Alexander Easton (born 19 May 1969) is a Northern Irish politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for North Down since 2024. He previously served as a

Member of the Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several nation ...

(MLA) for North Down from 2003 to 2024. Originally a member of the

Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist, Ulster loyalism, loyalist, British nationalist and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who ...

(DUP), Easton represented Ballyholme and Groomsport on the

North Down Borough Council North Down Borough Council was a Local Council in County Down in Northern Ireland. It merged with Ards Borough Council in May 2015 under local government reorganisation in Northern Ireland to become North Down and Ards District Council. Its ...

from 2001 to 2014, and became an MLA in 2003. He left the party, then led by

Jeffrey Donaldson Sir Jeffrey Mark Donaldson (born 7 December 1962) is a Northern Irish former politician, who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 2021 to 2024 and leader of the DUP in the UK House of Commons from 2019 to 2024. He was t ...

, in July 2021 following disagreements over the party's leadership and has since stood as an

independent unionist Independent Unionist is a label sometimes used by candidates in British elections to indicate their support for British unionism. It is most popularly associated with candidates in elections for the Parliament of Northern Ireland. Such candi ...

. Easton won the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

seat of North Down at the

2024 United Kingdom general election The 2024 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 4 July 2024 to elect all 650 members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons. The opposition Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, won a lan ...

as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

, having failed to win the seat as the DUP candidate in three previous elections. He defeated the incumbent Alliance Party deputy leader Stephen Farry with a majority of 7,305 (16.8 per cent).

Early life

Easton is of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n descent through his South African father. He grew up in Bangor, before moving several times and returning to Bangor when he was 10. Easton was educated at Gransha Boys High School and Bangor Technical College. He worked in the accident and emergency department in the

Newtownards Newtownards (; ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles (16 km) east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. It is in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Newtow ...

and then the Ulster Hospital as a clerical officer.

Political career

As a

politician, he was first elected to

in the 2001 local elections, and was re-elected to Council in the

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

and

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

elections. He was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in the 2003 election, for the constituency of North Down, and returned again in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

and again in

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, when he topped the poll for North Down, having increased his vote each election. Easton stood in North Down in the 2017 General Election and polled 14,940 votes, nearly unseating the sitting MP Lady Sylvia Hermon. In the 2019 General Election, he stood once again in the constituency but was defeated by 2,968 votes. Easton is opposed to a border poll, and has said those politically backing a backstop through

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

could potentially lead to a border poll and is a threat to the Union, which must be opposed. Easton is also opposed to the Northern Ireland protocol. He announced his resignation from the DUP on 1 July 2021, stating that he saw no "respect, discipline or decency" in the party's recent behaviour. He was re-elected as an independent candidate in the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election, topping the poll in the constituency for the fifth consecutive time.

Member of Parliament

He was elected as an independent in North Down at the

. On 24 May 2024 the DUP and TUV announced that they were supporting his candidature and would not stand a candidate in the constituency.

Personal life

He is a member of the

Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants. It also has lodges in England, Grand Orange Lodge of ...

and the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

. He served on the North Down Policing Partnership. In January 2023, his parents, both in their 80s, were killed in a fire at their home in Bangor, County Down.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Easton, Alex 1969 births Living people Anglicans from Northern Ireland Democratic Unionist Party MLAs Democratic Unionist Party parliamentary candidates Independent members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Members of North Down Borough Council Northern Ireland MLAs 2003–2007 Northern Ireland MLAs 2007–2011 Northern Ireland MLAs 2011–2016 Northern Ireland MLAs 2016–2017 Northern Ireland MLAs 2017–2022 Northern Ireland MLAs 2022–2027 UK MPs 2024–present People from Northern Ireland of South African descent People from Bangor, County Down Politicians from County Down