Alex Easton MLA (born 19 May 1969) is an

Independent Unionist Independent Unionist has been a label sometimes used by candidates in elections in the United Kingdom, indicating a support for British unionism (not to be confused with trade unionism). It is most popularly associated with candidates in elect ...

politician from Northern Ireland who has been a

Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs; ga, Comhaltaí den Tionól Reachtach; sco-ulster, Laa-Makkan Forgaitherars) are representatives elected by the voters to the Northern Ireland Assembly. About The Northern Ireland Assembly has 90 ...

(MLA) for North Down since 2003. A former member of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Easton left the party in July 2021, following disagreements over the party's leadership. He was educated at Gransha Boys High School and Bangor Technical College. He worked in the accident and emergency department in the Newtownards and then the

Ulster Hospital The Ulster Hospital, commonly known as the Ulster, is a teaching hospital in Dundonald (at the eastern edge of Belfast) in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is within the townland of Ballyregan, beside the A20 road. It provides acute services i ...

as a clerical officer. He is a member of the Orange Order and the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the secon ...

. He served on the North Down Policing Partnership. As a Democratic Unionist Party politician, he was first elected to

North Down Borough Council North Down Borough Council was a Local Council in County Down in Northern Ireland. It merged with Ards Borough Council in May 2015 under local government reorganisation in Northern Ireland to become North Down and Ards District Council. Its m ...

in 2001 and left Council in December 2013. He was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2003 for the constituency of North Down and returned again in 2007, 2011, 2016 and again in 2017, when he topped the poll for North Down, having increased his vote each election. Easton stood in North Down in the 2017 General Election and polled 14,940 votes, nearly unseating the sitting MP. In the 2019 General Election, he stood once again in the constituency but was defeated narrowly.He again stood as an independent Unionist MLA and topped the poll for the fifth consecutive time at the 2022 NI Assembly Election. Easton is opposed to a border poll and has said those politically backing a backstop through

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC ...

could potentially lead to a border poll and is a threat to the Union, which must be opposed. Easton is also opposed to the Northern Ireland protocol. He announced his resignation from the DUP on 1 July 2021, stating that he saw no "respect, discipline or decency" in the party's recent behaviour. He was re-elected as an independent candidate in the

2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election 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 month ...

References

External links

DUP webpage
1969 births Living people Democratic Unionist Party MLAs Democratic Unionist Party parliamentary candidates Northern Ireland MLAs 2003–2007 Northern Ireland MLAs 2007–2011 Northern Ireland MLAs 2011–2016 Northern Ireland MLAs 2016–2017 Northern Ireland MLAs 2017–2022 Members of North Down Borough Council Anglicans from Northern Ireland Northern Ireland MLAs 2022–2027 {{Northern-Ireland-MLA-stub