6th Northern Ireland Assembly facts for kids
Quick facts for kids 6th Northern Ireland Assembly |
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| Overview | |||||||||
| Legislative body | Assembly | ||||||||
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland | ||||||||
| Meeting place | Parliament Buildings, Stormont |
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| Term | 2 March 2017 – 27 March 2022 | ||||||||
| Election | 2017 assembly election | ||||||||
| Government | Executive of the 6th Assembly | ||||||||
| Members | 90 | ||||||||
| Speaker | Alex Maskey | ||||||||
| First Minister | Arlene Foster / Paul Givan | ||||||||
| Deputy First Minister | Michelle O'Neill | ||||||||
| Sessions | |||||||||
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The Sixth Northern Ireland Assembly was a group of 90 people chosen to represent Northern Ireland. These people are called MLAs, which stands for Members of the Legislative Assembly. They work in the Northern Ireland Assembly, which is like a local parliament for Northern Ireland. Their job is to make laws and decisions for the area.
The election to choose these MLAs happened on 2 March 2017. Many people voted, with about 64.8% of voters taking part. This Assembly was a bit different from earlier ones. Instead of six MLAs, only five were chosen from each of the 18 local areas, called constituencies. This change meant that some political groups, especially those who support staying part of the United Kingdom (called Unionists), had fewer seats. It was the first time they didn't have the most seats in the Assembly.
After the election, the two main parties, the DUP and Sinn Féin, found it hard to agree on forming a government together. This meant the Assembly couldn't officially start its work for a long time. They finally reached an agreement on 10 January 2020, almost three years after the election.
Contents
Who Was in the Assembly?
This section shows how many MLAs each political party had in the Assembly. Political parties in Northern Ireland are often grouped into "Unionist," "Nationalist," or "Other," based on their main goals for Northern Ireland's future.
| Party | Designation | Mar 2017 election |
Mar 2022 end |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ● | Democratic Unionist Party | Unionist | 28 | 26 |
| ● | Sinn Féin | Nationalist | 27 | 26 |
| ● | Social Democratic and Labour Party | Nationalist | 12 | 12 |
| ● | Ulster Unionist Party | Unionist | 10 | 10 |
| ● | Alliance Party of Northern Ireland | Other | 8 | 7 |
| Green Party Northern Ireland | Other | 2 | 2 | |
| Traditional Unionist Voice | Unionist | 1 | 1 | |
| People Before Profit | Other | 1 | 1 | |
| Independent | Other | 0 | 1 | |
| Independent Unionist | Unionist | 1 | 3 | |
| Speaker | None | 0 | 1 | |
| Totals by Designation | Unionist | 40 | 40 | |
| Nationalist | 39 | 38 | ||
| Other | 11 | 11 | ||
| None | 0 | 1 | ||
| Total | 90 | 90 | ||
| ● = Northern Ireland Executive | ||||
How the Assembly Looked
These pictures show how the different political parties were represented in the Assembly over time.
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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
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The parties are arranged to show their political views, from those who want to stay part of the UK (Unionist) to those who want a united Ireland (Nationalist).
MLAs by Party
This table lists all the Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) who served in the Sixth Northern Ireland Assembly, grouped by their political party. It also shows which area (constituency) they represented and when they became an MLA.
| Party | Name | Constituency | Member since | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic Unionist Party (26) | Maurice Bradley | East Londonderry | 5 May 2016 | |
| Paula Bradley | Belfast North | 5 May 2011 | ||
| Keith Buchanan | Mid Ulster | 5 May 2016 | ||
| Thomas Buchanan | West Tyrone | 26 November 2003 | ||
| Jonathan Buckley | Upper Bann | 2 March 2017 | ||
| Joanne Bunting | Belfast East | 5 May 2016 | ||
| Pam Cameron | South Antrim | 5 May 2011 | ||
| Trevor Clarke † | South Antrim | 28 June 2017 | ||
| Diane Dodds † | Upper Bann | 9 January 2020 | ||
| Stephen Dunne † | North Down | 28 June 2021 | ||
| Deborah Erskine † | Fermanagh and South Tyrone | 11 October 2021 | ||
| Paul Frew | North Antrim | 21 June 2010 | ||
| Paul Givan | Lagan Valley | 10 June 2010 | ||
| Harry Harvey † | Strangford | 12 September 2019 | ||
| David Hilditch | East Antrim | 25 June 1998 | ||
| William Humphrey | Belfast North | 13 September 2010 | ||
| William Irwin | Newry and Armagh | 7 March 2007 | ||
| Gordon Lyons | East Antrim | 19 August 2015 | ||
| Michelle McIlveen | Strangford | 7 March 2007 | ||
| Gary Middleton | Foyle | 13 April 2015 | ||
| Robin Newton | Belfast East | 26 November 2003 | ||
| Edwin Poots † | Belfast South | 25 June 1998 | ||
| Paul Rankin † | Lagan Valley | 14 March 2022 | ||
