William Paul Girvan (born 6 July 1963) is a retired

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) politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Antrim from

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 ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

. In this role, Girvan was the DUP's spokesperson for

Transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

. He was previously 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 South Antrim from

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

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 ...

, and then from 2010 to 2017.

Career

Newtownabbey Council

Girvan was first elected to

Newtownabbey Borough Council Newtownabbey Borough Council was a Local Authority in County Antrim in Northern Ireland, on the north shore of Belfast Lough just immediately north of Belfast. The Council merged with Antrim Borough Council in April 2015 under local governmen ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, representing the

Ballyclare Ballyclare () is a small town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 10,850 according to the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, and is located within the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council area. It is part of, and ...

District, and was re-elected in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

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 ...

. From 2002 to 2004, he served as Mayor of Newtownabbey, and also served as Chair of the council's Development Committee.

NI Assembly

, he was elected 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 ...

, representing South Antrim. He was deselected by the DUP in South Antrim in 2007, but returned to the Assembly in 2010 when he was selected to replace William McCrea following his resignation.

Member of Parliament

In the 2017 general election, he contested South Antrim, winning the seat with a 3,208 majority, against the incumbent MP, Danny Kinahan of the

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded as the Ulster Unionist Council in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it l ...

(UUP). In March 2019, Girvan was one of 21 MPs who voted against LGBT inclusive sex and relationship education in English schools. He retained his seat at the 2019 general election, though did see his vote decline by 3%, with a majority of 2,689. In July 2020, during a trade debate in 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 ...

, Girvan caused controversy when he said that food in shops must be affordable "for the housewife to buy." He immediately apologised for the remark. At the 2024 general election, Girvan lost his seat to the UUP's Robin Swann, which saw his vote decline by 15.7%. He is now retired.

Personal life

Girvan is married to Mandy, a former DUP

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

for

Sources

External links

NIA profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Girvan, Paul 1963 births Living people Northern Ireland MLAs 2003–2007 Northern Ireland MLAs 2007–2011 Northern Ireland MLAs 2011–2016 People from Ballyclare Northern Ireland MLAs 2016–2017 Northern Ireland MLAs 2017–2022 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–2024 Democratic Unionist Party MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Antrim constituencies (since 1922) Democratic Unionist Party MLAs Mayors of Newtownabbey Members of Newtownabbey Borough Council