6th Northern Ireland Assembly facts for kids

This is a list of the 90 members of the sixth Northern Ireland Assembly, the unicameral devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. The election took place on 2 March 2017, with counting finishing the following day; voter turnout was estimated at 64.8%.

Only five (rather than six) MLAs were elected from each of the 18 constituencies, following the Assembly Members (Reduction of Numbers) Act (Northern Ireland) 2016. The reduction negatively affected Unionist candidates whose bloc lost its majority for the first time in the history of the Assembly. The SDLP was also negatively impacted, losing its only West Belfast seat.

Incumbent Speaker Robin Newton informally convened the Assembly on 22 March to pay tribute to the former deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, who had died the day before.

However, with the DUP and Sinn Féin unable to agree to form their mandatory coalition government, the Assembly did not formally convene. On 27 April, talks were paused until after a snap general election on 8 June, with a deadline of 29 June 2017 for the parties to reach agreement, but this deadline was repeatedly extended over the next three years. The DUP, Sinn Féin and other parties finally agreed terms on 10 January 2020.

Party strengths

Graphical representation

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  As elected, 2 March 2017

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  9 May 2018

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  Current composition, from 10 January 2019

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  Current composition following the election of the Speaker from Sinn Féin, 11 January 2020

Parties arranged roughly on the nationalist-unionist spectrum

MLAs by party

† Co-opted to replace an elected MLA

‡ Changed affiliation during the term

MLAs by constituency

Constituency	Name	Party
Belfast East	Andy Allen		Ulster Unionist Party
	Joanne Bunting		Democratic Unionist Party
	Naomi Long ††		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	Chris Lyttle		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	Robin Newton		Democratic Unionist Party
Belfast North	Paula Bradley		Democratic Unionist Party
	William Humphrey		Democratic Unionist Party
	Gerry Kelly		Sinn Féin
	Nichola Mallon		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Carál Ní Chuilín		Sinn Féin
Belfast South	Clare Bailey		Green Party Northern Ireland
	Paula Bradshaw		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	Deirdre Hargey †		Sinn Féin
	Matthew O'Toole †		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Edwin Poots †		Democratic Unionist Party
Belfast West	Gerry Carroll		People Before Profit
	Órlaithí Flynn		Sinn Féin
	Alex Maskey ‡		Speaker
	Aisling Reilly †		Sinn Féin
	Pat Sheehan		Sinn Féin
East Antrim	Roy Beggs, Jr.		Ulster Unionist Party
	Stewart Dickson		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	David Hilditch		Democratic Unionist Party
	Gordon Lyons		Democratic Unionist Party
	John Stewart		Ulster Unionist Party
East Londonderry	Caoimhe Archibald		Sinn Féin
	Maurice Bradley		Democratic Unionist Party
	Cara Hunter †		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	George Robinson		Democratic Unionist Party
	Claire Sugden		Independent Unionist
Fermanagh and South Tyrone	Rosemary Barton		Ulster Unionist Party
	Jemma Dolan		Sinn Féin
	Deborah Erskine †		Democratic Unionist Party
	Colm Gildernew †		Sinn Féin
	Aine Murphy †		Sinn Féin
Foyle	Pádraig Delargy ††		Sinn Féin
	Mark H. Durkan		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Ciara Ferguson ††		Sinn Féin
	Sinead McLaughlin †		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Gary Middleton		Democratic Unionist Party
Lagan Valley	Robbie Butler		Ulster Unionist Party
	Pat Catney		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Paul Givan		Democratic Unionist Party
	Trevor Lunn ‡		Independent
	Paul Rankin †		Democratic Unionist Party
Mid Ulster	Keith Buchanan		Democratic Unionist Party
	Linda Dillon		Sinn Féin
	Patsy McGlone		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Michelle O'Neill		Sinn Féin
	Emma Sheerin †		Sinn Féin
Newry and Armagh	Cathal Boylan		Sinn Féin
	William Irwin		Democratic Unionist Party
	Liz Kimmins †		Sinn Féin
	Justin McNulty		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Conor Murphy		Sinn Féin
North Antrim	Jim Allister		Traditional Unionist Voice
	Paul Frew		Democratic Unionist Party
	Philip McGuigan		Sinn Féin
	Mervyn Storey		Democratic Unionist Party
	Robin Swann		Ulster Unionist Party
North Down	Alan Chambers		Ulster Unionist Party
	Stephen Dunne †		Democratic Unionist Party
	Alex Easton ‡		Independent Unionist
	Andrew Muir †		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	Rachel Woods †		Green Party Northern Ireland
South Antrim	Steve Aiken		Ulster Unionist Party
	John Blair †		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	Pam Cameron		Democratic Unionist Party
	Trevor Clarke †		Democratic Unionist Party
	Declan Kearney		Sinn Féin
South Down	Sinéad Bradley		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Sinéad Ennis		Sinn Féin
	Colin McGrath		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Emma Rogan †		Sinn Féin
	Jim Wells ‡		Independent Unionist
Strangford	Kellie Armstrong		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	Harry Harvey †		Democratic Unionist Party
	Michelle McIlveen		Democratic Unionist Party
	Mike Nesbitt		Ulster Unionist Party
	Peter Weir		Democratic Unionist Party
Upper Bann	Doug Beattie		Ulster Unionist Party
	Jonathan Buckley		Democratic Unionist Party
	Diane Dodds †		Democratic Unionist Party
	Dolores Kelly		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	John O'Dowd		Sinn Féin
West Tyrone	Nicola Brogan ††		Sinn Féin
	Thomas Buchanan		Democratic Unionist Party
	Declan McAleer		Sinn Féin
	Daniel McCrossan		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Maolíosa McHugh †		Sinn Féin

† Co-opted to replace an elected MLA ‡ Changed affiliation during the term

Changes since the election

† Co-options

‡ Changes in affiliation