7th Northern Ireland Assembly
This is a list of the 90 members of the seventh Northern Ireland Assembly, the unicameral devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. The election took place on 5 May 2022, with counting continuing the following 2 days; voter turnout was estimated at 64.4%.
| 7th Northern Ireland Assembly | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Overview | |||
| Legislative body | Assembly | ||
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland | ||
| Meeting place | Parliament Buildings, Stormont | ||
| Term | 5 May 2022 – present | ||
| Election | 2022 Assembly election | ||
| Government | Executive of the 7th Assembly | ||
| Members | 90 | ||
| Speaker | Edwin Poots | ||
| First Minister | Michelle O'Neill | ||
| Deputy First Minister | Emma Little-Pengelly | ||
Five MLAs were elected from each of the 18 constituencies. Sinn Féin became the biggest party for the first time, entitling them to the First Minister. Additionally, Alliance, the biggest cross-community party, also had a big increase, overtaking the SDLP and UUP in votes to become third in the assembly, following the DUP, the biggest Unionist party.
The DUP blocked the formation of an Executive until a meeting of the Assembly on 3 February 2024.[1]
Party strengths
edit| Party | Designation | Elected | Current | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ● | Sinn Féin | Nationalist | 27 | 27 |
| ● | Democratic Unionist Party | Unionist | 25 | 25 |
| ● | Alliance Party of Northern Ireland | Other | 17 | 17 |
| ● | Ulster Unionist Party | Unionist | 9 | 9 |
| ♦ | Social Democratic and Labour Party | Nationalist | 8 | 8 |
| Independent Unionist | Unionist | 2 | 1 | |
| Traditional Unionist Voice | Unionist | 1 | 1 | |
| People Before Profit | Other | 1 | 1 | |
| Independent Nationalist | Nationalist | 0 | 0 | |
| Speaker[n 1] | None | 0 | 1 | |
| Totals by Designation | Unionist | 37 | 36 | |
| Nationalist | 35 | 35 | ||
| Other | 18 | 18 | ||
| None | 0 | 1 | ||
| Total | 90 | |||
| ● = Northern Ireland Executive; ♦ = Official Opposition | ||||
Graphical representation
edit-
Party Composition following the 2022 Election -
Designations of the Assembly after the 2022 Election. Unionists in Orange, Nationalists in Green and "Others" in Yellow
Parties arranged roughly on the nationalist-unionist spectrum
MLAs by current affiliation
edit* Party Leader in Stormont
† Co-opted to replace an elected MLA
‡ Changed affiliation during the term
° Deputy Speaker
MLAs by constituency and current affiliation
editMembers are ranked by their order of election, and if co-opted, the position of the person who they co-opted.
* Party Leader in Stormont
† Co-opted to replace an elected MLA
‡ Changed affiliation during the term
Changes since the election
edit† Co-options
edit| Date co-opted | Constituency | Party | Outgoing | Co-optee | Reason | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 May 2022 | Lagan Valley | DUP | Jeffrey Donaldson | Emma Little Pengelly | Jeffrey Donaldson remaining as the Member of Parliament for Lagan Valley.[2] | |
| 4 April 2023 | North Antrim | Alliance | Patricia O'Lynn | Sian Mulholland | Patricia O'Lynn resigned.[3] | |
| 15 September 2023 | East Antrim | DUP | David Hilditch | Cheryl Brownlee | David Hilditch resigned.[4] | |
| 29 April 2024 | South Down | Alliance | Patrick Brown | Andrew McMurray | Patrick Brown resigned.[5] | |
| 10 July 2024 | Lagan Valley | Alliance | Sorcha Eastwood | Michelle Guy | Sorcha Eastwood elected as the Member of Parliament for Lagan Valley in the 2024 general election.[6] | |
| 10 July 2024 | North Antrim | UUP | Robin Swann | Colin Crawford | Robin Swann elected as the Member of Parliament for South Antrim in the 2024 general election.[7] | |
| 10 July 2024 | North Down | Ind. Unionist | Alex Easton | Peter Martin (DUP) | Alex Easton elected as the Member of Parliament for North Down in the 2024 general election.[8] | |
| 16 July 2024 | North Antrim | TUV | Jim Allister | Timothy Gaston | Jim Allister elected as the Member of Parliament for North Antrim in the 2024 general election.[9] | |
| 27 September 2024 | Fermanagh and South Tyrone | UUP | Tom Elliott | Diana Armstrong | Tom Elliott was given a peerage in the 2024 Dissolution Honours.[10] | |
‡ Changes in affiliation
edit| Date | Constituency | Name | Previous affiliation | New affiliation | Circumstance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 February 2024 | Belfast South | Edwin Poots | DUP | Speaker | Edwin Poots elected Speaker of the Assembly at its first sitting.[11] | ||
| 3 February 2024 | Newry and Armagh | Justin McNulty | SDLP | Ind. Nationalist | Whip suspended after leaving Assembly session early to manage Laois GAA at a gaelic match.[12] | ||
| 20 August 2024 | Newry and Armagh | Justin McNulty | Ind. Nationalist | SDLP | Whip restored.[13] | ||
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ "Stormont: Michelle O'Neill set to become first nationalist first minister". BBC News. 3 February 2024. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ "Declaration of Return of new MLA - Lagan Valley Constituency".
- ^ "Declaration of Return of new MLA - North Antrim Constituency".
- ^ "Declaration of Return of new MLA - East Antrim Constituency".
- ^ "Declaration of Return of new MLA - South Down Constituency".
- ^ "Declaration of Return of new MLA - Lagan Valley constituency".
- ^ "Declaration of Return of new MLA - Lagan Valley constituency".
- ^ "Declaration of Return of new MLA - North Down constituency".
- ^ "Declaration of Return of new MLA - North Antrim constituency".
- ^ "Diana Armstrong: UUP politician is New Fermanagh & South Tyrone MLA". BBC News. 27 September 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
- ^ "Stormont: Michelle O'Neill set to become first nationalist first minister". BBC News. 3 February 2024. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ "Justin McNulty: SDLP suspend MLA who left Stormont for GAA game". BBC News. 3 February 2024. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ "Justin McNulty has SDLP whip restored". RTÉ News. 20 August 2024.