Gerry Carroll

Gerry Carroll (born 27 April 1987) is a People Before Profit politician from Belfast, Northern Ireland, who has represented the Belfast West constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly since May 2016. From 2014 until 2016 he also represented the Black Mountain district electoral area on Belfast City Council.

For the Irish footballer, see Gerry Carroll (Gaelic footballer).

Gerry Carroll
MLA
Carroll in 2016
Member of
Belfast City Council
In office
22 May 2014 – 7 May 2016
Serving with six others
Preceded byOffice created
Succeeded byMatthew Collins
ConstituencyBlack Mountain
Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly
for Belfast West
Assumed office
7 May 2016
Preceded byRosie McCorley
Personal details
Born27 April 1987 (1987-04-27) (age 36)
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Political partyPeople Before Profit
Alma materUniversity of Ulster
OccupationPolitician

Career

When aged 16, Carroll fund-raised with fellow activists to travel to Edinburgh, Scotland for the Make Poverty History protest. He contested the 2011 Belfast West by-election—triggered by the resignation of Gerry Adams—for the People Before Profit, and won 7.6% of the vote. At the 2014 Belfast City Council election he gained one of the seven seats in the Black Mountain electoral area from Sinn Féin, coming third. Following his election, he said that he did not describe himself as a nationalist or a unionist, instead choosing to identify as a socialist. He said: "There is a lot of anger in West Belfast at the minute over the situation at Royal Victoria Hospital's A&E, the privatisation of leisure centres and the Casement Park issues...residents have been trampled on".[1] He contested Belfast West again at the 2015 general election,[2] this time coming second, gaining 19.2% of the vote and reducing the Sinn Féin majority from 57.1% to 35.0%.[3]

After being elected a councillor, Carroll criticised the large pay rises that were given to councillors whilst other council staff suffered effective pay cuts, and campaigned against privatisation and cuts.[4]

He criticised Sinn Féin's "support for capitalism", and spoke against the "sectarian nature" of politics in Northern Ireland. In August 2014 he said: "In Northern Ireland sectarianism is at the heart of the state. I don't accept that, but then again I don't accept the conservative right-wing state in the south". At the 2016 Assembly election he was elected an MLA for Belfast West, topping the poll on the first count and gaining a seat from Rosie McCorley of Sinn Féin.[5] He was re-elected at the 2017 election; however, his vote fell from 22.9% to 12.2% in the face of a 4% overall Sinn Féin vote increase that cost fellow People Before Profit MLA Eamonn McCann and the SDLP's Alex Attwood their re-election bids.[6]

Carroll's support for Brexit, in an area in which three-quarters of voters voted Remain, has attracted criticism from Sinn Féin and pro-EU activists.[7][8]

Carroll stood in the 2019 general election and came in second place behind incumbent Sinn Féin MP Paul Maskey.

Electoral history

2019 UK general election
General election 2019: Belfast West[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Sinn Féin Paul Maskey 20,866 53.8 −12.9
People Before Profit Gerry Carroll 6,194 16.0 +5.8
DUP Frank McCoubrey 5,220 13.5 +0.1
SDLP Paul Doherty 2,985 7.7 +0.7
Alliance Donnamarie Higgins 1,882 4.9 +3.0
Aontú Monica Digney 1,635 4.2 New
Majority 14,672 37.8 −15.6
Turnout 38,782 59.1 −6.3
Registered electors 65,621
Sinn Féin hold Swing

2017 UK general election
General election 2017: Belfast West[10][11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Sinn Féin Paul Maskey 27,107 66.7 +12.5
DUP Frank McCoubrey 5,455 13.4 +5.6
People Before Profit Gerry Carroll 4,132 10.2 −9.0
SDLP Tim Attwood 2,860 7.0 −2.8
Alliance Sorcha Eastwood 731 1.9 +0.1
Workers' Party Conor Campbell 348 0.9 −0.8
Majority 21,652 53.4 +18.4
Turnout 40,830 65.4 +9.1
Registered electors 62,423
Sinn Féin hold Swing +12.5

2017 Northern Ireland Assembly election
2017 Assembly election: Belfast West - 5 seats[12]
PartyCandidateFPv%Count
1234
Sinn Féin Órlaithí Flynn 17.1 6,918
People Before Profit Gerry Carroll 12.2 4,903 6,514 8,252
Sinn Féin Alex Maskey 15.7 6,346 6,451 7,036
Sinn Féin Fra McCann 15.4 6,201 6,314 6,636 7,067
Sinn Féin Pat Sheehan 13.5 5,466 5,515 5,739 5,903
DUP Frank McCoubrey 10.1 4,063 4,372 4,490 4,521
SDLP Alex Attwood 8.6 3,452 4,019
People Before Profit Michael Collins 2.7 1,096
Alliance Sorcha Eastwood 1.9 747
Ulster Unionist Fred Rogers 1.2 486
Workers' Party Conor Campbell 1.0 415
Green (NI) Ellen Murray 0.6 251
Electorate: 61,309   Valid: 40,344   Spoilt: 586 (1.43%)   Quota: 6,725   Turnout: 40,930 (66.76%)  

