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Ian Richard Kyle Paisley Jr (born 12 December 1966) is a Northern Irish businessman and former unionist politician. 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), he served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Antrim from 2010 to 2024, and was previously a member of the
Northern Ireland Assembly The Northern Ireland Assembly (; ), often referred to by the metonym ''Stormont'', is the devolved unicameral legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliam ...
for North Antrim from 1998 to 2010. Paisley is the DUP's Spokesperson for Digital, Culture, Media and Sports. He is a son of the DUP's founder
Ian Paisley Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, (6 April 1926 – 12 September 2014) was a loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader from Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 1971 to 2008 and ...
.


Childhood

Born in Belfast in 1966, Paisley is the youngest child of the Reverend
Ian Paisley Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, (6 April 1926 – 12 September 2014) was a loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader from Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 1971 to 2008 and ...
and his wife Eileen Paisley, Baroness Paisley of St George's. The younger Ian, along with his twin brother (Kyle) and his three elder sisters (Sharon, Rhonda and Cherith), was brought up in a large detached house on Cyprus Avenue in east
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 ...
. Being the younger of the twins, he was named after his father who was the younger of two brothers. He regularly attended the
Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster :''Distinct from Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland and Free Church of Scotland (post 1900)'' The Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster is a Calvinist denomination founded by Ian Paisley in 1951. Doctrinally, the church describes itself as Fundam ...
(where his father preached) from a very young age. In August 2007, he was the subject of the third episode of the
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
series '' The House I Grew Up In'' in which he talked about a happy childhood and secure family life, despite
the Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
.


Education

After leaving primary school, Paisley was educated at Shaftesbury House College, and then in the sixth form at
Methodist College Belfast Methodist College Belfast (MCB), locally known as Methody, is a co-educational voluntary grammar school in Belfast, located at the foot of the Malone Road, Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1865 by the Methodist Church in Ireland and is one of e ...
, before gaining admission to
Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...
. There he gained a BA (Hons) in Modern History followed by a MSSc in Irish Politics. After finishing his postgraduate studies, he worked for his father as a political researcher and parliamentary aide.


Political career

In 1996, Paisley was elected to the
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 ...
for North Antrim. He was returned for the constituency to the
Northern Ireland Assembly The Northern Ireland Assembly (; ), often referred to by the metonym ''Stormont'', is the devolved unicameral legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliam ...
in 1998. He is one of three DUP members who have taken their seats on the Northern Ireland Policing Board, and is also the party's justice spokesman and press officer. Paisley successfully ran to succeed his father as the MP for North Antrim in the 2010 UK general election, winning 46.4% of the vote share. Upon his election as MP, he resigned his seat in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Although there were rumours that Paisley Jr was positioning himself to become leader of his party, he denies any such ambition: "I've no ambition for that at all. I've never had any ambition to get anywhere beyond where I am today. Some people sought to put the knife in, in order to stop me, because they were concerned about me wanting to be leader. Well, they misjudged me completely." In 2022, Paisley introduced a
private members' bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...
that proposed to alter how future
referendums A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a direct vote by the electorate (rather than their representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding (resulting in the adoption of a new policy) or advis ...
on constitutional change, and thus Northern Ireland's ability to leave the United Kingdom, would be ratified. Paisley's bill would have changed the law so that a simple majority vote would no longer be enough for reunification with Ireland, and instead a higher bar of a
supermajority A supermajority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority rules in a democracy can help to prevent a majority from eroding fun ...
would be required for an affirmative result to be declared. However, Paisley's actions were ridiculed by fellow Northern Irish MP's Stephen Farry and
Claire Hanna Claire Aisling Hanna (born 19 June 1980) is an Irish politician who has served as Leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) since 5 October 2024 following her successful candidacy in the 2024 leadership election. She has served a ...
, who both described it as a political stunt and highlighted that it would never be debated by or voted upon by the
UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...
. For the fifth consecutive time, Paisley was re-selected by the DUP for the 2024 general election. With a majority of 12,721 from
2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
, he was expected to retain North Antrim, though not without a challenge from the
Traditional Unionist Voice The Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. In common with all other Northern Irish unionist parties, the TUV's political programme has as its '' sine qua non'' the preservation of Northern Ireland's pl ...
leader
Jim Allister James Hugh Allister (born 2 April 1953) is a Northern Irish unionist politician and barrister who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for North Antrim since the 2024 general election. He founded the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) in 20 ...
.He was endorsed by
Reform UK Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Nigel Farage has been Leader of Reform UK and Richard Tice deputy leader since 2024. It has five members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons and one membe ...
leader
Nigel Farage Nigel Paul Farage ( ; born 3 April 1964) is a British politician and broadcaster who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton (UK Parliament constituency), Clacton and Leader of Reform UK since 20 ...
, despite the agreed alliance between TUV and Reform. However, in a shock result, Allister narrowly defeated Paisley, winning the seat with a majority of 450. In total, he received 11,192 votes (27.2%), a decrease of 23.7%. The loss of North Antrim marked the end of 54 years of the constituency being in the hands of the Paisley family. In his farewell speech, Paisley said: "The tides of life ebb and flow as we all know. And this certainly is not the script I would've written for tonight, as I think most of you would accept. But I think life is made up of many chapters and I embrace the next chapter as happily as I've embraced the previous chapters. I congratulate my successor I commend all of those who took part in this race – the race to the finish. And I wish them well." On leaving the stage, he refused to speak to the media, instead blowing a kiss as he exited the count centre. In January 2025, Paisley was among the guests to attend the
Second inauguration of Donald Trump The United States presidential inauguration, inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th president of the United States took place on Monday, January 20, 2025. Due to freezing temperatures and high winds, it was held inside the United States Capi ...
.


