|
Basil McCrea
Basil McCrea (born 13 November 1959) is a former Northern Irish politician. He was the party leader of NI21 from 2013 until it disbanded in 2016. He was also a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Lagan Valley from 2007 to 2016. Political career McCrea unsuccessfully contested the 2005 general election in Lagan Valley for the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). He was elected in 2007 to the Northern Ireland Assembly as a UUP member for Lagan Valley. He has been a UUP Councillor on Lisburn City Council and was, until his election to the Assembly, a Party officer and spokesman for the Northern Ireland Manufacturers' Focus Group. He has served as a member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board and UUP spokesman on Education. He was formerly a member of the Assembly Committee for the Department for Employment and Learning. He stood for leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) against Tom Elliott in the contest after the UK 2010 General Election. He was widely seen as the ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NI21
NI21 was a short-lived political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 2013 by ex-Ulster Unionist Party MLAs Basil McCrea and John McCallister. Although it explicitly supported Northern Ireland staying part of the United Kingdom (i.e. unionism), it planned to designate as "other" rather than "unionist" in future Stormont elections. It presented itself as a "cross-community party" and promoted a Northern Irish national identity for the 21st century. The party had two MLAs in the Northern Ireland Assembly and a single councillor on Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council. As of November 2016 following its failure to renew its registration with the Electoral Commission it has effectively ceased to exist. History Formation The party was founded by McCrea and McCallister several months after their resignation from the UUP over what they saw as a plan towards merging the UUP with the Democratic Unionist Party in the choosing of a joint-unionist candidate (Nigel Lutton) for th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lisburn City Council
Lisburn City Council was the local authority for an area partly in County Antrim and partly in County Down in Northern Ireland. As of May 2015 it was merged with Castlereagh Borough Council as part of the reform of local government in Northern Ireland to become Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council. Created in 1974, the council was the second largest in the Belfast Metropolitan Area. Council headquarters were in the city of Lisburn. It was the second-largest council area in Northern Ireland with over 120,000 people and an area of of southwest Antrim and northwest Down. The council area included Glenavy and Dundrod in the north, Dromara and Hillsborough in the south, Moira and Aghalee in the west, and Drumbo in the east. The council area consisted of five electoral areas: Downshire, Dunmurry Cross, Killultagh, Lisburn Town North and Lisburn Town South. It had 30 councillors, last elected in 2011. The final composition was: 14 Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), 5 Ulster Unionis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ulster Scots People
The Ulster Scots ( Ulster-Scots: ''Ulstèr-Scotch''; ga, Albanaigh Ultach), also called Ulster Scots people (''Ulstèr-Scotch fowk'') or (in North America) Scotch-Irish (''Scotch-Airisch''), are an ethnic group in Ireland, who speak an Ulster Scots dialect of the Scots language, a West Germanic language, and share a common history, culture and ancestry. As an ethnicity, they diverged from largely the same ancestors as those of modern English people, and Lowland Scots people, native to Northern England, and Lowland Scotland, respectively. Found mostly in the province of Ulster, and to a lesser extent in the rest of Ireland, their ancestors were Protestant, mainly Presbyterian, settlers who migrated from the Scottish Lowlands and Northern England during the Plantation of Ulster. The largest numbers came from Dumfries and Galloway, Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, Ayrshire, Scottish Borders, Northumberland, Cumbria, Yorkshire, and to a much lesser extent, from the Scottish Highlands. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Designated Other
A cross-community vote or cross-community support is a form of voting used in the Northern Ireland Assembly according to the provisions of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. It requires the support of both main communities in Northern Ireland, in other words majority of unionists ''and'' the majority of nationalist members of the Assembly. Among other reasons, it arises when the petition of concern procedure is invoked. Background Upon taking their seats members of the Northern Ireland Assembly are required to designate themselves as either "unionist", "nationalist" or "other". Members may change their designation of identity only if they become a member of a (different) political party or they cease to be a member of any political party. The election of the Speaker, appointment of the Minister of Justice, any changes to the standing orders and the adoption of certain money bills must all occur with cross-community support. This was originally set out in the Northern Ireland Ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Designated Unionist
A cross-community vote or cross-community support is a form of voting used in the Northern Ireland Assembly according to the provisions of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. It requires the support of both main communities in Northern Ireland, in other words majority of unionists ''and'' the majority of nationalist members of the Assembly. Among other reasons, it arises when the petition of concern procedure is invoked. Background Upon taking their seats members of the Northern Ireland Assembly are required to designate themselves as either "unionist", "nationalist" or "other". Members may change their designation of identity only if they become a member of a (different) political party or they cease to be a member of any political party. The election of the Speaker, appointment of the Minister of Justice, any changes to the standing orders and the adoption of certain money bills must all occur with cross-community support. This was originally set out in the Northern Ireland Ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist, loyalist, 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. Currently led by Jeffrey Donaldson, it is the second largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly, and is the fifth-largest party in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The party has been 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 Irish republicanism; the party is Eurosceptic and supported Brexit. It supports Northern Ireland remaining in the United Kingdom and opposes the unification of Ireland. The DUP evolved from the Protestant Unionist Party and has historically strong links to the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, the church Paisley founded. During the Troubles, the DUP oppos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2013 Mid Ulster By-election
