Sylvia Hermon

Sylvia, Lady Hermon MP
Member of Parliament for North Down
Incumbent
Assumed office 7 June 2001
Preceded by	Robert McCartney
Majority	14,364 (42.9%)
Personal details
Born	(1955-08-11) 11 August 1955 Castlecaulfield, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
Nationality	British
Political party	Independent
Other political affiliations	Ulster Unionist Party (1998-2010)
Spouse	Sir Jack Hermon
Alma mater	University of Wales, Aberystwyth

Sylvia Eileen, Lady Hermon (née Paisley; born 11 August 1955) is a Northern Irish politician. Since 2001, she has been the Member of Parliament for the constituency of North Down, first elected for the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), but now an Independent. She is the widow of Sir Jack Hermon, former Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

On 25 March 2010, Lady Hermon announced that she was quitting the Ulster Unionist Party, and would fight the next general election as an Independent candidate. Her decision was triggered by the UUP's alliance with the Conservative Party. She successfully retained her seat at the May 2010 election with a large gain in her share of the vote, increasing her majority.

Early life

Born Sylvia Eileen Paisley in Castlecaulfield, Dungannon, County Tyrone. Her father was Robert Paisley, a farmer, and she had 3 sisters. The family saw tragedy when Sylvia's mother died in a drowning accident when she was four. She went to Dungannon High School before studying Law at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, obtaining a First and the highest mark in her year.

She went on to lecture in Law at the Queen's University of Belfast at the same time as David Trimble. She did not enter politics until 1998 when she joined the Ulster Unionist Party, having been impressed by the role the UUP played in negotiating the Belfast Agreement. She rose to a place on the party Executive by the following year.

Parliamentary career

Hermon was chosen as UUP candidate for the North Down constituency to contest the 2001 general election and went on to defeat the incumbent Robert McCartney by over 7,000 votes. During the election she would garner the support of the local branch of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland who withdrew their own candidate.

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. In Parliament, she has established herself as an independently minded politician, in some instances voting against the prevalent beliefs of fellow unionist MPs, including her decision to vote against the replacement of the Trident Nuclear Weapons System and also to repeal Section 28, legislation that prevented public discussion of homosexuality in English schools. However she did vote for identity cards and 90-day detention. Her votes are generally in support of the Labour government.

Hermon was the only Ulster Unionist to be returned to Westminster in the 2005 general election and as a result figured in consideration for who would succeed David Trimble as party leader. Initially considered to be amongst the frontrunners, Hermon eventually declined the opportunity, feeling that she could not combine it with her care duties for her husband, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, and instead supported the unsuccessful bid of Alan McFarland.

On 6 November 2008 her husband Jack Hermon died. Shortly afterward, her father also died. On 13 May 2009, Lady Hermon ended months of speculation over her supposed opposition to the Ulster 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." She was criticised for the timing of her remarks by the party Leader Sir Reg Empey and by Jim Nicholson, as the party was running its European Parliament election campaign.

On 23 February 2010, Lady Hermon confirmed that she will not be seeking the nomination as a Conservative and Unionist candidate. On 6 May 2010 standing as an Independent candidate she was re-elected with a large majority.

Charity work

She is a longstanding supporter of the Alzheimer's Research Trust and helped launch its Northern Ireland network centre.

External links

• Official Website
• Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask Aristotle: Sylvia Hermon MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com - Lady Hermon MP
• Maiden Speech : House of Commons - 26 June 2001