Expenses

For the 2011–12
financial year A fiscal year (also known as a financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. La ...
, Paisley's total
expenses An expense is an item requiring an outflow of money, or any form of fortune in general, to another person or group as payment for an item, service, or other category of costs. For a tenant, rent is an expense. For students or parents, tuition i ...
claim was the seventh-highest of all members of parliament. His expenses for the 2012–13 financial year were £232,000; the highest of any MP that year. The costs covered travel and accommodation for Paisley himself and his constituency staff. In an interview with the '' Ballymena Times'', Paisley stated "None of this money goes to me as MP ... They are legitimate expenses signed off by IPSA and paid directly by the Parliament". He had the second-highest expenses claim in the 2013–14 financial year. For the 2014–15 financial year, he was again the second-highest claimant, receiving £227,000 in expenses. During the 2010–2015 Parliament, Paisley claimed a total of £1,112,667 in expenses.


Brexit

Paisley strongly supported "Vote Leave" in the 2016 Brexit referendum, and was a supporter of the Eurosceptic campaign Leave Means Leave. While rejecting calls by Republican party
Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...
for a referendum in Northern Ireland on a unified Ireland, he advised his constituents to get an
Irish passport An Irish passport () is the passport issued to Irish nationality law, citizens of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. An Irish passport enables the bearer to travel internationally and serves as evidence of Irish nationality and citizenship of the Eu ...
if they were eligible.


Paid advocacy and recall petition

In 2018 Paisley was suspended from the House of Commons for 30 sitting days, beginning on 4 September 2018, because he broke paid advocacy rules by receiving hospitality from the Sri Lankan government without declaring that to the Commons. Following his suspension, the Recall of MPs Act 2015 was invoked for the first time since it received Royal Assent. However, the resulting recall petition—the first in British parliamentary history—was signed by only 9.4% of registered voters, below the 10% threshold to trigger a by-election. Paisley's membership of the DUP was suspended between 24 July and 18 September 2018, during internal investigations by the party into his conduct.


Electoral Commission fine

In September 2020, Paisley was fined £1,300 (€1,400) by the
Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...
for accepting a total of £2,600 from two local councils to purchase tables at a fund-raising event at the Tullyglass hotel in
Ballymena Ballymena ( ; from , meaning 'the middle townland') is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 31,205 people at the 2021 United Kingdom census, making it the List of localities in Northern Ireland by population, seven ...
in September 2017. Paisley also agreed to pay back the money.


