Norman Porter was a loyalist

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. A lay preacher, an Orangeman, an Apprentice Boy and a member of the

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,Paul Bew,
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'' Porter became the leader of the National Union of Protestants in Northern Ireland in 1948. Michael Farrell, ''Northern Ireland: The Orange State'' Ian Paisley was treasurer of the group, but left after Porter refused to join his new Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster. The Union disintegrated soon after.

Clifford Smyth Clifford Smyth (born 1944) is a historian and former politician in Northern Ireland. Smyth stood for the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in North Antrim in the 1973 Northern Ireland Assembly election, narrowly missing out on a seat. Following ...

, ''Ian Paisley: Voice of Protestant Ulster'', p.6 In 1953, Porter became the Director of the Evangelical Protestant Society. He also edited the ''

Ulster Protestant Ulster Protestants ( ga, Protastúnaigh Ultach) are an ethnoreligious group in the Irish province of Ulster, where they make up about 43.5% of the population. Most Ulster Protestants are descendants of settlers who arrived from Britain in the ...

'' newspaper, which he produced with William McConnell Wilton. At the

1953 Northern Ireland general election The 1953 Northern Ireland general election was held on 22 October 1953. Like all previous elections to the Parliament of Northern Ireland, it produced a large majority for the Ulster Unionist Party. Results ''All parties show ...

, Porter was elected as an

Independent Unionist Independent Unionist has been a label sometimes used by candidates in elections in the United Kingdom, indicating a support for British unionism (not to be confused with trade unionism). It is most popularly associated with candidates in elect ...

MP for Belfast Clifton, standing with the slogan "For God and Ulster". He defeated

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, who uniquely among Ministers was not a member of the Orange Order and who had faced criticism from loyalists for appearing to compromise with the

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while Minister of Education. Porter attended the first meeting of the Ulster Protestant Action group in 1956, but he immediately withdrew. He lost his seat at the 1958 general election to

Robin Kinahan Sir Robert George Caldwell Kinahan, ERD (24 September 1916 – 2 May 1997) was a politician, businessman and a senior member of the Orange Order in Northern Ireland. In his obituary, he was described as one of the last of the "county elite" to ...

. Porter was again defeated in the seat in a 1959 by-election. Porter was an opponent of

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. In a 1964 speech reported in the ''

Belfast Newsletter The ''News Letter'' is one of Northern Ireland's main daily newspapers, published from Monday to Saturday. It is the world's oldest English-language general daily newspaper still in publication, having first been printed in 1737. The newspap ...

'', he stated: "When you become too friendly with those of different religious persuasion, you find it increasingly hard and difficult to oppose their beliefs – this leads to compromise."John Daniel Cash, ''Identity, Ideology and Conflict: The Structuration of Politics in Northern Ireland'' In

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

, he stood in Belfast Duncairn, where sitting

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MP William Fitzsimmons' daughter had married a Roman Catholic, and Fitzsimmons had subsequently resigned from the Orange Order. Porter presented himself as a candidate whose opposition to Catholicism was in no doubt, but proved unsuccessful in the poll. Porter's son, also Norman Porter, has written several books on politics in Northern Ireland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Norman Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 1953–1958 Independent members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland Year of birth missing Possibly living people Members of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland for Belfast constituencies