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Emma Little-Pengelly

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Emma Little-Pengelly
MLA
Official portrait, 2017
Member of the Legislative Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office
12 May 2022
Preceded byPaul Rankin
ConstituencyLagan Valley
In office
28 September 2015 – 25 January 2017
Preceded byJimmy Spratt
Succeeded bySeat abolished
ConstituencyBelfast South
Member of Parliament
for Belfast South
In office
8 June 2017 – 6 November 2019
Preceded byAlasdair McDonnell
Succeeded byClaire Hanna
Junior Minister at the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister
In office
28 October 2015 – 25 May 2016
Serving with Jennifer McCann
Preceded byMichelle McIlveen
Succeeded byAlastair Ross
Personal details
Born
Emma Little

(1979-12-31) 31 December 1979 (age 44)
Markethill, County Armagh, Northern Ireland
Political partyDemocratic Unionist Party
Spouse
Richard Pengelly
​
(m. 2014)​
Children3 stepchildren
Residence(s)Belfast, County Antrim
Alma materQueen's University Belfast
ProfessionBarrister [1]

Emma Little-Pengelly (born 31 December 1979)[2] is a Northern Irish barrister and Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician.[3] She has been a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Lagan Valley since 12 May 2022 when she was co-opted to replace DUP party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson who declined to take up his seat after being elected at the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election to remain in the House of Commons.[4][5] Little-Pengelly is the DUP's Spokesperson for the Executive Office, Legacy and Human Rights.[6] She previously served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Belfast South constituency in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 2017 until 2019, when she lost her seat to Claire Hanna of the SDLP,[7] and as an MLA for the Belfast South constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Early life and career

Little-Pengelly is the daughter of Maureen Elizabeth Little and Noel Little.[8][9] Her father was absent from her childhood between the ages of nine and eleven, following his arrest in Paris.[10][11]

Little-Pengelly was educated at Markethill High School, Portadown College and Queen's University Belfast.[8] She qualified as a barrister in 2003. She was also a tutor and lectured at the University of Ulster from 2004 to 2006.

Political career

Little-Pengelly began her political career in 2007 as Special Advisor (Spad) to the Reverend Ian Paisley, while he was in the office of First Minister, where she worked as part of the DUP talks team with victims of the Troubles.[12] Little-Pengelly remained in the position of Special Advisor when Peter Robinson assumed the office of First Minister in 2008 until 2015 after over 8 years in the position.[13]

Little-Pengelly succeeded Jimmy Spratt as MLA for Belfast South in the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2015, following his retirement due to ill health.[14] On 28 October 2015, Little-Pengelly was appointed as a junior minister in the Northern Ireland Executive Office.[1] Little-Pengelly ran in the 2016 Assembly Election in the South Belfast constituency and was elected. She was appointed Chairperson of the Finance Committee following this election.

She lost her seat at the 2017 Northern Ireland Assembly election, as the total number of seats in Belfast South was reduced from 6 to 5, trailing her running mate Christopher Stalford by 15 votes at the time of her elimination.[15]

At the 2017 UK general election, Little-Pengelly became the MP for Belfast South, gaining the seat from the SDLP's Alasdair McDonnell.[16] The former Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson was the chief strategist behind Little-Pengelly's campaign.[17] She subsequently lost the seat to the SDLP's Claire Hanna at the 2019 general election.[18]

On 12 May 2022, one week after the Northern Ireland Assembly election, DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson refused to take his seat in Stormont due to his opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol. Little-Pengelly was co-opted to replace him,[19] saying, "I have agreed to fill [Donaldson's] seat in Lagan Valley at this time both to support this work and to ensure a continued high level of support and service to the constituents of Lagan Valley. It is a privilege to be asked to fulfil this role at this important time for unionism and for Northern Ireland. While Sir Jeffrey focuses on that immediate task, I look forward to serving the people of Lagan Valley with passion and commitment."[20]

Personal life

Little-Pengelly is married with Richard Pengelly, CB,[21] who is the Permanent Secretary at the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland.[21][22][23] They have three children from Pengelly's first marriage.

References

  1. ^ "MLA Details: Mrs Emma Little Pengelly". Northern Ireland Assembly. 4 March 2017.
  2. ^ Staff writer (28 September 2015). "DUP appoint Emma Pengelly to succeed Jimmy Spratt as South Belfast MLA". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  3. ^ "The Electoral Office of Northern Ireland - EONI". www.eoni.org.uk. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  4. ^ "Emma Little-Pengelly to take Donaldson's MLA seat". BBC News. 12 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  5. ^ "Emma Little-Pengelly MLA". DUP. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  6. ^ "Emma Little Pengelly MP". parliament.uk. Parliament UK.
  7. ^ a b "Little-Pengelly, Emma". Who's Who. Vol. 2018 (February 2018 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 13 February 2018. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  8. ^ "Terrorist father of DUP's newest MLA Emma Pengelly works as steward at St Anne's Cathedral". belfasttelegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  9. ^ Cobain, Ian (27 June 2017). "Troubled past: the paramilitary connection that still haunts the DUP". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  10. ^ Little, Ivan (1 October 2015). "Ivan Little: Day I quizzed Emma Pengelly's gunrunner dad at loyalist blockade". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  11. ^ "DUP's new face at Assembly: A minister in the making?". Belfast Telegraph. 29 September 2015. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  12. ^ Hughes, Brendan (9 October 2015). "DUP's Emma Pengelly set for Spad 'golden handshake'". The Irish News. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  13. ^ "Emma Pengelly is new DUP MLA for south Belfast". BBC News. 28 September 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  14. ^ Bell, Jonny (6 March 2017). "NI Election: Little Pengelly blames DUP leaflet confusion for losing seat". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  15. ^ Grattan, Gary (9 June 2017). "Video: DUP's Emma Pengelly vows to 'represent all the people of South Belfast' after taking Alasdair McDonnell's seat". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  16. ^ Grattan, Gary (9 June 2017). "Video: Former DUP leader Peter Robinson on Emma Little Pengelly's South Belfast win". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  17. ^ Harte, Lauren (13 December 2019). "South Belfast: SDLP's Claire Hanna in crushing victory over DUP's Emma Little-Pengelly". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  18. ^ Harte, Lauren (12 May 2022). "Former DUP MP Emma Little-Pengelly named as new MLA for Lagan Valley". BelfastLive. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  19. ^ Breen, Suzanne (13 May 2022). "DUP leader accused of treating voters with 'contempt' as Emma Little-Pengelly returns to fill Donaldson's seat at Stormont". Retrieved 13 May 2022 – via www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk.
  20. ^ a b Black, Rebecca; McCambridge, Jonathan; Ward, James (31 December 2021). "New Year Honours: NI health staff among those recognised in annual honours". BelfastLive.
  21. ^ Manley, John (23 September 2014). "Concerns over DUP adviser role as company director". The Irish News. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  22. ^ Hargan, Garret (9 March 2022). "NI Civil Service reshuffle will see Richard Pengelly move from the Department of Health". Belfast Telegraph. Belfast. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
Northern Ireland Assembly
Preceded by MLA for Belfast South
2015–2017 		Seat abolished
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Belfast South
2017–2019 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Junior Minister
2015–2016 		Succeeded by
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