Association with Jo Bamford

In 2019, Paisley helped JCB heir Jo Bamford purchase Wrightbus, the financially troubled manufacturer of London's famous double-decker buses. Jeff Wright, then-owner of Wrightbus, publicly complained of Paisley's alleged interference into the negotiations of the sale of Wrightbus to Bamford. Once the purchase was complete, Bamford publicly praised Paisley for his help. On 12 October 2019 Paisley wrote an op-ed in the ''
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 ...
'' in which he praised Bamford and thanked him for buying Wrightbus.


Controversy


Loyalist Volunteer Force rally

In March 1998, Paisley and Sammy Wilson spoke at a rally in
Portadown Portadown ( ) is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is based on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population ...
organised by the paramilitary Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) in opposition to political negotiations preceding the
Good Friday Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) or Belfast Agreement ( or ; or ) is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April (Good Friday) 1998 that ended most of the violence of the Troubles, an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland since the la ...
. Their appearance was widely criticised; the rally came hours after the funeral for two men murdered by the LVF, Philip Allen and Damien Trainor – one a Protestant, one a Catholic – in a bar in Poyntzpass, County Armagh, in an indiscriminate sectarian attack. At the rally, Paisley told followers of the late LVF leader Billy Wright "...the sooner this government wakes up to the reality that you can't talk to the
Provisional IRA The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...
to get peace - the only way to get peace out of the Provisional IRA is to exterminate them, put them out of business".


Views on homosexuality

In 2005, Paisley came under some criticism for his beliefs about
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...
and
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...
s. Upon learning that
David Trimble William David Trimble, Baron Trimble, (15 October 1944 – 25 July 2022) was a Northern Irish politician who was the inaugural First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2002 and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1995 to 20 ...
's aide, Steven King, had married his partner in Canada, Paisley was quoted as saying, "It is really astounding that David Trimble should have had a man such as this giving him advice – and must surely cast grave doubts on his own political judgement. I think these sorts of relationships are immoral, offensive and obnoxious." Paisley caused further controversy in May 2007 when, in an interview with journalist Jason O'Toole in ''
Hot Press ''Hot Press'' is a monthly music and politics magazine based in Dublin, Ireland, founded in June 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. History ''Hot Press'' was founded in June 1977 by Niall Stokes, who cont ...
'' magazine, he said that "I am pretty repulsed by gay and lesbianism. I think it is wrong. I think that those people harm themselves and – without caring about it – harm society. That doesn't mean to say that I hate them – I mean, I hate what they do." In 2011, Paisley said of his previous comments: "I think I have grown up since then. I have strong Christian beliefs and moral viewpoints, but you have to realise that while sin is black and white, life is a lot of grey. You have to be mature about these things. I can strongly disagree with those viewpoints, but the point is how you disagree."


University graduation

Paisley was unable to graduate from his MSSc in the summer graduation period, due to having exceeded the word count on his dissertation, and instead graduated in the winter period of 1994. The summer of 1994 was the last year Queen's University Belfast played the British national anthem; Paisley responded by playing the anthem on a tape recorder during his winter graduation.


Property developers

Paisley had been linked in press reports to local property developer Seymour Sweeney when, in 2007, Sweeney admitted that Paisley had lobbied on his behalf regarding plans for a private visitors' centre at the
Giant's Causeway The Giant's Causeway () is an area of approximately 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcano, volcanic fissure eruption, part of the North Atlantic Igneous Province active in the region during the Paleogene period. ...
, the only
UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
in Northern Ireland. Paisley strongly denied that he had any financial relationship with Sweeney, although he admitted that he had gone deep sea fishing with the developer socially. Paisley had been involved in the commercial development of the north Antrim coast and strongly supported Alistair Hanna's controversial Bushmills Dunes Golf Resort and Spa proposal, an 18-hole golf course and hotel complex at Runkerry, adjacent to the Giant's Causeway. There were a series of public blunders and further controversy in February 2008, following scrutiny on the employment of family members by politicians after the
Derek Conway Derek Leslie Conway TD (born 15 February 1953) is an English politician and television presenter. A member of the Conservative Party, Conway served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Shrewsbury and Atcham from 1983 to 199 ...
scandal, when it emerged that Paisley was on his father's payroll as a researcher in the constituency of North Antrim in addition to his roles as an MLA and a junior minister. As a result, Paisley resigned his junior minister position on 18 February 2008.


