Patrick Brown
MLA
Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly
for South Down
Assumed office
7 May 2022
Personal details
NationalityNorthern Irish
Political partyAlliance
OccupationPolitician

Patrick Brown is a Northern Irish politician who is an Alliance Party Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). He was elected as an MLA in the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election for South Down.[1]

Early life

Brown grew up in Crossgar and Downpatrick where he attended integrated schools, including Shimna Integrated College.[2] Brown went to University of Sheffield, where he received his bachelor's degree and master's degrees in political science and international development respectively.[3][2]

Upon his return to Northern Ireland, Brown started several small businesses, including a water and sanitation charity doing work in East Africa and a firm that supports social enterprises and other third sector organizations.[2]

Brown was awarded his Ph.D. on Universal basic income and Conflict transformation at Queen's University Belfast[2] only weeks after his election in May 2022's Assembly elections in Northern Ireland.[4]

Political career

During his undergraduate studies, Brown did a two-week work placement in Naomi Long's office in Westminster.[3]

In 2014, Brown was one of the youngest people to be elected as a Councillor in Newry, Mourne and Down District Council. In March 2017, Brown was arrested for drink driving his motorbike.[5][6] His case was referred to the council's standards watchdog, who suspended Brown from his council duties for six months.[6] He was re-elected five years later in the 2019 local elections.[6][2][7]

Brown first ran for the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2016, achieving Alliances best result in the South Down constituency up to that date with 5.36% of the vote. In the 2017 Assembly elections Brown almost doubled his vote to 9.18%, narrowly missing the 5th seat.

Brown won 13.9% of the vote in the 2019 UK Parliamentary election in South Down, placing 4th overall with 6916 votes.[8]

In the 2022 Assembly election, Brown was the 3rd candidate elected in South Down, winning 6942 first preference votes. Notably, Brown became the first Alliance MLA for South Down, a largely Nationalist constituency.[9][4]