    2016 Northern Ireland Assembly election
    2016 Assembly election: Belfast West - 6 seats
    PartyCandidateFPv%Count
    12345678
    People Before Profit Gerry Carroll 22.9 8,299
    Sinn Féin Alex Maskey 13.1 4,769 5,360.80
    Sinn Féin Pat Sheehan 9.7 3,516 3,761.08 3,829.20 6,393.20
    Sinn Féin Fra McCann 11.1 4,028 4,283.20 4,479.48 4,756.68 5,891.73
    Sinn Féin Jennifer McCann 12.1 4,386 4,648.68 4,755.04 4,988.88 5,044.81 5,750.11
    SDLP Alex Attwood 7.3 2,647 3,407.76 4,161.36 4,234.52 4,242.98 4,245.38 4,299.08 4,430.20
    DUP Frank McCoubrey 10.4 3,766 3,780.52 4,332.28 4,336.28 4,337.69 4,337.69 4,337.69 4,341.21
    Sinn Féin Rosie McCorley 8.4 3,053 3,244.40 3,303.24
    Workers' Party Conor Campbell 1.5 532 766.54
    Green (NI) Ellen Murray 0.9 327 705.84
    Ulster Unionist Gareth Martin 1.8 654 668.96
    Alliance Jemima Higgins 0.8 291 427.40
    Electorate: 63,993   Valid: 36,268   Spoilt: 722 (1.95%)   Quota: 5,182   Turnout: 56.70  

      2015 UK general election
      General election 2015: Belfast West[13][14][15][16]
      Party Candidate Votes % ±%
      Sinn Féin Paul Maskey 19,163 54.2 −16.9
      People Before Profit Gerry Carroll 6,798 19.2 N/A
      SDLP Alex Attwood 3,475 9.8 −6.6
      DUP Frank McCoubrey 2,773 7.8 +0.2
      Ulster Unionist Bill Manwaring 1,088 3.1 0.0
      UKIP Brian Higginson 765 2.2 New
      Alliance Gerard Catney 636 1.8 -0.1
      Workers' Party John Lowry 597 1.7 New
      NI Conservatives Paul Shea 34 0.1 New
      Majority 12,365 35.0 -19.7
      Turnout 35,329 56.3 +2.3
      Registered electors 62,697
      Sinn Féin hold Swing −14.0

      2014 Belfast City Council election
      2014 Belfast City Council election - Black Mountain - 7 seats
      PartyCandidateFPv%Count
      1234567
      Sinn Féin Steven Corr* 12.86% 1,793            
      Sinn Féin Janice Austin*† 12.80% 1,784            
      People Before Profit Gerry Carroll † 12.13% 1,691 1,789          
      Sinn Féin Emma Groves* 11.68% 1,628 1,637 1,757        
      Sinn Féin Arder Carson* 10.82% 1,509 1,527 1,628 1,629.68 1,634.18 1,636.12 1,641.44
      SDLP Tim Attwood* 9.02% 1,258 1,452 1,596 1,597.18 1,631.68 1,632.72 1,634.26
      Sinn Féin Ciarán Beattie* 9.61% 1,340 1,369 1,472 1,501.46 1,504.46 1,534.22 1,538.14
      Sinn Féin Caoimhín Mhic Giolla Mhin* 10.24% 1,428 1,450 1,521 1,522.30 1,526.05 1,527.19 1,529.71
      éirígí Pádraic MacCoitir 7.36% 1,026 1,040          
      Workers' Party Joanne Lowry 1.14% 159            
      SDLP Gerard McDonald 0.95% 133            
      Alliance Lauren Gray 0.79% 110            
      NI21 Chris Valente 0.60% 83            
      Electorate: 25,146   Valid: 13,942 (55.44%)   Spoilt: 369   Quota: 1,743   Turnout: 14,311 (56.91%)  

        2011 UK by-election
        2011 Belfast West by-election[17][18]
        Party Candidate Votes % ±%
        Sinn Féin Paul Maskey 16,211 70.6 −0.5
        SDLP Alex Attwood 3,088 13.5 −2.9
        People Before Profit Gerry Carroll 1,751 7.6 New
        DUP Brian Kingston 1,393 6.1 −1.5
        Ulster Unionist Bill Manwaring 386 1.7 −1.4
        Alliance Aaron McIntyre 122 0.5 −1.4
        Majority 13,123 57.1 +2.4
        Turnout 22,951 37.5 −16.5
        Registered electors 61,441
        Sinn Féin hold Swing +1.2

