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Stratton MIlls | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament forBelfast North | |
| In office 8 October 1959 – 8 February 1974 | |
| Preceded by | H. Montgomery Hyde |
| Succeeded by | John Carson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1932-07-01)1 July 1932 (age 93) |
| Party | Ulster Unionist (until 1972) Conservative (1972-1973) Alliance (1973-present) |
William Stratton Mills (born 1 July 1932) is a retired solicitor and formerpolitician inNorthern Ireland.[1]
Mills was the firstMember of Parliament (MP) for theAlliance Party of Northern Ireland to sit in theBritish House of Commons, although he was first elected as a member of theUlster Unionist Party (UUP).
Stratton Mills was educated atCampbell College, Belfast andQueen's University, Belfast. Asolicitor by profession, Mills was elected as theUlster Unionist Party (UUP) MP forBelfast North in the1959 general election. He held his seat in subsequent elections, but in 1972 he refused to join the other UUP MPs in resigning theConservative Partywhip. He instead resigned from the UUP, describing himself as an independent Unionist and Conservative MP.[2]
In August 1969, at the outset ofThe Troubles, Mills travelled withRobin Bailie to the United States to counter the fund raising efforts ofBernadette Devlin, and to promote theUnionist point of view to an American audience.[3] Mills referred to Devlin as "a female Castro in a miniskirt" and questioned if the funds collected were to be used for Catholic relief or to further violence. Devlin responded that the $200,000 in contributions was to be administered by theNorthern Ireland Civil Rights Association for the benefit of riot victims.[4]
In December 1971, Mills derided theRepublic of Ireland for being a safe haven for members of theProvisional Irish Republican Army. He stated thatextradition requests for Dublin to turn over IRA members living in the Republic were ignored and on 22 occasions where British security forces came under fire from IRA members stationed at the nearby border of the Irish Republic and that Irish security forces sat by and took no action in stopping them. He also pointed out how IRA members operated freely in the Republic, including collecting money from local supporters, training camps, public meetings, and recruiting volunteers. He also pointed out how much of thegelignite used as explosives in detonating targets in Northern Ireland originated from the Republic:
[S]ome 60 percent of the gelignite used in Northern Ireland has come from Southern Ireland, and the security authorities believe that the figure might well be higher than that because of the difficulty of definite identification in all cases. In Northern Ireland steps are taken to control the use and distribution of gelignite. Certain steps have been taken recently in the South, but there is a great need for much tighter measures.[5]
In 1973, Mills joined the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland.[6] He retired from the House in 1974. He was also a partner in a solicitors firm, and served on Northern Ireland's Historic Buildings Council. Mills is a member of theUlster Architectural Heritage Society and theIrish Georgian Society. He lives inMalone Park,Belfast.[7]
Following the death ofLord Morris of Aberavon on 5 June 2023, Mills became the last surviving former MP elected in the 1959 general election and the surviving former MP with the earliest date of first election.[8]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forBelfast North 1959 –1974 | Succeeded by |
