Roy Beggs Jr
Roy Beggs, Jr, MLA | |
|---|---|
| Deputy Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly | |
| Assumed office 12 May 2011 | |
| Preceded by | David McClarty |
| Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for East Antrim | |
| Assumed office 25 June 1998 | |
| Preceded by | New Creation |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 3 July 1962 Glenoe, Northern Ireland |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Ulster Unionist Party |
| Spouse | Sandra Beggs |
| Children | 3 |
| Residence(s) | Glenoe, County Antrim |
| Alma mater | Queen's University of Belfast |
| Profession | Engineer |
| Website | http://www.roybeggs.co.uk/ |
Roy Beggs, Jr., MLA (born 3 July 1962) is a Northern Ireland Unionist politician, and the son of the politician Roy Beggs. He was born in Larne, and lives in Glenoe.[1] He is also a Presbyterian.[2]
He is currently an Ulster Unionist member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for East Antrim, which his father formerly represented in the Westminster Parliament. He served as a local councillor on Carrickfergus Borough Council from 2001 to 2011. During this period he had been elected as Chairman of the District Policing Partnership and Vice-chairman of the Local Strategic Partnership and of the Community Safety Partnership.
In 2011 Roy Beggs was elected as a Deputy Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly. He serves as a member of the Assembly’s Social Development Committee and the Public Accounts Committee. He has served as a member of the Health Committee, Environment Committee, Finance Committee, Deputy Chairman of the Agriculture Committee and Regional Development Committee.
Beggs is known for his tireless constituency work on behalf of all his constituents in East Antrim and has links with many organisations in the area. He is the Ulster Unionist Party spokesperson on Social Development.
In 2003, Beggs succeeded in having Irish rebel music removed from the in-flight entertainment of Aer Lingus airplanes. He complained of the "Blatant promotion of opposing points of view" on a music channel during a flight from Dublin to Boston after seeing that Derek Warfield had a radio channel dedicated to his music. Beggs, it was the same as "the speeches of Osama Bin Laden being played on a trans-Atlantic Arabian airline."[3]
Aer Lingus removed the material from their flights stating: "It is something that should not have been on board and we removed it immediately we became aware of it."[4]
Election results
Beggs Jnr has successfully contested every election for the Northern Ireland Assembly since 1998. In 1998 Beggs Jnr polled 16.1% of the popular vote; 16.7% in 2003; and 10.2% in 2007. Beggs Jnr topped the poll in 1998 and 2003 and the UUP returned two candidates. From 1998-2007 the Ulster Unionist Party have lost 8% vote share.[5]