David Simpson (Northern Ireland politician)
David Simpson | |
---|---|
Member of Parliament for Upper Bann | |
Assumed office 5 May 2005 | |
Preceded by | David Trimble |
Majority | 2,264 (4.8%) |
Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Upper Bann | |
In office 26 November 2003 – 1 July 2010 | |
Preceded by | Mervyn Carrick |
Succeeded by | Sydney Anderson |
Personal details | |
Born | Thomas David Simpson 16 February 1959 Moy, Northern Ireland |
Nationality | British |
Political party | Democratic Unionist |
Spouse | Elaine Simpson |
Children | Kristy Steven Leah |
Residence | Annaghmore, County Armagh |
Alma mater | College of Business Studies |
Occupation | Politician |
Profession | Businessman |
Website | David Simpson MP |
Thomas David Simpson (born 16 February 1959) is a Democratic Unionist (DUP) politician in the United Kingdom. He is the Member of Parliament for Upper Bann in Northern Ireland.
Political career
Simpson was first elected to Craigavon Borough Council in 2001 and served as mayor in 2004-2005. In the 2001 general election Simpson stood unsuccessfully against Ulster Unionist Party leader David Trimble in the parliamentary constituency of Upper Bann. In 2003 he was elected a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Upper Bann.
In Parliament
Simpson won the parliamentary seat from Trimble in the 2005 general election and retained his council seat. He was re-elected to the Assembly in 2007 but resigned from the Assembly and from Craigavon Borough Council after being returned to Westminster in the 2010 general election.[1]
Simpson used parliamentary privilege in 2007 to accuse Sinn Féin MLA Francie Molloy of involvement in the 1979 killing of Simpson's cousin, a former police officer. He alleged that Molloy had been an informer working for the British state within the IRA. Molloy denied both claims.[2]
Simpson was a member of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments and the Commons Committee on Statutory Instruments (2006-2009).[3] and the Transport Select Committee (2007-2009). He joined the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee in 2009.[3]
He has been DUP Spokesperson on Trade and Industry (2005-2007), Transport (2007-2009), Young People (2007-2010), International Development (2007-2010), and Business, Innovation and Skills (2009 to present), Communities and Local Government (2010 to present) and Education (2012 to present).[3]
Simpson is chairman of the DUP Upper Bann Constituency Association [citation needed] and is a member of the Orange Order, in which he is Deputy Master of Loughgall District. He is a proponent of creationism,[4] and his former election agent and constituency assistant, David McConaghie, who had played a key role in Simpson's 2005 election victory, was until late 2012 a prominent spokesperson for the Caleb Foundation which represented creationist and socially conservative evangelical Protestant views.
He spoke and voted against[5] the UK Government's Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill in February 2013 stating that "this is not the jurisdiction of this house [...] this is an ordained constitution of God, and that'll end in 'In the garden of Eden it was Adam and Eve it wasn't Adam and Steve.'"[6] The Bill covers England and Wales as family law is devolved in Northern Ireland.
Simpson is also a supporter of homeopathy, having signed several early day motions in support of its continued funding on the National Health Service sponsored by Conservative MP David Tredinnick.[7]
Personal life
Simpson went to the Birches Primary School six miles north-west of Portadown, and then to Killicomaine Junior High School in Portadown. He later studied at the College of Business Studies in Belfast (now Belfast Metropolitan College) and worked in the Universal Meat Company in Portadown. Simpson is married with a son and two daughters, and lives in Portadown. He is also involved in youth work and drugs rehabilitation programmes. Despite not living in the consistency of Upper Bann he is the current MP for the area.
References
- General
- DUP page
- NI Assembly
- TheyWorkForYou.com – David Simpson
- Maiden Speech : House of Commons – 24 May 2005
- BBC Politics
- Specific
- ^ NI Assembly membership, note 13
- ^ "Sinn Féin selects its Mid Ulster candidate", The Irish News, 13 December 2012
- ^ a b c Parliamentary biography
- ^ Lesley-Anne Henry (26 September 2007). "Tussle of Biblical proportions over creationism in Ulster classrooms – Education – News – Belfast Telegraph". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 26 April 2009.
- ^ British MPs back gay marriage legislation, Irish Times, 6 February 2013
- ^ Video on YouTube
- ^ Tredinnick, David (29 June 2010). "Early Day Motion No. 284 British Medical Association Motions on Homeopathy".
- Use dmy dates from September 2011
- 1959 births
- Living people
- People from Moy, County Tyrone
- Presbyterians from Northern Ireland
- Democratic Unionist Party MPs
- Intelligent design advocates
- Christian creationists
- Mayors of places in Northern Ireland
- Northern Ireland MLAs 2003–07
- Northern Ireland MLAs 2007–11
- Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Upper Bann
- People from Portadown
- UK MPs 2005–10
- UK MPs 2010–15
- UK MPs 2015–17
- UK MPs 2017–
- People educated at Killicomaine Junior High School