Ian Paisley Jnr
Ian Paisley Jnr is a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for the constituency of North Antrim. He was first elected in June 1998 and was re-elected in November 2003.
He secured 17.9% of the vote in 2003 increasing his share of the vote by 8.9%. According to the Electoral Commission he is ranked 12th highest vote in Northern Ireland out of the 108 Assembly Members.
The Democratic Unionist Party is by far the most popular party in North Antrim. It attracted almost 50% of the vote. This electoral strength is derived from the great leadership and standing of Dr Ian Paisley MP, MEP, MLA who has for over 34 years represented North Antrim at Westminster and is the leader of the DUP, now Northern Ireland’s largest political party.
Ian Paisley Jnr was appointed to the Northern Ireland Police Board in November 2001 There he is one of the DUP’s key spokesmen on policing and security.
Ian commenced his political career whilst a student activist at Queen’s University where he read Modern History. He was a student councillor on the Students Union for the faculty of humanities.
There he helped establish the Democratic Unionist Association at Queens. He was instrumental in opposing republicanism at the university and lead protests against attempts to mark an official day of recognition for a student & IRA bomber Maraid Farrell who was killed by the SAS whilst engaged in terrorism on Gibraltar. He also lead protests against the decision by the University to appease Irish Republicanism by dropping the playing of the national anthem at university graduations.
After graduating in Modern History Ian completed a master’s degree in Irish politics. His thesis was on the life of Dame Dehra Parker and an examination of the role of unionist women in Irish political society.
Ian continued his political activism by his involvement in the now celebrated legal case of the UDR4. In 1992 he wrote a book on this case – Reasonable Doubt the Case for the UDR4 - with a forward by the eminent historian and broadcaster Robert Kee.
As a result of the work of the UDR4 committee, on which Ian was its press officer, the four soldiers had their case brought before the courts and three of the soldiers successfully appealed there case resulting in their freedom and convictions of murder being overturned.
In 1993 and largely in recognition of his campaigning work he became Justice Spokesman for the DUP. Later he was appointed Press Officer for the party and elected to the Officer team of the DUP a position he continues to hold.
He is a member of Bannside Branch of the Party. This is essentially the parent branch of the DUP and where the activities of his father and the party commenced in the mid 1960’s.
The North Antrim Association of the DUP selected Ian to run for the Northern Ireland Forum, the elected wing of the negotiation process, in 1996. This was his first election and resulted in him entering public life.
In 1998 the Belfast Agreement was made. Ian Paisley wrote his second book, “Peace Deal?” - a critique of the Belfast Agreement. He stood for election to the new Northern Ireland Assembly and was successfully returned as MLA for North Antrim.
Between 2002 and 2003 he wrote a weekly column for the Daily Mirror on topical issues.
In 2003 when he was re-elected the editor of the Ballymena Times wrote
“In the past Ian Paisley Jnr has been the butt of unmerited scorn from his political opponents. He was ‘Daddy’s boy’ who was riding on his father’s legendary broad back, they sniped. He was a ’blow in’ who would be here for elections and little else, they jibed.
The election smashed the first of these myths conclusively. It should be noted that IPJ’s personal first preference vote (albeit under a hugely successful vote management strategy) soared by an amazing 8.9% on his last election campaign.
“Even the most bitter election opponent of the DUP will have to recognise that such a performance is not just a reflection of party popularity.
“If truth be told, Ian Junior’s local work on the ground not only snuffed out the ‘blow in’ label, it also laid the foundation for his outstanding result in the elections. In short he did the work, he shook the hands and he reaped the results.
“He could have sat back and let the party ticket send him to Stormont in economy class. Instead he invested heavily with his time in North Antrim and he must now be regarded as very much a regular in the first class compartment of the DUP locomotive.”
Ian Paisley Jnr was born in 1966 in Belfast. The twin son of the Rev Ian Paisley he is the youngest of five children. His earliest memories are attending large religious and political services as well as church in his father’s Free Presbyterian church Martyrs Memorial on the Ravenhill road.
He was brought up in a loving home with his three sisters Sharon, Rhonda, Cherith and twin brother Kyle.
Educated at Greenwood & Strandtown Primary schools, Shaftesbury House College and Methodist College Belfast as well as Queen’s University Belfast. He received a certificate in leadership from Maryland State University, Washington and attended an executive programme course at JFK School of Government, Harvard.
