7th Northern Ireland Assembly

This is a list of the 90 members of the seventh Northern Ireland Assembly, the unicameral devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. The election took place on 5 May 2022, with counting continuing the following 2 days; voter turnout was estimated at 64.4%.

7th Northern Ireland Assembly
← 6th Assembly
Overview
Legislative body	Assembly
Jurisdiction	Northern Ireland
Meeting place	Parliament Buildings, Stormont
Term	5 May 2022 – present
Election	2022 Assembly election
Government	Executive of the 7th Assembly
Members	90
Speaker	Edwin Poots
First Minister	Michelle O'Neill
Deputy First Minister	Emma Little-Pengelly

Five MLAs were elected from each of the 18 constituencies. Sinn Féin became the biggest party for the first time, entitling them to the First Minister. Additionally, Alliance, the biggest cross-community party, also had a big increase, overtaking the SDLP and UUP in votes to become third in the assembly, following the DUP, the biggest Unionist party.

The DUP blocked the formation of an Executive until a meeting of the Assembly on 3 February 2024.^[1]

Party strengths

Party		Designation	Elected	Current
●	Sinn Féin	Nationalist	27	27
●	Democratic Unionist Party	Unionist	25	25
●	Alliance Party of Northern Ireland	Other	17	17
●	Ulster Unionist Party	Unionist	9	9
♦	Social Democratic and Labour Party	Nationalist	8	8
	Independent Unionist	Unionist	2	1
	Traditional Unionist Voice	Unionist	1	1
	People Before Profit	Other	1	1
	Independent Nationalist	Nationalist	0	0
	Speaker[n 1]	None	0	1
Totals by Designation		Unionist	37	36
		Nationalist	35	35
		Other	18	18
		None	0	1
Total			90
● = Northern Ireland Executive; ♦ = Official Opposition

Graphical representation

• 
  Party Composition following the 2022 Election
• 
  Designations of the Assembly after the 2022 Election. Unionists in Orange, Nationalists in Green and "Others" in Yellow

Parties arranged roughly on the nationalist-unionist spectrum

MLAs by current affiliation

Party		Name	Constituency	Member since
	Sinn Féin (27)	Caoimhe Archibald	East Londonderry	5 May 2016
		Danny Baker	Belfast West	5 May 2022
		Nicola Brogan	West Tyrone	31 October 2020
		Cathal Boylan	Newry and Armagh	7 March 2007
		Pádraig Delargy	Foyle	13 September 2021
		Linda Dillon	Mid Ulster	5 May 2016
		Jemma Dolan	Fermanagh and South Tyrone	2 March 2017
		Sinéad Ennis	South Down	2 March 2017
		Ciara Ferguson	Foyle	13 September 2021
		Órlaithí Flynn	Belfast West	7 December 2016
		Aoife Finnegan †	Newry and Armagh	9 February 2025
		Colm Gildernew	Fermanagh and South Tyrone	20 June 2017
		Deirdre Hargey	Belfast South	9 January 2020
		Declan Kearney	South Antrim	5 May 2016
		Gerry Kelly	Belfast North	25 June 1998
		Liz Kimmins	Newry and Armagh	9 January 2020
		Cathy Mason	South Down	5 May 2022
		Declan McAleer	West Tyrone	2 July 2012
		Philip McGuigan	North Antrim	30 August 2016
		Maolíosa McHugh	West Tyrone	29 May 2019
		Aine Murphy	Fermanagh and South Tyrone	2 July 2021
		Carál Ní Chuilín °	Belfast North	7 March 2007
		John O'Dowd	Upper Bann	26 November 2003
