Deborah Erskine (born 1990 or 1991; ) is a

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 J ...

(DUP) politician from

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. She was elected as a councillor for Erne North in the 2019 Fermanagh and Omagh District Council election, and has been a

Member of the Legislative Assembly A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...

(MLA) for Fermanagh and South Tyrone since the 11th October 2021.

Career

Before becoming a politician, Deborah Armstrong worked as a journalist. Her first role was a reporter for the

Ulster Herald The ''Ulster Herald'' is a weekly newspaper based in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-ea ...

, a weekly newspaper based in

Omagh Omagh (; from ga, An Ómaigh , meaning 'the virgin plain') is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers River Drumragh, Drumragh and Camowen River, Camowen meet to form the River Strule, Strule. North ...

. She then became a press officer for the DUP, before working in Arlene Foster's constituency office.

Council

Armstrong was elected to

Fermanagh and Omagh District Council Fermanagh and Omagh District Council ( ga, Comhairle Ceantair Fhear Manach agus na hÓmaí; Ulster-Scots: ''Districk Cooncil o Fermanagh an Omey'') is a local authority in Northern Ireland and was established on 1 April 2015. It replaced Ferman ...

in the 2019 election, for the Erne North electoral area, ranking sixth out of ten candidates on first preference votes. She unseated incumbent DUP councillor David Mahon once all vote transfers had been completed. Arlene Foster was named as her election agent. She had been considered a favourite for chairperson of the council in 2021 following the end of Diana Armstrong's term, however the role went to Errol Thompson of the DUP. Armstrong (Erskine following her marriage in late 2019) was supportive of Arlene Foster when DUP MLAs and MPs signed a letter of no confidence in her leadership. Along with

Mid Ulster District Council Mid Ulster District Council ( ga, Comhairle Ceantair Lár Uladh; Ulster-Scots: ''Mid Ulstèr Airts Cooncil'') is a local authority that was established on 1 April 2015. It replaced Cookstown District Council, Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough C ...

councillor Kim Ashton, she criticised Christopher Stalford's handling of the fallout. Following Foster's resignation as leader, and the subsequent

leadership election A leadership election is a political contest held in various countries by which the members of a political party determine who will be the leader of their party. Generally, any political party can determine its own rules governing how and when a l ...

, Erskine was critical of Foster's removal, with her constituency group saying it was "not done in our name". She was thought to be supportive of Paul Bell, Ashton's father, who left the party following Poots's election.

MLA

Foster announced her resignation as MLA for Fermanagh and South Tyrone on 7 September 2021. A month later, on 7 October, Erskine was announced to have been co-opted to replace Foster, and became MLA on 11 October 2021. Erskine used her acceptance speech to praise Foster, saying that " r dedication to Fermanagh and South Tyrone has been unstinting. I thank Arlene for her unwavering encouragement to me, and I know that will continue." Her seat on Fermanagh and Omagh District Council was filled by Paul Stevenson. Erskine is a member of the

Committee for Health The Committee for Health is a Northern Ireland Assembly committee established to advise, assist and scrutinise the work of the Department of Health (Northern Ireland), Department of Health and Minister for Health. The committee also plays a key r ...

in the Assembly. In the 2022 Assembly election, Erskine was elected to a full term with 5,272 first preference votes. She was elected in the eighth count with 6695.3 votes. She used her acceptance speech to praise Foster, saying that she "should be here today for re-election and I want to pay tribute to her for her work and dedication to this constituency and indeed, Northern Ireland."

Personal life

Erskine married Robert Erskine on 31 October 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erskine, Deborah Democratic Unionist Party MLAs Northern Ireland MLAs 2017–2022 Female members of the Northern Ireland Assembly Journalists from Northern Ireland 1990s births Living people Northern Ireland MLAs 2022–2027 People from Enniskillen Politicians from County Fermanagh Writers from County Fermanagh Women journalists from Northern Ireland