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.
Thomas Beatty Elliott,Baron Elliott of Ballinamallard,is a Northern Irish politician,life peer and farmer who was the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 2010 to 2012,and has been a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Fermanagh and South Tyrone since 2022,having previously served from 2003 to 2015. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Fermanagh and South Tyrone from 2015 to 2017.
Jim Wells is a Northern Irish unionist politician who was Minister of Health,Social Services and Public Safety from 2014 to 2015. He additionally served on an interim basis as deputy speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly between 2006 and 2007.
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.
Colonel Richard Justin Kemp is a retired British Army officer who served from 1977 to 2006. Kemp was an infantry battalion commanding officer. Among his assignments were the command of Operation Fingal in Afghanistan from July to November 2003. After retiring Kemp co-wrote Attack State Red with Chris Hughes,an account of the 2007 Afghanistan campaign undertaken by the Royal Anglian Regiment,documenting their initial deployment.
Robert Samuel Swann is a Northern Irish politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for South Antrim since 2024. He previously served twice as Minister of Health,first from January 2020 to October 2022 and again from February 2024 to May 2024. Swann was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for North Antrim from 2011 to 2024. He also served as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 2017 to 2019.
Jo-Anne Elizabeth Dobson is a former Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician who was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Upper Bann from 2011 to 2017. She took up the role as Northern Ireland Ambassador for charity Kidney Care UK in February 2018,and has promoted organ donation.
Jamie Bryson is a Northern Irish loyalist activist who originally attracted media attention as a leading figure in the Belfast City Hall flag protests. He is the author of four books and is the editor of Unionist Voice,a monthly unionist newsletter and online site. He also runs a consultancy business focusing on loyalist public relations,legal work and advocacy.
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.
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 19 August 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.
Clare Bailey is a Northern Irish activist and former politician who was the Leader of Green Party Northern Ireland from November 2018 to August 2022,having been deputy leader of the party from 2014 to 2017. Bailey was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Belfast South from 2016 to 2022.
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 of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP),in protest against the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Lee v Ashers Baking Company Ltd and others[2018] UKSC 49 was a Supreme Court of the United Kingdom discrimination case between Gareth Lee and Ashers Baking Company,owned by Daniel and Amy McArthur of Northern Ireland. Lee brought the case after Ashers refused to make a cake with a message promoting same-sex marriage,citing their religious beliefs. Following appeals,the Supreme Court overturned previous rulings in favour of Lee and made a judgement in favour of Ashers. The court said there was no discrimination against Lee and that Ashers' objections were with the message they were being asked to promote. The court held that people in the United Kingdom could not legally be forced to promote a message they fundamentally disagreed with. The case became known in the British and Irish media as the "gay cake" case.
Matthew John O'Toole MLA is an Irish nationalist politician,former civil servant,and journalist,serving as leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) in the Northern Ireland Assembly and leader of the opposition since 2022,and a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Belfast South since 2020.
Malachai O'Hara is a Northern Irish politician,activist and community worker who has been the leader of the Green Party Northern Ireland since August 2022,having previously served as deputy leader from 2019 to 2022. O'Hara was a Belfast City Councillor for the Castle DEA from 2019,until 2023. In 2024,he was elected unopposed to Seanad Éireann,in a by-election to the Administrative Panel.
Eóin Tennyson is a Northern Irish Alliance Party politician who has served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Upper Bann since the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election.
Phillip Brett is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician,serving as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Belfast North since 2022. Brett is the infrastructure spokesperson for the DUP.
Kofi Balmer is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Scottish Premiership club Motherwell. He has won caps for Northern Ireland up to under-21 level.
Stephen Grimason was a Northern Irish journalist who was editor of BBC Northern Ireland. He was known for breaking the news of the Good Friday Agreement in April 1998.
