Timothy Gaston

Timothy James Gaston (born October 1988) is a Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) politician, serving as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for North Antrim since July 2024.

Timothy James Gaston MLA
Member of the Legislative Assembly for North Antrim
Incumbent
Assumed office 16 July 2024
Preceded by	Jim Allister
Deputy mayor of Mid and East Antrim
In office April 2015 – 2016
Preceded by	Office created
Succeeded by	William McNeilly
Member of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council
In office 22 May 2014 – 16 July 2024
Preceded by	Council established
Succeeded by	Anna Henry
Constituency	Bannside
Member of Ballymena Borough Council
In office 14 February 2013 – 22 May 2014
Preceded by	Davy Tweed
Succeeded by	Council abolished
Constituency	Ballymena South
Personal details
Born	October 1988 (age 37)[1] Glarryford, Ballymena, Northern Ireland
Party	Traditional Unionist Voice

Prior to this, Gaston had been a Mid and East Antrim Borough Councillor for the Bannside DEA from 2014 to 2024.

Political career

Gaston's first electoral contest was at the 2011 local elections, where he was the running mate to Ballymena Councillor, Roy Gillespie, in the Bannside District.^[2]

He was later co-opted onto the council in February 2013, for the Ballymena South District, following the resignation of Davy Tweed.^[3]

Gaston was elected onto the new Mid and East Antrim Borough Council at the 2014 local elections, topping the poll in Bannside.^[4]

In April 2015, he was appointed as the first deputy mayor of Mid and East Antrim.^[5]

He was the TUV candidate in North Antrim at the 2015 general election, finishing second with 6,561 votes (15.7%), against Ian Paisley Jr of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).^[6]

At the 2016 Northern Ireland Assembly election, he was the running mate in North Antrim to sitting Assembly member and party leader, Jim Allister. Gaston was eliminated on the sixth count, having polled 4.77% of first-preferences.^[7]

Gaston stood again at the 2017 Assembly election, but was not successful.^[8]

At the 2017 general election, Gaston stood again in North Antrim, where he came fourth with 3,282 votes (6.8%).^[9]

Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly

In July 2024, Gaston was co-opted to the Northern Ireland Assembly to succeed Allister, following the latter’s election as MP for North Antrim.^[10][11][12]

In September 2024, while sitting as a member of the Northern Ireland Executive Committee, Gaston clashed with Paula Bradshaw, chair of the committee. He had asked Geraldine McGahey, Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Equality Commission, if the body saw “the conflict between the rights of a woman, and a biological man claiming or thinking that he is a woman." Bradshaw responded to Gaston's questioning, telling the latter to “watch your language.”^[13][14]