholas. "Northern Ireland Assembly Elections 2011". ark.ac.uk.
  10. ↑ "Alliance makes strong gains but UUP loses 16 seats as its vote freefalls". Belfasttelegraph. BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  11. ↑ Clarke, Liam. "UUP's 'decent man' Tom Elliott has had enough of relentless hostility". Belfast Telegraph. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  12. ↑ Edwards, Rodney (9 March 2012). "EXCLUSIVE: Tom Elliott QUITS as UUP leader – First Interview". The Impartial Reporter. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  13. ↑ "Tom Elliott to quit as leader of Ulster Unionist party". The Guardian. 8 March 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  14. ↑ "Election 2015: UUP win two seats and make biggest gain". BBC News. 8 May 2015.
  15. ↑ "General election 2017: DUP and UUP to discuss pact". BBC News. 19 April 2017.
  16. ↑ "General Election 2017: SDLP and UUP lose Westminster seats". BBC News. 8 June 2017.
  17. ↑ https://electionsireland.org/result.cfm?election=2019UK&cons=715 [ bare URL ]
  18. ↑ "Tom Elliott has meeting with new farming union leader". Impartial Reporter. 30 May 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  19. ↑ "Tom Elliott MLA Raises Concerns About the Increase of Rural Crime in Northern Ireland". UUP Live. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  20. ↑ "Elliott Meets Attorney General About Troubles Legacy Cases". UUP Live. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  21. ↑ "No. 64480". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 August 2024. p. 15222.
  22. ↑ "Dissolution Peerages 2024". GOV.UK. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  23. ↑ "UUP's Tom Elliott appointed to House of Lords". BBC News. 4 July 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  24. ↑ "No. 64495". The London Gazette . 22 August 2024. p. 16250.
  25. ↑ "I won't go to GAA games and gay events, says Tom Elliott". Belfasttelegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
  26. ↑ "I won't go to GAA games and gay events, says Tom Elliott". Belfasttelegraph.co.uk. 3 September 2010.
  27. ↑ "UUP leader Tom Eliott will meet with gay community". Pinknews.co.uk. 10 January 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  28. ↑ "Elliott's 'positive talks with GAA'". Newsletter.co.uk. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  29. ↑ "Tom Elliott attacks 'scum of Sinn Féin'". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
  30. ↑ "Tom Elliott apologies for 'scum' remark". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
  31. ↑ Staff. "UUP leader defiant over 'scum' outburst". Belfast Newsletter. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  32. ↑ "Tom Elliott apologises for Sinn Féin 'scum' comments". BBC News. 11 May 2011.
  33. ↑ "Sean Brown and Francis Bradley 'not real victims' says Tom Elliot". Mid-Ulster Mail.
  34. ↑ "Elliott clarifies victims remarks". News Letter.
  35. ↑ "Ulster Unionist MP Tom Elliott won't reveal Clive Miller letter for legal reasons". Impartial Reporter. 12 February 2016.
  36. ↑ "Tom Elliott:Judge criticises Ulster Unionist MP for letter sent to court in support of former soldier". BBC News. 26 February 2016.
  37. ↑ "Judge slams MP Tom Elliott's interference over letter on behalf of banned driver". Belfast Telegraph.
  38. ↑ "Tom Elliott and John Larkin settle defamation case". EUROPE Breaking News.
  39. ↑ "Tom Elliott and John Larkin settle defamation case". BBC News. 8 September 2017.
  40. ↑ Travers, Sarah (12 November 2009). "Family Focus: Adoption". BBC News. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  41. ↑ McDonald, Henry (6 May 2015). "Divisions run deep on Lough Erne's banks, in the UK's most marginal seat". The Guardian . Retrieved 18 September 2015.
Northern Ireland Assembly
Preceded by Member of the Legislative Assembly
for Fermanagh and South Tyrone
2003–2015		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the Legislative Assembly
for Fermanagh and South Tyrone
2022–present		Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party
2010–2012		Succeeded by
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Fermanagh and South Tyrone
2015–2017 		Succeeded by
Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
Preceded by Gentlemen
Baron Elliott of Ballinamallard		Followed by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.