Robbie Butler (born 16 April 1972) is a Northern Irish unionist politician, serving as

Deputy Leader A deputy leader (in Scottish English, sometimes depute leader) in the Westminster system is the second-in-command of a political party, behind the party leader. Deputy leaders often become Deputy prime minister when their parties are elected to go ...

of the

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded as the Ulster Unionist Council in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it l ...

(UUP) since May 2021, and a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Lagan Valley since

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

. He has been the Ulster Unionist Party's representative for Agriculture, the Environment and Rural Affairs since 2024. He is an officer in the

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at 1st Magheragall.

Career

Before entering politics, Butler worked as a butcher from the age of 16, became a

prison officer A prison officer (PO) or corrections officer (CO), also known as a correctional law enforcement officer or less formally as a prison guard, is a uniformed law enforcement official responsible for the custody, supervision, safety, and regulation ...

in 1996 and then a

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in 2000. Butler was a UUP candidate in the 2014 local elections for

Lisburn and Castlereagh Lisburn and Castlereagh is a local government district in Northern Ireland. The district was created on 1 April 2015. It consists of the combined area of the City of Lisburn with the Borough of Castlereagh, but not including "the localities of ...

Council. He stood in the Killultagh electoral area and was elected as a councillor with 18.2% of the vote. At the

2016 Northern Ireland Assembly election The 2016 Northern Ireland Assembly election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2016. It was the fifth election to take place since the devolved assembly was established in 1998. 1,281,595 individuals were registered to vote in the election (representing ...

, he was elected to the Assembly as one of two UUP representatives for Lagan Valley. He was the UUP candidate for Lagan Valley in the 2017 general election, polling 16.8% of the vote. He stood again in the 2019 election, polling 19.0%. In the 2024 election, he stood once more in Lagan Valley and won 22.7%. His result meant that the Unionist vote was split, and therefore, the Alliance Party candidate Sorcha Eastwood gained the seat from the DUP. Following Steve Aiken's resignation as leader of the UUP, Butler was reported to be "giving serious consideration" around standing for the party leadership. Butler decided not to stand, and Doug Beattie was elected unopposed. On 24 May 2021, in addition to his existing role as party

chief whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom I ...

, Butler was appointed deputy leader of the UUP. In July 2023, Butler, as UUP deputy leader, ruled out any electoral pact with the

Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist, Ulster loyalism, loyalist, British nationalist and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who ...

(DUP) for the

2024 United Kingdom general election The 2024 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 4 July 2024 to elect all 650 members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons. The opposition Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, won a lan ...

. As UUP Education spokesperson, Butler, in August 2023, stated that "any new RSE ( Relationships and Sex Education) curriculum must be created with the input of parents, children and teaching professionals from Northern Ireland only." Butler accused the

Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their o ...

of forcing community and voluntary organisations towards a "financial cliff edge" on 23 August 2023. He called for the extension of the Core Grant Scheme.

References

External links

Lagan Valley constituency profile
BBC News; accessed 4 November 2016.
Northern Ireland Assembly profileUlster Unionist Party profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Robbie 1972 births Living people Ulster Unionist Party MLAs Northern Ireland MLAs 2016–2017 Northern Ireland MLAs 2017–2022 Place of birth missing (living people) Northern Ireland MLAs 2022–2027 Ulster Unionist Party parliamentary candidates