Lady Hermon | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2017 | |
| Member of Parliament forNorth Down | |
| In office 7 June 2001 – 6 November 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Robert McCartney |
| Succeeded by | Stephen Farry |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Sylvia Eileen Paisley (1955-08-11)11 August 1955 (age 70) Galbally,County Tyrone, Northern Ireland |
| Party |
|
| Spouse | Sir Jack Hermon |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | |
| Profession | Law lecturer, politician |
Sylvia Eileen, Lady Hermon (néePaisley; born 11 August 1955) is a retiredUnionistpolitician fromNorthern Ireland. She served as theMember of Parliament (MP) for the constituency ofNorth Down from 2001 to 2019.
She was first elected for theUlster Unionist Party (UUP), but left the party in 2010, sitting as anIndependent unionist for the rest of her time as Member of Parliament. She is the widow ofSir Jack Hermon, who served asChief Constable of theRoyal Ulster Constabulary. She was the onlyindependent MP elected at the2010 general election,2015 general election and2017 general election.
On 25 March 2010, Lady Hermon announced her resignation from the Ulster Unionist Party, and had served since then as an Independent MP. Her decision was triggered by the Ulster Unionistalliance with theConservative Party.[1] She successfully retained her seat in the2010 election with a large gain in her share of the vote, increasing her majority,[2] retaining the seat again in the2015 election.[3] She also retained her seat in 2017 with a reduced 41% of the vote.
She announced her decision not to contest her seat at the December 2019 general election in November 2019.[4]
BornSylvia Eileen Paisley, aPresbyterian[5] in the mainlyRepublican area ofGalbally,County Tyrone, her father was Robert Paisley, a farmer, and she had three sisters. Hermon's mother accidentally drowned when Hermon was four. She went toDungannon High School before studying Law at theUniversity of Wales, Aberystwyth.[6]
She lectured in Law at theQueen's University of Belfast at the same time asDavid Trimble. She did not enter politics until 1998, when she joined theUlster Unionist Party, having been impressed by the role the party had played in negotiating theGood Friday Agreement.
On 6 November 2008, her husbandSir John Hermon died. Shortly afterward, her father also died.[7]
She is a long-standing supporter of theAlzheimer's Research Trust and helped launch its Northern Ireland network centre.[8]
Within the UUP, Hermon was regarded as being on the more socially liberal wing of the party, being characterised inThe Guardian in 2005 as a 'liberal'.[9] She was chosen as UUP candidate for theNorth Down constituency to contest the2001 general election, and defeated the incumbentRobert McCartney of theUK Unionist Party by over 7,000 votes. During the election she gained the support of the local branch of theAlliance Party of Northern Ireland, who withdrew their own candidate.[10]
Hermon became chair of the North Down branch of the UUP in 2001 and held this position until 2003. In 2001 she was also appointed UUP spokesperson for Youth and Women's Issues, Home Affairs and Trade and Industry. She subsequently lost the Trade and Industry portfolio and took responsibility for Culture, Media and Sport in 2002. Outside of the UUP, Hermon has also been involved in policing support and pensioners' rights campaigns.[11]
In 2003, she voted in favour of theIraq War.[12]
Hermon was the only Ulster Unionist to be returned to Westminster in the2005 general election and as a result figured inconsideration for who would succeed David Trimble as party leader.[13] Initially considered to be amongst the frontrunners, Hermon eventually declined the opportunity, feeling that she could not combine it with her responsibility of caring for her husband, who suffered fromAlzheimer's disease, and instead supported the unsuccessful bid ofAlan McFarland.[14]
In 2009, Hermon announced her opposition to theUlster Unionist link-up with the Conservative Party. She declared, in an unplanned announcement, during an interview in her constituency office,
At the present time, I can't see myself standing under a Conservative banner ... If my party chooses to move to call themselves by a different name, I'm terribly sorry and terribly disappointed by that but I remain an Ulster Unionist. That was certainly my mandate and I've loved serving the people of North Down. They have stood by me through the most difficult of times and if they choose and wish me to serve them I would do my very best to do that.[15]
On 23 February 2010, Hermon confirmed that she would not be seeking the nomination as a Conservative and Unionist candidate.[16] In her parliamentary votes, she was closer to theLabour Party than the Conservative Party.[17] On 6 May 2010, standing as an Independent unionist candidate, she was re-elected with a majority of over 14,000 votes ahead of the "Ulster Conservatives and Unionists – New Force" candidate.[18] She was re-elected in May 2015 and June 2017, both times as an Independent unionist,[19][20] and the only independent MP elected in those Parliaments.
Although Hermon had previously been considered to be close to the Labour Party, she has said that she would not support the leader at the time,Jeremy Corbyn, in government.[21] Hermon announced in November 2019 that she would not be standing as a candidate in the2019 general election on 12 December.[22] Her constituency position went toStephen Farry of theAlliance Party.
Hermon campaigned for the United Kingdom to remain in the European Union during the2016 referendum onBrexit. Given thatSinn Féin, who also supported a Remain vote,abstain from taking up their seats in theHouse of Commons, and theDUP supported a Leave vote, Hermon was the only MP representing Northern Ireland in the 2017 Parliament who supported Remain. Hermon described the potential for a "no-deal" Brexit as a "threat to UK stability" and said that it could lead to ahard border, which could, combined with changing demographics in Northern Ireland, lead to a border poll on aunited Ireland, which could lead to Northern Ireland uniting with theRepublic of Ireland.[23]
Hermon voted in favour of theWithdrawal Agreement in themeaningful vote on 15 January 2019, which was defeated by 432 votes to 202.[24] She voted against themotion of no confidence in the government ofTheresa May called by Jeremy Corbyn the following day.[25] During the phase of indicative votes in Parliament, Hermon voted in favour of a second referendum, as well as the option of revoking Article 50 to avoid a no-deal Brexit.
As a Presbyterian myself, I must say I was utterly dismayed and extremely angry as more and more details of the PMS fiasco unfolded.
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| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forNorth Down 2001–2019 | Succeeded by |
