Jonathan Buckley (born 19 July 1991) is a

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) politician who has been a

Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs; ; ) are representatives elected by the voters to the Northern Ireland Assembly. About The Northern Ireland Assembly has 90 elected members – five from each of 18 constituencies, the boundaries o ...

(MLA) for Upper Bann since 2017. He currently serves as the DUP's Spokesman for

Economy An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

, Business, and Energy and

Trade Union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

Engagement.

Early life

Buckley grew up outside

Portadown Portadown ( ) is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is based on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population ...

, where he still lives today. Jonathan was educated at Queens University Belfast studying Modern History and Politics.

Political career

Before entering the Northern Ireland Assembly, Buckley served as a Local Councillor for Portadown DEA within the Armagh, Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council. During his time in local government, he was a member of various committees, including Economic Development, Governance, and Policy and Planning. Buckley has been a member of the

Northern Ireland Assembly The Northern Ireland Assembly (; ), often referred to by the metonym ''Stormont'', is the devolved unicameral legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliam ...

(MLA) for Upper Bann since 2017. He succeeded retiring veteran legislator Sydney Anderson. During the campaign, he publicly exhorted voters in the constituency to vote and to transfer to other Unionist candidates. He was declared the winner on 3 March 2017. This made Buckley the youngest elected representative for the DUP. In October 2021, Buckley voted against 'safe zones' outside abortion clinics, saying the move which supporters claim is designed to protect women from physical and verbal harassment was "regressive". In May 2022, Buckley admitted that he was "surprised" to learn that he had been nominated by Anne Donaghy's office for an MBE for "political and public service". In addition to his political roles, Buckley has been actively engaged in various leadership and educational programs. He participated in the British Council Future Leaders Connect Programme at Cambridge University, becoming part of a global network of emerging policy leaders. He was also selected by the United States Government for the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), representing the United Kingdom in the Department of State Exchange Programme Global Economic Cooperation. In 2023, Buckley stood for the Deputy Leadership of the DUP, losing by one vote to Gavin Robinson, the MP for East Belfast. On 24 May 2024, Buckley was selected as the

candidate for Lagan Valley in 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 ...

, following the departure of

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson Sir Jeffrey Mark Donaldson (born 7 December 1962) is a Northern Irish former politician, who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 2021 to 2024 and leader of the DUP in the UK House of Commons from 2019 to 2024. He was t ...

. On standing for election, Buckley said:“I am running in Lagan Valley because I am putting country first. “I am running in Lagan Valley to ensure pro-union voters can unite behind a candidate and ensure Lagan Valley has strong representation at Westminster.” He finished second to Alliance's Sorcha Eastwood, who won the seat with a 2,659 (6.0%) majority compared to Buckley's 15,659 votes (31.9%).

Personal life

Outside of politics, Buckley is passionate about pigeon racing, country sports, and football. On 1 July 2022, Buckley married Jill Porter in

Lisburn Lisburn ( ; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with t ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buckley, Jonathan 1991 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Democratic Unionist Party MLAs Northern Ireland MLAs 2017–2022 Councillors in Northern Ireland Northern Ireland MLAs 2022–2027 Democratic Unionist Party parliamentary candidates