| George Robinson | East Londonderry | 26 November 2003 | ||
| Mervyn Storey | North Antrim | 26 November 2003 | ||
| Peter Weir | Strangford | 25 June 1998 | ||
| Sinn Féin (26) | Caoimhe Archibald | East Londonderry | 5 May 2016 | |
| Cathal Boylan | Newry and Armagh | 7 March 2007 | ||
| Nicola Brogan †† | West Tyrone | 6 November 2020 | ||
| Pádraig Delargy †† | Foyle | 13 September 2021 | ||
| Linda Dillon | Mid Ulster | 5 May 2016 | ||
| Jemma Dolan | Fermanagh and South Tyrone | 2 March 2017 | ||
| Sinéad Ennis | South Down | 2 March 2017 | ||
| Ciara Ferguson †† | Foyle | 13 September 2021 | ||
| Órlaithí Flynn | Belfast West | 7 December 2016 | ||
| Colm Gildernew † | Fermanagh and South Tyrone | 20 June 2017 | ||
| Deirdre Hargey † | Belfast South | 9 January 2020 | ||
| Declan Kearney | South Antrim | 5 May 2016 | ||
| Gerry Kelly | Belfast North | 25 June 1998 | ||
| Liz Kimmins † | Newry and Armagh | 9 January 2020 | ||
| Declan McAleer | West Tyrone | 5 May 2011 | ||
| Philip McGuigan | North Antrim | 30 August 2016 | ||
| Maolíosa McHugh † | West Tyrone | 28 May 2019 | ||
| Aine Murphy † | Fermanagh and South Tyrone | 2 July 2021 | ||
| Aisling Reilly † | Belfast West | 14 October 2021 | ||
| Emma Rogan † | South Down | 20 June 2017 | ||
| Emma Sheerin † | Mid Ulster | 4 December 2018 | ||
| Conor Murphy | Newry and Armagh | 8 June 2015 | ||
| Carál Ní Chuilín | Belfast North | 7 March 2007 | ||
| John O'Dowd | Upper Bann | 26 November 2003 | ||
| Michelle O'Neill | Mid Ulster | 7 March 2007 | ||
| Pat Sheehan | Belfast West | 7 December 2010 | ||
| Social Democratic and Labour Party (12) | Sinéad Bradley | South Down | 5 May 2016 | |
| Pat Catney | Lagan Valley | 2 March 2017 | ||
| Mark H. Durkan | Foyle | 5 May 2011 | ||
| Cara Hunter † | East Londonderry | 18 May 2020 | ||
| Dolores Kelly | Upper Bann | 2 March 2017 | ||
| Nichola Mallon | Belfast North | 5 May 2016 | ||
| Daniel McCrossan | West Tyrone | 7 January 2016 | ||
| Patsy McGlone | Mid Ulster | 26 November 2003 | ||
| Colin McGrath | South Down | 5 May 2016 | ||
| Sinead McLaughlin † | Foyle | 10 January 2020 | ||
| Justin McNulty | Newry and Armagh | 5 May 2016 | ||
| Matthew O'Toole † | Belfast South | 11 January 2020 | ||
| Ulster Unionist Party (10) | Steve Aiken | South Antrim | 5 May 2016 | |
| Andy Allen | Belfast East | 15 September 2015 | ||
| Rosemary Barton | Fermanagh and South Tyrone | 5 May 2016 | ||
| Doug Beattie | Upper Bann | 5 May 2016 | ||
| Roy Beggs, Jr. | East Antrim | 25 June 1998 | ||
| Robbie Butler | Lagan Valley | 5 May 2016 | ||
| Alan Chambers | North Down | 5 May 2016 | ||
| Mike Nesbitt | Strangford | 5 May 2011 | ||
| John Stewart | East Antrim | 2 March 2017 | ||
| Robin Swann | North Antrim | 5 May 2011 | ||
| Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (7) | Kellie Armstrong | Strangford | 5 May 2016 | |
| Paula Bradshaw | Belfast South | 5 May 2016 | ||
| Stewart Dickson | East Antrim | 5 May 2011 | ||
| John Blair † | South Antrim | 27 June 2018 | ||
| Naomi Long †† | Belfast East | 9 January 2020 | ||
| Chris Lyttle | Belfast East | 5 July 2010 | ||
| Andrew Muir † | North Down | 16 December 2019 | ||
| Green Party Northern Ireland (2) | Clare Bailey | Belfast South | 5 May 2016 | |
| Rachel Woods † | North Down | 7 October 2019 | ||
| People Before Profit (1) | Gerry Carroll | Belfast West | 5 May 2016 | |
| Traditional Unionist Voice (1) | Jim Allister | North Antrim | 5 May 2011 | |
| Independent Unionist (3) | Alex Easton ‡ | North Down | 26 November 2003 | |
| Claire Sugden | East Londonderry | 6 May 2014 | ||
| Jim Wells ‡ | South Down | 25 June 1998 | ||
| Independent (1) | Trevor Lunn ‡ | Lagan Valley | 7 March 2007 | |
| Speaker (1) | Alex Maskey ‡ | Belfast West | 25 June 1998 | |
† Co-opted to replace an elected MLA
‡ Changed affiliation during the term
MLAs by Constituency
This table lists the MLAs by the area they represent, called a constituency. Each constituency in the Sixth Assembly had five MLAs.
† Co-opted to replace an elected MLA ‡ Changed affiliation during the term
Changes During the Term
Sometimes, MLAs change during the time the Assembly is running. This can happen for a few reasons.
New MLAs Joining (Co-options)
When an MLA leaves their job before the next election, a new person from their party is chosen to take their place. This is called a "co-option." It means the public doesn't vote again for that specific seat. For example, if an MLA gets elected to a different parliament, or if they resign or pass away, a co-option fills their spot.
MLAs Changing Parties
Sometimes, an MLA might decide to leave their political party and become an independent (meaning they don't belong to any party). Or, they might join a different party. This is called a "change in affiliation." It means their political group changes during their time in the Assembly. For example, Alex Maskey was elected as a Sinn Féin MLA, but when he became the Speaker, he had to stop being part of a specific party.