Dissident republican comments

Further controversy occurred in August 2008 when Paisley, speaking after a number of attacks on the
Police Service of Northern Ireland The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ; Ulster-Scots: '), is the police service responsible for law enforcement and the prevention of crime within Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it ...
, said that dissident republicans should be "shot on sight".


2013 Sri Lankan hospitality, and lobbying for a foreign government

Paisley visited Sri Lanka twice in 2013, with members of his family; the first occasion was from 30 March until 5 April, and the second from 2 July until 11 July. In their family visa application submitted to the Sri Lanka High Commission in London, all six who travelled declared that the purpose of their visit to Sri Lanka was "official". In September 2017, ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' alleged that Paisley had received hospitality from the government of Sri Lanka for his two visits there in 2013 without declaring it. It also stated that in 2017 he had been involved in securing a post-
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 ...
trade deal with that country. However, Paisley replied that the claims were defamatory and that he had referred the matter to his solicitor. In July 2018, the House of Commons Standards Committee recommended that Paisley be suspended from the Commons for thirty sitting days, for not declaring visits to Sri Lanka paid for by the Sri Lankan government and for breaking the Commons rule banning paid advocacy. The Committee concluded that Paisley's actions amounted to serious misconduct and suggested that his failure to register his visits to Sri Lanka had occurred because he was conscious of the potential embarrassment that would be caused to him if it were to become publicly known that he had accepted very expensive hospitality, for himself and his family, from an overseas government accused of serious human rights violations. On 24 July 2018, MPs voted to suspend Paisley from the House of Commons for a period of 30 sitting days, beginning on 4 September 2018. His salary was also to be withheld for 30 days. The DUP released a statement confirming that the party officers had decided to suspend him from the party until an internal investigation were held into his conduct. The Speaker of the House of Commons confirmed he would write to the Chief Electoral Officer in Northern Ireland to initiate the MP recall mechanisms, as specified in the Recall of MPs Act 2015. A recall petition opened on 8 August. On 20 September 2018, the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland announced the recall petition had fallen 444 votes short of the number needed to spark a by-election. Following this result, the DUP announced that it had lifted Ian Paisley's party suspension on 18 September, but had banned him from taking any party office for a year.


Criticism of journalist

In September 2019, following the publication of an analytical article written by journalist Sam McBride in the Belfast '' News Letter'', concerning the DUP's ongoing negotiations in Stormont, Paisley criticised McBride online, calling him "despicable", "immature", and "simplistic". In response, the
National Union of Journalists The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) is a trade union supporting journalists in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The NUJ was founded in 1907 and has 20,693 members. It is a member of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Trades ...
condemned the remarks as an "unwarranted personal attack" on the journalist. Following further criticism, Paisley apologised, stating that he "expressed imselfbadly".


Maldives trip

In 2016, Paisley and his family took a holiday to a resort in the Maldives, a trip that he did not disclose as he was required to do. He took the trip months after advocating on behalf the Maldivian government. An investigation concluded that Paisley had failed to properly register the visit, and that his hospitality had likely not been paid for by a friend, as he had claimed. However, he was found not to have broken any rules on "paid advocacy."


Personal life

In 1990, Paisley married Fiona Currie, and they have four children. He is a member of the
Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster :''Distinct from Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland and Free Church of Scotland (post 1900)'' The Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster is a Calvinist denomination founded by Ian Paisley in 1951. Doctrinally, the church describes itself as Fundam ...
.


References


External links


Ian Paisley Junior
''Official constituency site''
Democratic Unionist Party
*
Developer's DUP link 'no bearing'
''BBC News'', 11 September 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Paisley, Ian Jr 1966 births Democratic Unionist Party MLAs Living people Politicians from Belfast Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Antrim constituencies (since 1922) Members of the Northern Ireland Forum Northern Ireland MLAs 1998–2003 Northern Ireland MLAs 2003–2007 Northern Ireland MLAs 2007–2011 Junior ministers of the Northern Ireland Assembly (since 1999) Presbyterians from Northern Ireland Ulster Scots people UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–2024 Sons of life peers People educated at Methodist College Belfast Democratic Unionist Party MPs Twins from Northern Ireland