7th Northern Ireland Assembly facts for kids

The Seventh Northern Ireland Assembly is the group of people who make laws for Northern Ireland. These people are called MLAs, which stands for Members of the Legislative Assembly. There are 90 MLAs in total.

The latest election for these members happened on 5 May 2022. People voted, and the results were counted over the next two days. About 64.4% of people who could vote did so.

In this election, five MLAs were chosen from each of the 18 different areas, called constituencies. For the first time, Sinn Féin became the largest party. This meant they had the right to choose the First Minister. The Alliance Party, which aims to bring different communities together, also gained many more votes. They became the third-largest party, after the DUP.

How Many Members Each Party Has

This table shows how many MLAs each political party has in the Assembly.

Visualizing Party Strengths

These pictures help you see how the different parties and groups are represented in the Assembly after the 2022 election.

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  Party Composition following the 2022 Election

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  Designations of the Assembly after the 2022 Election. Unionists in Orange, Nationalists in Green and "Others" in Yellow

The parties are shown roughly from nationalist to unionist views.

Members of the Assembly by Party

This section lists all the MLAs, grouped by their political party. You can see their names, the area they represent, and when they became an MLA.

* This person is the leader of their party in Stormont.

† This person was chosen to replace an MLA who left.

Members of the Assembly by Area

This section lists the MLAs by the area (constituency) they represent. Each area has five MLAs.

Constituency	Name	Party
Belfast East	Naomi Long*		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	Joanne Bunting		Democratic Unionist Party
	Peter McReynolds		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	David Brooks		Democratic Unionist Party
	Andy Allen		Ulster Unionist Party
Belfast North	Gerry Kelly		Sinn Féin
	Carál Ní Chuilín		Sinn Féin
	Phillip Brett		Democratic Unionist Party
	Brian Kingston		Democratic Unionist Party
	Nuala McAllister		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
Belfast South	Deirdre Hargey		Sinn Féin
	Edwin Poots		Democratic Unionist Party
	Matthew O'Toole*		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Paula Bradshaw		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	Kate Nicholl		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
Belfast West	Danny Baker		Sinn Féin
	Órlaithí Flynn		Sinn Féin
	Pat Sheehan		Sinn Féin
	Aisling Reilly		Sinn Féin
	Gerry Carroll		People Before Profit
East Antrim	John Stewart		Ulster Unionist Party
	Gordon Lyons		Democratic Unionist Party
	Stewart Dickson		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	Danny Donnelly		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	David Hilditch		Democratic Unionist Party
East Londonderry	Maurice Bradley		Democratic Unionist Party
	Alan Robinson		Democratic Unionist Party
	Caoimhe Archibald		Sinn Féin
	Claire Sugden		Independent Unionist
	Cara Hunter		Social Democratic and Labour Party
Fermanagh and South Tyrone	Jemma Dolan		Sinn Féin
	Tom Elliott		Ulster Unionist Party
	Colm Gildernew		Sinn Féin
	Aine Murphy		Sinn Féin
	Deborah Erskine		Democratic Unionist Party
Foyle	Pádraig Delargy		Sinn Féin
	Mark Durkan		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Ciara Ferguson		Sinn Féin
	Sinéad McLaughlin		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Gary Middleton		Democratic Unionist Party
Lagan Valley	Emma Little Pengelly †		Democratic Unionist Party
	Robbie Butler		Ulster Unionist Party
	Sorcha Eastwood		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	Paul Givan*		Democratic Unionist Party
	David Honeyford		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
Mid Ulster	Michelle O'Neill*		Sinn Féin
	Emma Sheerin		Sinn Féin
	Linda Dillon		Sinn Féin
	Keith Buchanan		Democratic Unionist Party
	Patsy McGlone		Social Democratic and Labour Party
Newry and Armagh	Conor Murphy		Sinn Féin
	Cathal Boylan		Sinn Féin
	Liz Kimmins		Sinn Féin
	William Irwin		Democratic Unionist Party
	Justin McNulty		Social Democratic and Labour Party
North Antrim	Robin Swann		Ulster Unionist Party
	Philip McGuigan		Sinn Féin
	Jim Allister*		Traditional Unionist Voice
	Paul Frew		Democratic Unionist Party
	Sian Mulholland †		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
North Down	Alex Easton		Independent Unionist
	Andrew Muir		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	Stephen Dunne		Democratic Unionist Party
	Alan Chambers		Ulster Unionist Party
	Connie Egan		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
South Antrim	Declan Kearney		Sinn Féin
	John Blair		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	Steve Aiken		Ulster Unionist Party
	Pam Cameron		Democratic Unionist Party
	Trevor Clarke		Democratic Unionist Party
South Down	Sinéad Ennis		Sinn Féin
	Cathy Mason		Sinn Féin
	Patrick Brown		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	Diane Forsythe		Democratic Unionist Party
	Colin McGrath		Social Democratic and Labour Party
Strangford	Kellie Armstrong		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	Michelle McIlveen		Democratic Unionist Party
	Harry Harvey		Democratic Unionist Party
	Mike Nesbitt		Ulster Unionist Party
	Nick Mathison		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
Upper Bann	John O'Dowd		Sinn Féin
	Jonathan Buckley		Democratic Unionist Party
	Diane Dodds		Democratic Unionist Party
	Doug Beattie*		Ulster Unionist Party
	Eóin Tennyson		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
West Tyrone	Nicola Brogan		Sinn Féin
	Maolíosa McHugh		Sinn Féin
	Tom Buchanan		Democratic Unionist Party
	Daniel McCrossan		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Declan McAleer		Sinn Féin

* This person is the leader of their party in Stormont.

† This person was chosen to replace an MLA who left.

Changes in the Assembly Since the Election

Sometimes, an MLA might leave their job, and a new person is chosen to take their place. This is called a "co-option."

New Members (Co-options)

This table shows when new MLAs were chosen to replace others.

Party Changes

There have been no changes in which party an MLA belongs to since the election on 5 May 2022.