Preceded by Jim Allister Children 2 Party Democratic Unionist Party Nationality British Spouse Nigel Dodds | Succeeded by Jennifer McCann Role Politician Preceded by Joe Hendron Name Diane Dodds | |
 | ||
Born 16 August 1958 (age 65)
Rathfriland, Northern Ireland ( 1958-08-16 ) Political party Democratic Unionist Party Education Banbridge Academy, Queen's University Belfast | ||
Diane dodds mep funding of political parties 5th april 2011
Diane Jean Dodds (born 16 August 1958) is a Democratic Unionist Party politician in Northern Ireland. She has been a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Northern Ireland constituency since 2004. She previously sat in the Northern Ireland Assembly from 2003 to 2007 as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MEP) for Belfast West.
Contents
- Diane dodds mep funding of political parties 5th april 2011
- Diane dodds launches signposts to support for older people
- Career
- European Parliament 2009 Present
- References
Diane dodds launches signposts to support for older people
Career
Dodds was born into a farming family in Rathfriland, County Down where she attended Banbridge Academy before moving on to study at Queen's University Belfast. While studying, she met her future husband and future DUP MP for North Belfast, Nigel Dodds.
Dodds qualified as a teacher and taught history and English in Laurelhill High School, Lisburn. In 2003, she was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly to represent Belfast West. She was the first Unionist elected to a regional assembly from West Belfast in more than 20 years (the last being Thomas Passmore to the 1982-6 Assembly). Her strongest support base during the election campaign was in the Shankill Road area of the constituency.
Following her election to the Assembly, Dodds contested the Court District Electoral Area in the 2005 Local Government Elections. On that occasion she polled in excess of three electoral quotas and her surplus votes enabled the election of two running mates. In that election, she polled more votes than any other local government candidate in Northern Ireland. Despite increasing her vote from the 2003 Assembly election, she narrowly lost her seat to Sinn Féin in 2007.
Dodds has also been active within Belfast City Council, where she was Chief Whip of the 14-councillor DUP group. She chaired the Policy and Resources Committee on the council and actively supported a campaign to host a homecoming parade for the Royal Irish Regiment and other armed forces returning home from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
European Parliament 2009-Present
On 3 February 2009, Dodds was selected by the DUP as its candidate for the 2009 election to the European Parliament and was elected an MEP on 8 June, representing Northern Ireland.
Despite her election, the results were disappointing for Dodds and her party. The DUP's share of the vote fell 14% to just over 18%. While the Westminster expenses scandal and a perceived poor performance in live debates were cited as reasons for the poor result, Dodds herself blamed the decline in DUP votes on former DUP member Jim Allister of the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) splinter party, who gained 66,000 first preference votes. Allister had accused the DUP of "betrayal" in going into government with Sinn Féin. Sinn Féin topped the poll, the first time a republican party had done so in a European election in Northern Ireland. Dodds was elected third, behind Jim Nicholson of the UUP, and with fewer votes than the quota (the elections being held under the single transferable vote system).
In July 2009, on the day when the MEPs were about to take their seats, Diane Dodds refused to take her seat next to the newly elected British National Party MEPs, Andrew Brons and Nick Griffin.