        2011 Northern Ireland Assembly election
        2011 Assembly election:[19] Belfast West - 6 seats
        PartyCandidateFPv%Count
        1234567891011
        Sinn Féin Paul Maskey 15.4 5,343
        Sinn Féin Jennifer McCann 15.1 5,239
        Sinn Féin Fra McCann 12.9 4,481 4,587.96 4,604.96 4,613.08 4,645.50 4,682.60 4,735.84 4,837.22 4,838.34 5,167.34
        SDLP Alex Attwood 10.9 3,765 3,776.69 3,780.09 3,787.09 3,890.45 3,939.62 4,083.74 4,719.58 4,780.65 5,151.65
        Sinn Féin Sue Ramsey 11.9 4,116 4,340.28 4,350.88 4,358.19 4,377.40 4,394.47 4,407.47 4,423.94 4,433.99 4,683.90 4,823.06
        Sinn Féin Pat Sheehan 10.8 3,723 3,737.35 3,960.50 3,971.78 3,996.39 4,016.61 4,029.73 4,051.85 4,054.90 4,249.77 4,327.19
        DUP Brian Kingston 7.5 2,587 2,587.28 2,587.33 2,587.33 2,600.45 2,604.45 2,607.45 2,617.57 3,834.57 3,866.57 3,866.57
        People Before Profit Gerry Carroll 4.8 1,661 1,664.85 1,665.85 1,701.85 1,732.85 1,853.97 1,939.09 1,977.31 1,999.31
        Ulster Unionist Bill Manwaring 4.2 1,471 1,471.21 1,471.36 1,473.36 1,503.41 1,512.41 1,517.41 1,526.41
        SDLP Colin Keenan 2.3 802 803.26 804.41 807.41 853.58 878.63 981.82
        Workers' Party John Lowry 1.7 586 586.63 587.03 590.10 607.24 644.38
        Socialist Party Pat Lawlor 1.1 384 384.42 384.92 399.92 408.92
        Alliance Dan McGuinness 1.1 365 367.66 368.76 370.76
        Independent Brian Pelan 0.4 122 122.77 122.92
        Electorate: 61,520   Valid: 34,645   Spoilt: 973   Quota: 4,950   Turnout: 35,618 (57.9%)  

          References
          1. Black, Rebecca (24 May 2014). "I am not a nationalist or a unionist, I am a socialist, says People Before Profit's new Belfast councillor Gerry Carroll". The Belfast Telegraph. Archived from the original on 6 October 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
          2. Ó Muilleoir, Tiarnán (6 March 2015). "Carroll vows to take on 'austerity parties'". Belfast Media Group. Archived from the original on 6 October 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
          3. "Belfast West parliamentary constituency – Election 2015". BBC News. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
          4. Stewart, Alan (27 June 2015). "Politician expresses fears over Waterfront Hall 'privatisation'". Belfast Live. Archived from the original on 4 October 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
          5. Little, Ivan. "West Belfast: Fairy tale win for newcomer Carroll as he snatches seat from Sinn Féin". Belfasttelegraph. Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
          6. Allison Morris. "West Belfast: Only the most optimistic would have predicted such a massive swing back to Sinn Féin". The Irish News. Archived from the original on 6 March 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
          7. "Carroll and McCann align themselves to Tory right wingers – Maskey | Sinn Féin". Sinnfein.ie. 18 October 2016. Archived from the original on 6 March 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
          8. "People Before Profit's justification for Brexit is just nonsense". The Irish News. Archived from the original on 3 November 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
          9. "Belfast West Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Archived from the original on 30 November 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
          10. "Election of a Member of Parliament for the BELFAST WEST Constituency - Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll". Electoral Office of Northern Ireland. 11 May 2017. Archived from the original on 19 October 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
          11. "UK Parliamentary Election Result 2017 - Belfast West". Archived from the original on 13 June 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
          12. "Statement of Persons Nominated". EONI. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
          13. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
          14. "The Electoral Office of Northern Ireland - EONI". www.eoni.org.uk. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
          15. "Member of Parliament for Belfast West". YourNextMP. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
          16. "UK ELECTION RESULTS: BELFAST WEST 2015". Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
          17. Sinn Fein's Paul Maskey wins West Belfast by-election Archived 13 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News, 10 June 2011
          18. Northern Ireland Elections Archived 4 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Northern Ireland Elections, 6 May 2018
          19. "NI Assembly Election 2011 - Results by Stage | Electoral Office for Northern Ireland". Archived from the original on 12 March 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
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