| Roy Beggs, Jr, MLA | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for East Antrim |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 25 June 1998 |
|
| Preceded by | New Creation |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 3 July 1962 Glenoe,[1] Northern Ireland |
| Nationality | Northern Irish |
| Political party | Ulster Unionist Party |
| Spouse(s) | Sandra Beggs |
| Residence | Glenoe[2] |
| Alma mater | Queen's University of Belfast |
| Profession | Engineer |
| Website | http://www.roy-beggs.co.uk/ |
Roy Beggs, Jr., MLA (born 3 July 1962) is a Northern Ireland Unionist politician, and the son of the politician Roy Beggs.
He is currently an Ulster Unionist member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for East Antrim, which his father formerly represented in the Westminster Parliament. He is presently a member of Carrickfergus Borough Council, although he has recently announced that he is to stand down at the next Local Government election to give an opportunity to "capable younger members who are seeking selection" from the Carrickfergus Division of the UUP.
Beggs is currently Deputy Chairman of the Agriculture Committee and is also Deputy Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee at Stormont. He left the Environment Committee in late 2010 to take up his current position on DARD.
Beggs is known for his tireless constituency work in East Antrim and has links with many organisations in the area. He is the UUP spokesperson on Children's Issues as well as Agriculture.
In 2003, Beggs succeeded in having Irish rebel music removed from the in-flight entertainment of Aer Lingus airplanes. He complained of the "Blatant promotion of militant, armed republicanism" on a music channel during a flight from Dublin to Boston after seeing that Derek Warfield had a radio channel dedicated to his music. Beggs, it was the same as "the speeches of Osama Bin Laden being played on a trans-Atlantic Arabian airline."[3]
Aer Lingus removed the material from their flights stating: "It is something that should not have been on board and we removed it immediately we became aware of it."[4]
Beggs Jnr has successfully contested every election for the Northern Ireland Assembly since 1998. In 1998 Beggs Jnr polled 16.1% of the popular vote; 16.7% in 2003; and 10.2% in 2007. Beggs Jnr topped the poll in 1998 and 2003 and the UUP returned two candidates. From 1998-2007 the Ulster Unionist Party have lost 8% vote share.[5]
Beggs has been selected to run again in East Antrim for the UUP, alongside party colleague and 2010 UUP Westminster candidate Rodney McCune.
| Northern Ireland Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by New creation |
MLA for Antrim East 1998 - |
Succeeded by Incumbent |