Alex Easton
MLA
Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly
for North Down
Assumed office
26 November 2003
Preceded byJane Morrice
Personal details
Born (1969-05-19) 19 May 1969
Bangor, Northern Ireland
NationalityBritish
Political partyIndependent Unionist (2021 - present)
Other political
affiliations		DUP (2000-2021)
WebsiteAlex Easton MLA

Alex Easton MLA (born 19 May 1969) is a Northern Irish Independent Unionist politician, serving as a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for North Down since 2003.

He was a North Down Borough Councillor for the Ballyholme and Groomsport DEA from 2001 to 2013.

A former member of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Easton left the party in July 2021, following disagreements over the party's leadership.

Career

Easton was educated at Gransha Boys High School and Bangor Technical College. He worked in the accident and emergency department in the Newtownards and then the Ulster Hospital as a clerical officer.

As a Democratic Unionist Party politician, he was first elected to North Down Borough Council in the 2001 local elections, and was re-elected to Council in the 2005 and 2011 elections.

He was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in the 2003 election, for the constituency of North Down, and returned again in 2007, 2011, 2016 and again in 2017, when he topped the poll for North Down, having increased his vote each election.

Easton stood in North Down in the 2017 General Election and polled 14,940 votes, nearly unseating the sitting MP. In the 2019 General Election, he stood once again in the constituency but was defeated narrowly.

Easton is opposed to a border poll, and has said those politically backing a backstop through Brexit could potentially lead to a border poll and is a threat to the Union, which must be opposed. Easton is also opposed to the Northern Ireland protocol.

He announced his resignation from the DUP on 1 July 2021, stating that he saw no "respect, discipline or decency" in the party's recent behaviour.[1]

He was re-elected as an independent candidate in the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election, topping the poll in the constituency for the fifth consecutive time.[2][3]

Personal life

He is a member of the Orange Order and the Church of Ireland. He served on the North Down Policing Partnership.[4]

In January 2023, his parents, both in their 80s, were killed in a fire at their home in Bangor County Down.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Breen, Suzanne (1 July 2021). "Fresh DUP crisis as MLA Alex Easton quits accusing party of having 'no respect, discipline or decency'". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  2. ↑ Breen, Suzanne (21 April 2022). "Alex Easton: Four ex-DUP councillors back independent candidate in North Down for Assembly election". Belfast Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  3. ↑ "North Down result - Northern Ireland Assembly Elections 2022". BBC News. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  4. ↑ Profile, nddup.org.uk; accessed 3 March 2017.
  5. ↑ "Bangor: Parents of MLA Alex Easton die in house fire". 23 January 2023 – via www.bbc.co.uk.


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