Dawn Purvis (born 22 October 1966) is a Northern Irish former unionist politician, who was a

Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs; ; ) are representatives elected by the voters to the Northern Ireland Assembly. About The Northern Ireland Assembly has 90 elected members – five from each of 18 constituencies, the boundaries o ...

(MLA) for Belfast East from 2007 to 2011. She was previously the leader of the

Progressive Unionist Party The Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) is a minor unionist political party in Northern Ireland. It was formed from the Independent Unionist Group operating in the Shankill area of Belfast, becoming the PUP in 1979. Linked to the Ulster Volunte ...

(PUP) from 2007 to 2010.

Biography

Born in the

Donegall Pass Ormeau Road is a road in south Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland. Ormeau Park is adjacent to it. It forms part of the A24. History The road, as currently laid out, dates from the first decades of the 19th century when a bridge was buil ...

area of

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, Purvis joined the PUP in 1994.A new Dawn for the PUP
, ''

Belfast Telegraph The ''Belfast Telegraph'' is a daily newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by Independent News & Media, which also publishes the Irish Independent, the Sunday Independent and various other newspapers and magazines in Ireland. Its e ...

'' She stood for the party in the 1996

Northern Ireland Forum The Northern Ireland Forum for Political Dialogue was a body set up in 1996 as part of a process of negotiations that eventually led to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. The forum was elected, with five members being elected for each List o ...

election in Belfast South and then in the

1998 Northern Ireland Assembly election The 1998 Northern Ireland Assembly election took place on Thursday, 25 June 1998. This was the first election to the new devolved Northern Ireland Assembly. Six members from each of Northern Ireland's eighteen House of Commons of the United Kin ...

in Belfast South, here taking 271 votes. She served as director of the

Marie Stopes Marie Charlotte Carmichael Stopes (15 October 1880 – 2 October 1958) was a British author, palaeobotanist and campaigner for Eugenic feminism, eugenics and women's rights. She made significant contributions to plant palaeontology and co ...

clinic in Belfast. In November 2014, Bernadette Smyth, founder of the Precious Life organisation, was found guilty of the harassment of Purvis, but the verdict was later quashed.

Political career

By 1999, Purvis was the PUP's Spokesperson on Women's Affairs. She took a degree in Women's Studies, Social Policy and Social Anthropology and began working full-time for the party. Purvis stood in Belfast South in the 2001 UK general election, finishing in sixth place with a total of 1112 votes (2.9%). In 2006, Purvis was appointed to the Northern Ireland Policing Board. Her appointment was later criticised by 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 ...

, because of the PUP's links with the paramilitary

Ulster Volunteer Force The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalism, Ulster loyalist paramilitary group based in Northern Ireland. Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former Royal Ulster Rifles soldier from North ...

(UVF). In January 2007, Purvis succeeded the late David Ervine as leader of the PUP and MLA for Belfast East. Commenting on her new role she said:

I am deeply honoured to have been made the leader of the PUP. However this is also tinged with sadness given the huge loss of David. It is a huge challenge to step into this role, especially after the good work he did. But this gives us an opportunity to rebuild and continue to serve working class loyalists and unionist communities.

In her maiden speech in the Assembly she said "As long as there is poverty, and as long as there is inequality in education, health and gender, it will be my duty to articulate the needs of the working and workless classes in East Belfast." Purvis was re-elected in the constituency at the 2007 Assembly election on the tenth and final round of counting. She polled 3045 votes (10.3%) In 2011 Dawn left politics and became the Northern Ireland Programme Director with Marie Stopes International (MSI). Purvisoffice

Resignation from PUP

In June 2010, Purvis resigned as leader, and as a member, of the PUP because of its relationship with the UVF and the murder of Bobby Moffet which was attributed to that group by the

Independent Monitoring Commission The Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) was an organisation founded on 7 January 2004, by an agreement between the British and Irish governments, signed in Dublin on 25 November 2003. The IMC concluded its operations on 31 March 2011. Remi ...

Electoral defeat

In the 2011 Assembly election Purvis defended her seat as an independent candidate with PUP leader Brian Ervine running against her. In the end neither candidate was elected and instead the

Alliance Party of Northern Ireland The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI), or simply Alliance, is a liberal and centrist political party in Northern Ireland. Following the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election, it was the third-largest party in the Northern Ireland ...

gained a second East Belfast seat. Purvis polled 1702 votes (5.2%)Northern Ireland Assembly elections: East Belfast results
", ''

'', 7 May 2011

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Purvis, Dawn 1967 births Living people Independent members of the Northern Ireland Assembly Leaders of political parties in Northern Ireland Northern Ireland MLAs 2003–2007 Northern Ireland MLAs 2007–2011 Female members of the Northern Ireland Assembly Politicians from Belfast Progressive Unionist Party MLAs