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. Resignation of the sitting MP - Martin McGuinness On 11 June 2012, the sitting MP Martin McGuinness announced his intention to resign from the House of Commons to concentrate on his position as Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and avoid so-called " double jobbing", by which members of the Northern Ireland Assembly sometimes also work as MPs or councillors. Under the Westminster system, the vacation of a seat by a sitting MP triggers a by-election to choose their successor, with the election date in this case being set by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland due to Sinn Féin's policy of abstentionism. In reference to the cost incurred by such an election, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Same-sex Marriage In Northern Ireland
Same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland has been legal since 13 January 2020, following the enactment of the ''Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019''. The first marriage ceremony took place on 11 February 2020. Civil partnerships have also been available for same-sex couples in Northern Ireland since their introduction by the Government of the United Kingdom in 2005. Between 2012 and 2015, the Northern Ireland Assembly voted five times on same-sex marriage, and although it was passed by a slim majority on the fifth attempt, it was vetoed by the Democratic Unionist Party using the petition of concern. Following the inconclusive 2017 Assembly election and failure to form a Northern Ireland Executive by the deadline of 21 October 2019, provisions in the ''Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019'' mandating same-sex marriage by 13 January 2020 took effect. Regulations implementing same-sex marriage were signed by Julian Smith, Secretary of State for No ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belfast Telegraph
The ''Belfast Telegraph'' is a daily newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by Independent News & Media. Its editor is Eoin Brannigan. Reflecting its unionist tradition, the paper has historically been "favoured by the Protestant population", while also being read within Catholic nationalist communities in Northern Ireland. History It was first published as the ''Belfast Evening Telegraph'' on 1 September 1870 by brothers William and George Baird. Its first edition cost half a penny and ran to four pages covering the Franco-Prussian War and local news. The evening edition of the newspaper was originally called the "Sixth Late", and "Sixth Late Tele" was a familiar cry made by vendors in Belfast city centre in the past. Local editions were published for distribution to Enniskillen, Dundalk, Newry and Derry. Its competitors are ''The News Letter'' and ''The Irish News ''The Irish News'' is a compact daily newspaper based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uniting Ireland
United Ireland, also referred to as Irish reunification, is the proposition that all of Ireland should be a single sovereign state. At present, the island is divided politically; the sovereign Republic of Ireland has jurisdiction over the majority of Ireland, while Northern Ireland, which lies entirely within (but does not constitute the entirety of) the Irish province of Ulster, is part of the United Kingdom. Achieving a united Ireland is a central tenet of Irish nationalism, particularly of both mainstream and dissident Irish republican political and paramilitary organisations. Unionists support Northern Ireland remaining part of the United Kingdom, and therefore oppose Irish unification. Ireland has been partitioned since May 1921, when the implementation of the Government of Ireland Act 1920 created the state of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom. The Anglo-Irish Treaty, which led to the establishment in December 1922 of a dominion called the Irish Free State, r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith. Its members founded the revolutionary Irish Republic and its parliament, the First Dáil, during the Irish War of Independence. The party split in the aftermath of the Irish Civil War, giving rise to the two traditionally dominant parties of southern Irish politics: Fianna Fáil, and Cumann na nGaedheal (which became Fine Gael). For several decades the remaining Sinn Féin organisation was small without parliamentary representation. Another split in 1970 at the start of the Troubles led to the Sinn Féin of today, with the other faction eventually becoming the Workers' Party. During the Troubles, Sinn Féin was associated with the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). For most of that conflict, there were broadcasting bans on Si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2010 United Kingdom General Election
The 2010 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 6 May 2010, with 45,597,461 registered voters entitled to vote to elect members to the House of Commons. The election took place in 650 constituencies across the United Kingdom under the first-past-the-post system. The election resulted in a large swing to the Conservative Party similar to that seen in 1979, the last time a Conservative opposition had ousted a Labour government. The Labour Party lost the 66-seat majority it had previously enjoyed, but no party achieved the 326 seats needed for a majority. The Conservatives, led by David Cameron, won the most votes and seats, but still fell 20 seats short. This resulted in a hung parliament where no party was able to command a majority in the House of Commons. This was only the second general election since the Second World War to return a hung parliament, the first being the February 1974 election. For the leaders of all three major political parties, this was t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.svg "Click for more on -> Ulster Scots People")
.png "Click for more on -> Democratic Unionist Party")
.JPG "Click for more on -> Belfast Telegraph")
.jpg "Click for more on -> Sinn Féin")
