7th Northern Ireland Assembly
This is a list of the 90 members of the seventh Northern Ireland Assembly, the unicameral devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. The election took place on 5 May 2022, with counting continuing the following 2 days; voter turnout was estimated at 64.4%.
| 7th Northern Ireland Assembly | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Overview | |||
| Legislative body | Assembly | ||
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland | ||
| Meeting place | Parliament Buildings, Stormont | ||
| Term | 5 May 2022 – present | ||
| Election | 2022 Assembly election | ||
| Government | Executive of the 7th Assembly | ||
| Members | 90 | ||
| Speaker | Vacant | ||
| First Minister | Vacant | ||
| Deputy First Minister | Vacant | ||
| Sessions | |||
| |||
Five MLAs were elected from each of the 18 constituencies. Sinn Féin became the biggest party for the first time, entitling them to the First Minister. Additionally, Alliance, the biggest cross-community party, also had a big increase, overtaking the SDLP and UUP in votes to become third in the assembly, following the DUP, the biggest Unionist party.
Party strengths
| Party | Leader | Designation | Elected | Current | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sinn Féin | Michelle O'Neill[1] | Nationalist | 27 | 27 | |
| Democratic Unionist Party | Paul Givan[2] | Unionist | 25 | 25 | |
| Alliance Party of Northern Ireland | Naomi Long | Other | 17 | 17 | |
| Ulster Unionist Party | Doug Beattie | Unionist | 9 | 9 | |
| Social Democratic and Labour Party | Matthew O'Toole[3] | Nationalist | 8 | 8 | |
| Independent Unionist | N/A | Unionist | 2 | 2 | |
| Traditional Unionist Voice | Jim Allister | Unionist | 1 | 1 | |
| People Before Profit | Gerry Carroll[4] | Other | 1 | 1 | |
| Speaker[n 1] | None | None | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals by Designation | Unionist | 37 | 37 | ||
| Nationalist | 35 | 35 | |||
| Other | 18 | 18 | |||
| None | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 90 | ||||
Graphical representation
Party Composition following the 2022 Election
Designations of the Assembly after the 2022 Election. Unionists in Orange, Nationalists in Green and "Others" in Yellow
Parties arranged roughly on the nationalist-unionist spectrum
MLAs by party
* Party Leader in Stormont
† Co-opted to replace an elected MLA
‡ Changed affiliation during the term
MLAs by constituency
Members are ranked by their order of election, and if co-opted, the position of the person who they co-opted.
* Party Leader in Stormont
† Co-opted to replace an elected MLA
‡ Changed affiliation during the term
Changes since the election
† Co-options
| Date co-opted | Constituency | Party | Outgoing | Co-optee | Reason | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 May 2022 | Lagan Valley | DUP | Jeffrey Donaldson | Emma Little Pengelly | Jeffrey Donaldson remaining as the Member of Parliament for Lagan Valley.[5] | |
| 4 April 2023 | North Antrim | Alliance | Patricia O'Lynn | Sian Mulholland | Patricia O'Lynn resigned.[6] | |
| 15 September 2023 | East Antrim | DUP | David Hilditch | Cheryl Brownlee | David Hilditch resigned.[7] | |
‡ Changes in affiliation
No Changes since 5 May 2022
Notes
- Once elected, the Speaker relinquishes their party affiliation.
References
- O'Neill is the Vice President of Sinn Fein and leads the party in Northern Ireland. Mary Lou McDonald is the party President and Leader of the Opposition in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (National Parliament of the Republic of Ireland). O'Neill is the former deputy First Minister.
- Givan is the de facto leader, since Party Leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson decided not to take his seat, instead remaining an MP. Givan is the former First Minister.
- O'Toole has been de facto leader since the party's Deputy Leader and Stormont Leader Nichola Mallon lost her seat in the 2022 Assembly Election. Party Leader Colum Eastwood is an MP in the House of Commons.
- People Before Profit has a collective leadership. Carroll is their only MLA.
- "Declaration of Return of new MLA - Lagan Valley Constituency".
- "Declaration of Return of new MLA - North Antrim Constituency".
- "Declaration of Return of new MLA - East Antrim Constituency".
| Assembly |   | |
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| Committees | ||
| Constituencies | ||
| Parties | ||
| Elections | ||
| Members |
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| Procedure | ||
| See also | ||