Electoral Record

2022 Assembly election: South Down – 5 seats[10]
PartyCandidateFPv%Count
123456
Sinn Féin Sinéad Ennis 26.17% 14,381          
Sinn Féin Cathy Mason 18.13% 9,963          
Alliance Patrick Brown 12.63% 6,942 8,071 8,251 8,865 9,301  
DUP Diane Forsythe 11.82% 6,497 6,512 6,513 6,617 8,034 11,073
SDLP Colin McGrath 11.07% 6,082 7,748 8,164 8,798 8,933 9,119
SDLP Karen McKevitt 5.47% 3,006 4,772 4,875 5,090 5,139 5,259
TUV Harold McKee 5.96% 3,273 3,279 3,280 3,332 4,118  
Ulster Unionist Jill Macauley 5.24% 2,880 2,900 2,902 2,944    
Aontú Rosemary McGlone 2.14% 1,177 1,439 1,488      
Green (NI) Noeleen Lynch 0.75% 412 564 580      
People Before Profit Paul McCrory 0.37% 205 270 283      
Independent Patrick Clarke 0.24% 134 209 224      
Electorate: 84,046   Valid: 54,952 (65.38%)   Spoilt: 679   Quota: 9,159   Turnout: 55,631 (66.19%)  
    UK General election 2019: South Down[11]
    Party Candidate Votes % ±%
    Sinn Féin Chris Hazzard 16,137 32.4 ―7.5
    SDLP Michael Savage 14,517 29.2 ―5.9
    DUP Glyn Hanna 7,619 15.3 ―2.1
    Alliance Patrick Brown 6,916 13.9 +10.3
    Ulster Unionist Jill Macauley 3,307 6.6 +2.7
    Aontú Paul Brady 1,266 2.5 New
    Majority 1,620 3.2 ―1.6
    Turnout 49,762 62.9 ―4.3
    Registered electors 79,113
    Sinn Féin hold Swing ―0.8
    2017 Assembly election: South Down – 5 seats[12]
    PartyCandidateFPv%Count
    1234567
    Sinn Féin Sinéad Ennis 20.76% 10,256            
    Sinn Féin Chris Hazzard 17.87% 8,827            
    SDLP Sinéad Bradley 14.82% 7,323 7,487 8,906.12        
    DUP Jim Wells 15.76% 7,786 8,088 8,091.36 8,091.64 10,821.64    
    SDLP Colin McGrath 10.34% 5,110 5,202 5,512.8 6,043.68 6,632.42 7,228.42 7,613.62
    Alliance Patrick Brown 9.18% 4,535 4,883 5,101.64 5,194.88 6,007.82 6,730.82 6,874.66
    Ulster Unionist Harold McKee 8.45% 4,172 4,509 4,522.44 4,527.76      
    TUV Lyle Rea 1.28% 630            
    Green (NI) Hannah George 0.98% 483            
    Independent Patrick Clarke 0.39% 192            
    NI Conservatives Gary Hynds 0.17% 85            
    Electorate: 75,415   Valid: 49,399 (65.50%)   Spoilt: 535   Quota: 8,234   Turnout: 49,932 (66.21%)  
      2016 Assembly election: South Down – 6 seats[13]
      PartyCandidateFPv%Count
      12345678
      DUP Jim Wells 12.25% 5,033 5,183 6,470          
      Ulster Unionist Harold McKee 8.47% 3,481 3,812 5,168 5,567 6,141      
      Sinn Féin Chris Hazzard 12.28% 5,045 5,142 5,144 5,321 5,321.5 7,277.5    
      SDLP Sinéad Bradley 12.32% 5,059 5,231 5,241 5,828 5,834 6,144    
      Sinn Féin Caitríona Ruane 10.20% 4,191 4,240 4,244 4,335 4,335 5,415 6,664.5  
      SDLP Colin McGrath 10.44% 4,288 4,429 4,440 5,033 5,038 5,121 5,190 5,397
      SDLP Seán Rogers 8.68% 3,564 3,699 3,721 4,076 4,086.5 4,227.5 4,309 4,595.75
      Sinn Féin Michael Gray-Sloan 8.57% 3,520 3,571 3,572 3,665 3,665      
      Alliance Patrick Brown 5.36% 2,200 2,841 2,869          
      TUV Henry Reilly 6.62% 2,718 2,800            
      Independent John McCallister 2.81% 1,156              
      Green (NI) John Hardy 2.00% 820              
      Electorate: 77,409   Valid: 41,075 (53.06%)   Spoilt: 570   Quota: 5,868   Turnout: 41,645 (53.80%)  

        References

        1. ↑ "South Down result - Northern Ireland Assembly Elections 2022". BBC News. Archived from the original on 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
        2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Your Candidate in South Down is". Alliance Party v2. Alliance Party of Northern Ireland. Archived from the original on 8 May 2022. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
        3. 1 2 "Register" – via linkedin.
        4. 1 2 "South Down: History in the making as Diane Forsthye becomes area's first female unionist MLA and Alliance's Patrick Brown gets elected". belfasttelegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 10 May 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
        5. ↑ "Alliance selects Patrick Brown as Assembly candidate for South Down". The Irish News. 20 April 2021. Archived from the original on 19 June 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
        6. 1 2 3 "Alliance man faces watchdog probe over post about council recruitment". May 2022. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
        7. ↑ "Patrick Brown for South Down in the Northern Ireland Assembly elections". Who Can I Vote For? by Democracy Club. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
        8. ↑ "2019 general election results - South Down". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 12 June 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
        9. ↑ "South Down result - Northern Ireland Assembly Elections 2022". BBC News. Archived from the original on 6 May 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
        10. ↑ "Statement of Persons Nominated – South Down". Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
        11. ↑ "South Down Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Archived from the original on 8 January 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
        12. ↑ "NI Assembly Election 2017". EONI. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
        13. ↑ "NI Assembly Election 2016". EONI. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
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