Patrick Brown (Northern Irish politician) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Patrick Brown
Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for South Down
In office 7 May 2022 – 23 April 2024
Preceded by	Sinéad Bradley
Succeeded by	Andrew McMurray
Member of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council
In office 22 May 2014 – 7 May 2022
Preceded by	Council established
Succeeded by	David Lee-Surginor
Constituency	Rowallane
Personal details
Nationality	Northern Irish
Political party	Alliance
Occupation	Politician

Patrick Brown is a former politician from Northern Ireland. He was a member of the Alliance Party. He served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the South Down area. An MLA is like a representative who helps make laws for Northern Ireland.

Brown was elected as an MLA in 2022. Before that, he was a councillor on the Newry, Mourne and Down District Council from 2014. In April 2024, he left politics to lead a non-profit group. This group, called Equal Right, works to promote the idea of a universal basic income.

Early Life and Education

Patrick Brown grew up in the towns of Crossgar and Downpatrick. He attended Shimna Integrated College. For university, he went to the University of Sheffield in England. There, he earned degrees in political science and international development.

After finishing his studies, Brown returned to Northern Ireland. He started several small businesses. One was a charity that helped provide clean water in East Africa. Another business helped support social enterprises, which are companies that aim to do good for society.

In 2017, he founded a travel business called Politrip. It gave young people the chance to volunteer on election campaigns in the United States. Brown sold the company in 2021.

Just a few weeks after being elected as an MLA in 2022, Brown earned his Ph.D. from Queen's University Belfast. His research was about Universal basic income, an idea where everyone in a society receives a regular sum of money from the government.

Political Career

Starting in Politics

Brown's interest in politics started early. While in university, he did a two-week work placement with politician Naomi Long.

In 2014, he was elected as a Councillor in the Newry, Mourne and Down District Council. He was one of the youngest people to be elected. In 2019, he was re-elected, receiving the most votes in his area.

During his time on the council, Brown was known for asking tough questions. He challenged the council on how it made decisions and spent money. He also led campaigns for social and environmental issues. For example, he helped get the council to support equal marriage and to move its pension money away from fossil fuel companies.

Running for the Assembly

Brown first ran for the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2016. He ran again in 2017 and nearly won a seat. In the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election, he was successful. He became the first Alliance Party MLA ever elected for South Down.

As an MLA, Brown was the Alliance Party's spokesperson for several topics, including Animal Welfare and Infrastructure. He also started a group at Stormont (the home of the NI Assembly) to discuss Universal Basic Income.

Leaving Politics

In April 2024, Brown announced he was stepping down as an MLA. He said he was leaving for personal reasons after ten years as a public representative.

He later explained that he had accepted a new job running a non-profit organization. He also shared that he had been finding the role of an MLA challenging, partly due to a recent diagnosis of ADHD.

After he resigned, it was reported that a standards watchdog had investigated a complaint against him. The complaint was from Shimna Integrated College and was related to how he handled concerns from local parents about the school. Brown stated that he was simply representing the people in his area and that this issue was not the reason for his resignation.

Electoral record