William Dickson (born 1947), known as Billy Dickson, is a unionist politician in Northern Ireland.

Early life and education

Dickson was born in Greencastle and grew up off the Donegall Road in Belfast,Rebecca Petticrew,
Through the Grapevine - Billy Dickson
, ''

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 po ...

'', 10 October 2013 where he studied at Kelvin Secondary School.''The Times Guide to the House of Commons May 1979'', p.49

Career

Dickson first rose to prominence in 1970, as the secretary of the Donegall Road Defence Committee, at which time he was also active in

Ian Paisley Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, (6 April 1926 – 12 September 2014) was a Northern Irish loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 1971 to 2008 and First ...

's Protestant Unionist Party (PUP). Dickson was a founder member of the

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), the successor to the PUP. He was elected to Belfast City Council in

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

, and again stood for the party in Belfast West at the

1979 UK general election The 1979 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher, ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with ...

, taking third place with 11.2% of the vote.The Local Government Elections 1973–1981: Belfast
Northern Ireland Elections He was able to hold his council seat in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

. Dickson was selected as a candidate for Belfast West at the

1982 Northern Ireland Assembly election The 1982 Northern Ireland Assembly elections were held on 20 October 1982 in an attempt to re-establish devolution and power-sharing in Northern Ireland. Although the Northern Ireland Assembly officially lasted until 1986 (and was seen as being ...

. Six weeks before the election, he was shot at his home by members of the

Irish National Liberation Army The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA, ga, Arm Saoirse Náisiúnta na hÉireann) is an Irish republican socialist paramilitary group formed on 10 December 1974, during the 30-year period of conflict known as "the Troubles". The group seek ...

. He survived the attack, although he was unable to take part in the remainder of the election campaign, and narrowly failed to win election. Although Dickson was re-elected at the 1985 local election, and served as Deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast in 1986, he then left the DUP and stood as an independent Unionist in 1989 local election, losing his seat. He subsequently joined the Conservatives in Northern Ireland, but again missed election when he stood for them in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

. Outside politics, Dickson long worked at the Ulster Museum, but later became a tour guide, specialising in the history of Belfast and the Ulster Covenant. He served as a

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC)Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the Royal ...

Reservist, and from 2007 had a weekly column in the ''South Belfast Community Telegraph''. Dickson later joined Traditional Unionist Voice, and at the

2014 Northern Ireland local elections Fourteen or 14 may refer to: * 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15 * one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014 Music * 14th (band), a British electronic music duo * ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013 *''14'', an unrele ...

, he stood unsuccessfully for the party in Botanic. He subsequently left the party, and in 2016 formed his own organisation, South Belfast Unionists, for which he stood in Belfast South 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 ...

,Rebecca Black,
Billy Dickson’s new party South Belfast Unionists joins the fray
, ''

'', 13 April 2016 taking 351 first preference votes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickson, William 1947 births Living people British shooting survivors Conservative Party (UK) politicians Democratic Unionist Party councillors Independent politicians in Northern Ireland Members of Belfast City Council Politicians from County Down People of The Troubles (Northern Ireland) Tour guides Traditional Unionist Voice politicians