Ian married Fiona in June 1990 and has four children, Emily, Lucy-Jayne, Thomas and Matthew.
He is a person with deep religious and political beliefs. He is a committed Christian and was saved by asking Christ into his heart and to forgive his sins as a child in 1971.
Ian is committed to his representation work. As an assistant to his father he learnt the essential political skill of working for the needs of his constituents. He is regarded as one of Northern Ireland’s hardest working Assembly Members.
He runs a busy constituency advice service. During the last cession of the Assembly over 39,000 constituents contacted his office for assistance in a wide range of areas. During this period over £300,000 was reclaimed for constituents who where entitled to benefit and had not been receiving welfare assistance.
He specialises in benefit tribunals and planning matters. During the last Assembly he proposed a farm Land Planning Bill to address the serious inequality that people face in terms of planning in the countryside and as a Junior Minister sat on the Ministerial review group to reform rural planning.
“Representing the needs of my constituents is my key priority. It gives me the greatest sense of achievement & honour that I can be a voice for the voiceless and an instrument of good for the needs of those who deserve and are entitled to help.”
North Antrim is a large constituency spanning from the large market town of Ballymena in the south, including the rural villages through Ballymoney and its rural hinterland, the Glens of Antrim, Ballycastle and round the Giants Causeway including the historic village of Bushmills.
North Antrim, although not the largest geographic constituency, has the largest population. It is an area of vast population growth.
Unemployment is low although of the three council areas included in the constituency, Ballymena, Ballymoney and Moyle council Moyle is recognised as an area of economic stagnation due to the rural nature of the area and the lack of inward investment and business opportunities there.
Something Ian Paisley is working hard to change by his calls for farmers to gain from planning land reforms and creative business and tourism initiatives including a new Ballycastle to Campbelltown ferry service, a Golf Resort in the village of Bushmills and state of the art tourism centre at the Giant’s Causeway.
Ballymoney & Ballymena have significant business interests including significant home-grown businesses such as Wrights Bus Works, O’Kane Poultry and Sunstart Bakery to name but two. They also have significant international and multinational business connections including Gallagher Tobacco, and Michelin Tyres.
These are significant employers in the constituency and add to the vibrancy of the location. Business opportunity is very much a driving force with small and medium sized companies helping to cement a good work ethic in the locality.
Business parks such as Acorn in Ballymoney and Ballykeel & Galgorm business development parks in Ballymena all provide new opportunities for business development.
There are significant needs in the constituency; indeed the wards of Ballykeel and Ballee in Ballymena town are regarded as being areas for social need. As a result of these needs the DUP Minister of the last local government injected £1million of special resources into this area.
Farming continues to be a backbone of the constituency. It not only is a vast employer but it represents a massive constituency of people with all kinds of needs. Food production is a key industry in Northern Ireland and it is not surprising that North Antrim is one of the leading areas of milk, beef and sheep and potato production. In the last parliament session Ian paisley Jnr helped successfully negotiate the retention of a large potato company from closure and helped secure its future in the hands of a local farming co-operative.
“It is a privilege to know that I am the elected voice for such an historic and important constituency that spans from Kells to the Causeway. Helping to ensure that the needs of the people are both understood and met is my key priority.”
Ian has set an ambitious agenda for the constituency aiming to ensure that it leads the way for the province in both farming and tourism. That business and employment opportunities are maximised and that the community live at peace and ease with each other without seeing the British, loyalist and unionist identity eroded.
As a negotiator at St Andrew’s Ian Paisley Jnr played a significant role in negotiating a new deal for the country that has resulted in the development of a stable government and better more prosperous times for all the people. Between 2007-2008 he served as Junior Minister in the Office of First Minister responsible for victims, outside relations, children and the running of government.
“As a British citizen I want to see my unionist identity promoted and defended. For too long our rights have been denied and our identity despised. I mean to promote our sense of Britishness proudly and unashamedly”.
Ian is an enthusiastic motorcyclist and enjoys all types of motor sports. He relaxes with his wife and children and likes good food especially Chinese cuisine.
In 1999 he was awarded the Royal Human Society award for bravery for his part in the rescue of a drowning child.
Ian Paisley Jnr is a politician, author and columnist. His down to earth approach to people and his desire to deliver for his constituents and his unswerving loyalty each make him a unionist worth voting for.
