Gerry Carroll

For the Gaelic footballer, see Gerry Carroll (footballer).
Gerry Carroll
MLA
Member of
Belfast City Council
In office
22 May 2014 – 7 May 2016
Serving with six others
Preceded by Office created
Succeeded by Matthew Collins
Constituency Black Mountain
Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly
for Belfast West
Assumed office
7 May 2016
Preceded by Rosie McCorley
Personal details
Born 27 April 1987 (1987-04-27) (age 29)
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Political party People Before Profit Alliance
Alma mater University of Ulster
Occupation Politician

Gerry Carroll (born 27 April 1987) is a politician from Belfast, Northern Ireland, who since May 2016 has represented the People Before Profit Alliance in the Northern Ireland Assembly constituency of Belfast West. Since 2014 he has also represented the Black Mountain district electoral area on Belfast City Council.

Career

Carroll first came to prominence as a young activist. At the age of 16 he fundraised with fellow activists to travel to Edinburgh for the Make Poverty History protest.[1]

He contested the Belfast West by-election, 2011, triggered by the resignation of Gerry Adams, for the People Before Profit Alliance, and won 7.6% of the vote. At the Belfast City Council election, 2014 he gained one of the seven seats in the Black Mountain electoral area from Sinn Féin, coming third. Following his election, he said that he does not describe himself as a nationalist or a unionist, instead choosing to identify as a socialist. He also said: "There is a lot of anger in West Belfast at the minute over the situation at Royal Victoria Hospital's A&E, the privatisation of leisure centres and the Casement Park issues...residents have been trampled on".[2] He contested Belfast West again at the 2015 general election,[3] this time coming second, gaining 19.2% of the vote and reducing the Sinn Féin majority from 57.1% to 35.0%.[4] During his 2015 campaign he was endorsed by civil rights campaigner Bernadette McAliskey.

After being elected a Councillor, Carroll criticised large pay rises for councillors, while other council staff suffered effective pay cuts,[1] and campaigned against privatisation and cuts.[5]

Carroll criticised the sectarian nature of politics in Northern Ireland and Sinn Féin's alleged support for capitalism. In August 2014 he said: "In Northern Ireland sectarianism is at the heart of the state. I don't accept that, but then again I don't accept the conservative right-wing state in the south".[1]

In 2016 he was elected as an MLA for West Belfast, topping the poll on the first count and gaining a seat from Rosie McCorley (of Sinn Féin).[6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "The Big Interview: People Before Profit's Gerry Carroll". The Belfast Telegraph. 18 August 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  2. ↑ Black, Rebecca (24 May 2014). "I am not a nationalist or a unionist, I am a socialist, says People Before Profit's new Belfast councillor Gerry Carroll". The Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  3. ↑ Ó Muilleoir, Tiarnán (6 March 2015). "Carroll vows to take on 'austerity parties'". Belfast Media Group. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  4. ↑ "Belfast West parliamentary constituency - Election 2015". BBC News. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  5. ↑ Stewart, Alan (27 June 2015). "Politician expresses fears over Waterfront Hall 'privatisation'". Belfast Live. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  6. ↑ Little, Ivan. "West Belfast: Fairy tale win for newcomer Carroll as he snatches seat from Sinn Fein". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
Northern Ireland Assembly
Preceded by
Rosie McCorley		 MLA for Belfast West
2016 - 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
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