		Michelle O'Neill*	Mid Ulster	7 March 2007
		Aisling Reilly	Belfast West	19 October 2021
		Pat Sheehan	Belfast West	7 December 2010
		Emma Sheerin	Mid Ulster	4 December 2018
	Democratic Unionist Party (25)	David Brooks	Belfast East	5 May 2022
		Maurice Bradley	East Londonderry	5 May 2016
		Phillip Brett	Belfast North	5 May 2022
		Cheryl Brownlee †	East Antrim	15 September 2023
		Tom Buchanan	West Tyrone	26 November 2003
		Keith Buchanan	Mid Ulster	5 May 2016
		Jonathan Buckley	Upper Bann	2 March 2017
		Joanne Bunting	Belfast East	5 May 2016
		Pam Cameron	South Antrim	5 May 2011
		Trevor Clarke	South Antrim	28 June 2017
		Diane Dodds	Upper Bann	11 January 2020
		Stephen Dunne	North Down	1 June 2021
		Deborah Erskine	Fermanagh and South Tyrone	11 October 2021
		Diane Forsythe	South Down	5 May 2022
		Paul Frew	North Antrim	21 June 2010
		Paul Givan	Lagan Valley	10 June 2010
		Harry Harvey	Strangford	12 September 2019
		William Irwin	Newry and Armagh	7 March 2007
		Brian Kingston	Belfast North	5 May 2022
		Emma Little-Pengelly †	Lagan Valley	12 May 2022
		Gordon Lyons	East Antrim	11 August 2015
		Peter Martin †	North Down	10 July 2024
		Michelle McIlveen	Strangford	7 March 2007
		Gary Middleton	Foyle	13 April 2015
		Alan Robinson	East Londonderry	5 May 2022
	Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (17)	Kellie Armstrong	Strangford	5 May 2016
		John Blair °	South Antrim	27 June 2018
		Paula Bradshaw	Belfast South	5 May 2016
		Stewart Dickson	East Antrim	5 May 2011
		Danny Donnelly	East Antrim	5 May 2022
		Connie Egan	North Down	5 May 2022
		Michelle Guy †	Lagan Valley	10 July 2024
		David Honeyford	Lagan Valley	5 May 2022
		Naomi Long*	Belfast East	9 January 2020
		Nick Mathison	Strangford	5 May 2022
		Nuala McAllister	Belfast North	5 May 2022
		Andrew McMurray †	South Down	29 April 2024
		Peter McReynolds	Belfast East	5 May 2022
		Andrew Muir	North Down	18 December 2019
		Sian Mulholland †	North Antrim	4 April 2023
		Kate Nicholl	Belfast South	5 May 2022
		Eóin Tennyson	Upper Bann	5 May 2022
	Ulster Unionist Party (9)	Steve Aiken °	South Antrim	5 May 2016
		Andy Allen	Belfast East	15 September 2015
		Diana Armstrong †	Fermanagh and South Tyrone	27 September 2024
		Doug Beattie	Upper Bann	5 May 2016
		Robbie Butler	Lagan Valley	5 May 2016
		Alan Chambers	North Down	5 May 2016
		Colin Crawford †	North Antrim	10 July 2024
		Mike Nesbitt*	Strangford	5 May 2011
		John Stewart	East Antrim	2 March 2017
	Social Democratic and Labour Party (8)	Mark Durkan	Foyle	5 May 2011
		Cara Hunter	East Londonderry	18 May 2020
		Daniel McCrossan	West Tyrone	7 January 2016
		Colin McGrath	South Down	5 May 2016
		Patsy McGlone	Mid Ulster	26 November 2003
		Sinéad McLaughlin	Foyle	11 January 2020
		Justin McNulty ‡‡	Newry and Armagh	5 May 2016
		Matthew O'Toole*	Belfast South	11 January 2020
	Traditional Unionist Voice	Timothy Gaston †	North Antrim	16 July 2024
	People Before Profit	Gerry Carroll	Belfast West	7 May 2016
	Independent Unionist	Claire Sugden	East Londonderry	6 May 2014
	Speaker	Edwin Poots ‡	Belfast South	25 June 1998

