David Brewster (politician)
David Brewster is a former Ulster unionist politician.
Brewster came to prominence in the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) as a close associate of David Trimble. Unenthusiastic about Jim Molyneaux's leadership of the party, Brewster backed Trimble's successful candidacy in the September 1995 leadership election.[1] Brewster was already the Treasurer of the East Londonderry Association of the party, and Trimble assisted him in winning election as one of the party's honorary secretaries in 1996.[2] Brewster claims that Trimble also offered to help him take over as the Member of Parliament for East Londonderry from William Ross, a leading figure in the UUP but a critic of Trimble. However, Brewster did not want the role,[2] and instead won a seat in the equivalent constituency on the Northern Ireland Forum.[3] He worked with Peter King and Dean Godson on the UUP's "Strand I" team at the talks which led to the Good Friday Agreement.[2]
Brewster was also active in the Orange Order and, like most UUP members who were prominent Orangemen, he became critical of Trimble's leadership, and opposed the Good Friday Agreement.[4] He joined the oppositionist Union First Group, and left the party in 2003 to join the rival Democratic Unionist Party.[2]
Outside politics, Brewster worked as a Solicitor.[5][6]
References
- ^ Graham Walker, A History of the Ulster Unionist Party, p.250
- ^ a b c d Dean Godson, Himself Alone: David Trimble and the Ordeal of Unionism, p.184 Cite error: The named reference "godson" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ "East Londonderry", Northern Ireland Elections
- ^ Henry Patterson and Eric P. Kaufmann, Unionism and Orangeism in Northern Ireland Since 1945, p.233
- ^ George Jones and David Sharrock, "QCs in Ulster no longer pledge to serve Queen", Daily Telegraph, 28 June 2000
- ^ https://twitter.com/limavadylawyer