Dawn Purvis
Dawn Purvis | |
|---|---|
| Leader of the Progressive Unionist Party | |
| In office 23 January 2007 – 2 June 2010 | |
| Preceded by | David Ervine |
| Succeeded by | John Kyle(acting) Brian Ervine |
| Member of theNorthern Ireland Assembly forBelfast East | |
| In office 7 March 2007 – May 2011 | |
| Preceded by | David Ervine |
| Succeeded by | Judith Cochrane |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 22 October 1966[1] Donegall Pass,Belfast,Northern Ireland |
| Political party | Independent(2010 - present) |
| Other political affiliations | PUP(1994 - 2010) |
| Website | Official website |
Dawn Purvis(born 22 October 1967) is a Northern Irish policy director and former unionist politician, who was aMember of the Northern Ireland Assembly(MLA) forBelfast Eastfrom 2007 to 2011. She was previously the leader of theProgressive Unionist Party(PUP) from 2007 to 2010.
Biography[edit]
Born in theDonegall Passarea ofBelfast,Purvis joined the PUP in 1994.[2]She stood for the party in the 1996Northern Ireland Forumelection inBelfast South[3]and then in the1998 Northern Ireland Assembly electioninBelfast South,here taking 271 votes.[4]She served as director of theMarie Stopesclinic in Belfast.
In November 2014, Bernadette Smyth, founder of the Precious Life organisation, was found guilty of the harassment of Purvis,[5]but the verdict was later quashed.[6]
Political career[edit]
By 1999, Purvis was the PUP's Spokesperson on Women's Affairs.[7]She took a degree in Women's Studies, Social Policy and Social Anthropology and began working full-time for the party.[8]
Purvis stood inBelfast Southin the2001 UK general election,finishing in sixth place with a total of 1112 votes (2.9%).[9]
In 2006, Purvis was appointed to theNorthern Ireland Policing Board.Her appointment was later criticised by theDemocratic Unionist Party,because of the PUP's links with the paramilitaryUlster Volunteer Force(UVF).[2]
In January 2007, Purvis succeeded the lateDavid Ervineas 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.[10]
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."[citation needed]
Purvis was re-elected in the constituency at the2007 Assembly electionon the tenth and final round of counting. She polled 3045 votes (10.3%)[11]
Resignation from PUP[edit]
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 theIndependent Monitoring Commission.[12][13][14]
Electoral defeat[edit]
In the2011 Assembly electionPurvis defended her seat as an independent candidate with PUP leaderBrian Ervinerunning against her. In the end neither candidate was elected and instead theAlliance Party of Northern Irelandgained a second East Belfast seat. Purvis polled 1702 votes (5.2%)[15]
References[edit]
- ^"The Northern Ireland Assembly".Archivedfrom the original on 4 March 2016.Retrieved21 October2012.
- ^ab"A new Dawn for the PUP",Belfast Telegraph
- ^PUP bids to win Chinese vote",Belfast Telegraph
- ^"CAIN Web Service: Assembly Election (NI) Thursday 25 June 1998".Cain.ulst.ac.uk. 25 June 1998.Archivedfrom the original on 28 May 2007.Retrieved29 September2012.
- ^Anti-abortion protester Bernadette Smyth guilty of harassing Dawn Purvis (November 2014)[1]Archived2 November 2018 at theWayback Machine
- ^"Bernadette Smyth wins harassment appeal".UTV.Archived fromthe originalon 24 July 2015.Retrieved9 May2016.
- ^Eamonn McCann,"Choice the PUP must make... and soon",Belfast Telegraph
- ^"Education",Belfast Telegraph
- ^ The Guardian."Ms Dawn Purvis".London. Archived fromthe originalon 20 April 2013.Retrieved9 March2007.
- ^4NI.co.uk News (23 January 2007)."Dawn Purvis chosen as PUP leader".Archivedfrom the original on 28 September 2007.Retrieved9 March2007.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^RTÉ(9 March 2007)."Northern Ireland Elections 2007 – Belfast East".RTÉ News.Archived fromthe originalon 10 March 2007.Retrieved9 March2007.
- ^"Purvis quits PUP over murder of loyalist Moffett".BBC News. 3 June 2010.Retrieved29 September2012.
- ^"PremiumSale Premium Domains".Independentmonitoringcommission.org. Archived fromthe originalon 3 October 2010.Retrieved29 September2012.
- ^McDonald, Henry (3 June 2010)."The Guardian – Ulster loyalist Dawn Purvis resigns from party over UVF killing".The Guardian.London.Archivedfrom the original on 8 March 2016.Retrieved14 December2016.
- ^"Northern Ireland Assembly elections: East Belfast resultsArchived11 May 2011 at theWayback Machine",Belfast Telegraph,7 May 2011