* Party Leader in Stormont

† Co-opted to replace an elected MLA

‡ Changed affiliation during the term

° Deputy Speaker

MLAs by constituency and current affiliation

Members are ranked by their order of election, and if co-opted, the position of the person who they co-opted.

Constituency	Name	Party
Belfast East	Naomi Long*		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	Joanne Bunting		Democratic Unionist Party
	Peter McReynolds		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	David Brooks		Democratic Unionist Party
	Andy Allen		Ulster Unionist Party
Belfast North	Gerry Kelly		Sinn Féin
	Carál Ní Chuilín		Sinn Féin
	Phillip Brett		Democratic Unionist Party
	Brian Kingston		Democratic Unionist Party
	Nuala McAllister		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
Belfast South	Deirdre Hargey		Sinn Féin
	Edwin Poots ‡		Speaker
	Matthew O'Toole*		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Paula Bradshaw		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	Kate Nicholl		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
Belfast West	Danny Baker		Sinn Féin
	Órlaithí Flynn		Sinn Féin
	Pat Sheehan		Sinn Féin
	Aisling Reilly		Sinn Féin
	Gerry Carroll		People Before Profit
East Antrim	John Stewart		Ulster Unionist Party
	Gordon Lyons		Democratic Unionist Party
	Stewart Dickson		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	Danny Donnelly		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	Cheryl Brownlee †		Democratic Unionist Party
East Londonderry	Maurice Bradley		Democratic Unionist Party
	Alan Robinson		Democratic Unionist Party
	Claire Sugden		Independent Unionist
	Caoimhe Archibald		Sinn Féin
	Cara Hunter		Social Democratic and Labour Party
Fermanagh and South Tyrone	Jemma Dolan		Sinn Féin
	Diana Armstrong †		Ulster Unionist Party
	Colm Gildernew		Sinn Féin
	Aine Murphy		Sinn Féin
	Deborah Erskine		Democratic Unionist Party
Foyle	Pádraig Delargy		Sinn Féin
	Mark Durkan		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Ciara Ferguson		Sinn Féin
	Sinéad McLaughlin		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Gary Middleton		Democratic Unionist Party
Lagan Valley	Emma Little-Pengelly †		Democratic Unionist Party
	Robbie Butler		Ulster Unionist Party
	Michelle Guy †		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	Paul Givan*		Democratic Unionist Party
	David Honeyford		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
Mid Ulster	Michelle O'Neill*		Sinn Féin
	Emma Sheerin		Sinn Féin
	Linda Dillon		Sinn Féin
	Keith Buchanan		Democratic Unionist Party
	Patsy McGlone		Social Democratic and Labour Party
Newry and Armagh	Aoife Finnegan †		Sinn Féin
	Cathal Boylan		Sinn Féin
	Justin McNulty ‡‡		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Liz Kimmins		Sinn Féin
	William Irwin		Democratic Unionist Party
North Antrim	Colin Crawford †		Ulster Unionist Party
	Philip McGuigan		Sinn Féin
	Timothy Gaston †		Traditional Unionist Voice
	Paul Frew		Democratic Unionist Party
	Sian Mulholland †		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
North Down	Peter Martin †		Democratic Unionist Party
	Andrew Muir		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	Stephen Dunne		Democratic Unionist Party
	Alan Chambers		Ulster Unionist Party
	Connie Egan		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
South Antrim	Declan Kearney		Sinn Féin
	John Blair		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	Steve Aiken		Ulster Unionist Party
	Pam Cameron		Democratic Unionist Party
	Trevor Clarke		Democratic Unionist Party
South Down	Sinéad Ennis		Sinn Féin
	Cathy Mason		Sinn Féin
	Andrew McMurray †		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	Diane Forsythe		Democratic Unionist Party
	Colin McGrath		Social Democratic and Labour Party
Strangford	Kellie Armstrong		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
	Michelle McIlveen		Democratic Unionist Party
	Harry Harvey		Democratic Unionist Party
	Mike Nesbitt*		Ulster Unionist Party
	Nick Mathison		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
Upper Bann	John O'Dowd		Sinn Féin
	Jonathan Buckley		Democratic Unionist Party
	Diane Dodds		Democratic Unionist Party
	Doug Beattie		Ulster Unionist Party
	Eóin Tennyson		Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
West Tyrone	Nicola Brogan		Sinn Féin
	Daniel McCrossan		Social Democratic and Labour Party
	Tom Buchanan		Democratic Unionist Party
	Maolíosa McHugh		Sinn Féin
	Declan McAleer		Sinn Féin

* Party Leader in Stormont

† Co-opted to replace an elected MLA

‡ Changed affiliation during the term

Changes since the election

† Co-options

Date co-opted	Constituency	Party		Outgoing	Co-optee	Reason
12 May 2022	Lagan Valley		DUP	Jeffrey Donaldson	Emma Little Pengelly	Jeffrey Donaldson remaining as the Member of Parliament for Lagan Valley.[2]
4 April 2023	North Antrim		Alliance	Patricia O'Lynn	Sian Mulholland	Patricia O'Lynn resigned.[3]
15 September 2023	East Antrim		DUP	David Hilditch	Cheryl Brownlee	David Hilditch resigned.[4]
29 April 2024	South Down		Alliance	Patrick Brown	Andrew McMurray	Patrick Brown resigned.[5]
10 July 2024	Lagan Valley		Alliance	Sorcha Eastwood	Michelle Guy	Sorcha Eastwood elected as the Member of Parliament for Lagan Valley in the 2024 general election.[6]
10 July 2024	North Antrim		UUP	Robin Swann	Colin Crawford	Robin Swann elected as the Member of Parliament for South Antrim in the 2024 general election.[7]
10 July 2024	North Down		Ind. Unionist	Alex Easton	Peter Martin (DUP)	Alex Easton elected as the Member of Parliament for North Down in the 2024 general election.[8]
16 July 2024	North Antrim		TUV	Jim Allister	Timothy Gaston	Jim Allister elected as the Member of Parliament for North Antrim in the 2024 general election.[9]
27 September 2024	Fermanagh and South Tyrone		UUP	Tom Elliott	Diana Armstrong	Tom Elliott was given a peerage in the 2024 Dissolution Honours.[10]
9 February 2025	Newry and Armagh		Sinn Féin	Conor Murphy	Aoife Finnegan	Conor Murphy was elected to Seanad Éireann at the 2025 Seanad election.[11]
TBD	North Antrim		UUP	Colin Crawford	Jon Burrows	Colin Crawford resigned.[12][13]

‡ Changes in affiliation

Date	Constituency	Name	Previous affiliation		New affiliation		Circumstance
3 February 2024	Belfast South	Edwin Poots		DUP		Speaker	Edwin Poots elected Speaker of the Assembly at its first sitting.[14]
3 February 2024	Newry and Armagh	Justin McNulty		SDLP		Ind. Nationalist	Whip suspended after leaving Assembly session early to manage Laois GAA at a gaelic match.[15]
20 August 2024	Newry and Armagh	Justin McNulty		Ind. Nationalist		SDLP	Whip restored.[16]

Notes

1. Once elected, the Speaker relinquishes their party affiliation.