Jonathan Buckley

Jonathan Buckley (born 1 January 1992) is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician who has been a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Upper Bann since 2017.

Jonathan Buckley
MLA
Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly
for Upper Bann
Assumed office
3 March 2017
Preceded bySydney Anderson
Personal details
Born (1992-01-01) 1 January 1992
NationalityNorthern Irish
Political partyDUP
Spouse
Jill Porter
​
(m. 2022)​
[1]
OccupationPolitician

Early life

Buckley grew up outside Portadown, where he still lives today.[2]

Political career

Buckley has been a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Upper Bann since 2017. He succeeded retiring veteran legislator Sydney Anderson. During the campaign, he publicly exhorted voters in the constituency to vote and to transfer to other Unionist candidates. He was declared the winner on 3 March 2017.[3][4][5] This made Buckley the youngest elected representative for the DUP.[2]

In October 2021 Buckley voted against ‘safe zones’ outside abortion clinics, saying the move which supporters claim is designed to protect women from physical and verbal harassment was “regressive”.[6]

In May 2022, Buckley admitted that he was "surprised" to learn that he had been nominated by Anne Donaghy's office for an MBE for "political and public service".[7]

Personal life

Outside of politics, Buckley is involved in pigeon racing.[2] On 1 July 2022, Buckley married Jill Porter in Lisburn.[1]

References
  1. Martin, Valerie (2 July 2022). "MLA Jonathan Buckley and his bride Jill Porter marry in Lisburn". Northern Ireland World. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  2. McNeilly, Claire (7 May 2018). "DUP MLA Jonathan Buckley: 'My great-grandfather won a bravery medal after he picked up an IRA bomb and carried it outside so that the Army could defuse it'". Belfast Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  3. "Jonathan Buckley to run for DUP in tight Upper Bann election race". News Letter. 25 January 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  4. "Upper Bann - predicted winner: Jonathan Buckley (DUP)". Bet Breaking News. Archived from the original on 4 March 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  5. "Buckley urges Upper Bann to vote for strong Unionist representation". Northern Ireland World. 24 February 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  6. McCormack, Jayne (12 October 2021). "Buckley Opposes Safe Zones". BBC News. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  7. Hughes, Brendan (3 May 2022). "DUP man 'surprised' to learn of Queen's honour nomination from council boss". BelfastLive. Retrieved 3 July 2022.


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