5th Northern Ireland Assembly
This is a list of the members of the fifth Northern Ireland Assembly, the unicameral devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) elected on 5 May 2016[1] or subsequently co-opted are listed by party and by constituency.
| 5th Northern Ireland Assembly | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
| Overview | |||||
| Legislative body | Assembly | ||||
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland | ||||
| Meeting place | Parliament Buildings, Stormont | ||||
| Term | 5 May 2016 – 25 January 2017 | ||||
| Election | 2016 assembly election | ||||
| Government | Executive of the 5th Assembly | ||||
| Members | 108 | ||||
| Speaker | Robin Newton | ||||
| First Minister | Arlene Foster | ||||
| Deputy First Minister | Martin McGuinness | ||||
| Sessions | |||||
| |||||
Only the Democratic Unionist Party, Sinn Féin and an Independent Unionist participated in the 4th Northern Ireland Executive, which now comprised nine rather than 12 departments.[2] The Ulster Unionist Party, Social Democratic and Labour Party and Alliance Party declined the roles they were entitled to, and under the Assembly and Executive Reform (Assembly Opposition) Act (Northern Ireland) 2016[3] the larger UUP and SDLP formed the first official Assembly Opposition.
The Assembly convened on 12 May, electing the DUP's Robin Newton as Speaker.
Party strengths
edit| Party | Designation | May 2016 election |
Jan 2017 end | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ● | Democratic Unionist Party | Unionist | 38 | 36 |
| ● | Sinn Féin | Nationalist | 28 | 28 |
| ♦ | Ulster Unionist Party | Unionist | 16 | 16 |
| ♦ | Social Democratic and Labour Party | Nationalist | 12 | 12 |
| ♢ | Alliance Party of Northern Ireland | Other | 8 | 8 |
| ♢ | Green Party in Northern Ireland | Other | 2 | 2 |
| ♢ | People Before Profit Alliance | Other | 2 | 2 |
| ♢ | Traditional Unionist Voice | Unionist | 1 | 1 |
| ● | Independent | Unionist | 1 | 1 |
| ♢ | Independent[n 1] | Unionist | 0 | 1 |
| Speaker[n 2] | None | 0 | 1 | |
| Total | 108 | |||
| Roles at commencement: ● = Northern Ireland Executive (66); ♦ = Assembly Opposition (28); ♢ = Other opposition (13). | ||||
Graphical representation
edit-
At election, 5 May 2016 -
12 May to 18 Dec 2016 -
18 Dec 2016 to end
This is not the official seating plan
MLAs by party
edit† Co-opted to replace an elected MLA
‡ Changed affiliation during the term
MLAs by constituency
edit
† Co-opted to replace an elected MLA ‡ Changed affiliation during the term
Changes since the election
edit† Co-options
edit| Date co-opted | Constituency | Party | Outgoing | Co-optee | Reason | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 August 2016 | North Antrim | Sinn Féin | Daithí McKay | Philip McGuigan | Daithí McKay resigned.[4] | |
| 7 December 2016 | Belfast West | Sinn Féin | Jennifer McCann | Órlaithí Flynn | Jennifer McCann resigned.[5] | |
‡ Changes in affiliation
edit| Date | Constituency | Name | Previous affiliation | New affiliation | Circumstance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 May 2016 | Belfast East | Robin Newton | DUP | Speaker | Robin Newton elected Speaker of the Assembly at its first sitting. | ||
| 18 December 2016 | Strangford | Jonathan Bell | DUP | Ind. Unionist | Jonathan Bell suspended from the DUP.[6] | ||
References
edit- ^ "Northern Ireland Assembly election 2017 results". BBC News. Archived from the original on 3 June 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
- ^ "Changes to government departments | nidirect". nidirect. 8 February 2016. Archived from the original on 13 August 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
- ^ "Assembly and Executive Reform (Assembly Opposition) Act (Northern Ireland) 2016". www.legislation.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
- ^ "Philip McGuigan is Sinn Fein's new North Antrim MLA after Daithi McKay resignation - BelfastTelegraph.co.uk". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on 25 August 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
- ^ "Órlaithí Flynn becomes MLA". www.sinnfein.ie. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
- ^ "RHI scandal: Jonathan Bell suspended from DUP". BBC News. 18 December 2016. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2017.