Carla Lockhart
| Carla Lockhart | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Member of Parliament of Upper Bann From: 12 December 2019 | |||
| Predecessor | David Simpson | ||
| Successor | Incumbent (no successor) | ||
| Information | |||
| Party | DUP | ||
| Religion | Presbyterianism[1] | ||
Carla Lockhart (born 1985), a native of County Tyrone in Northern Ireland, is a British conservative politician and member of the Democratic Unionist Party. She has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Upper Bann since 2019. She is also a former member of Northern Ireland's devolved assembly, during which period she was the target of online trolling by leftists, many of whom made misogynistic comments about her appearance.[2]
As of 2021, Lockhart was co-chair of the UK Parliament's All-Party Parliamentary Pro-Life Group, making her one of the few genuinely pro-life parliamentarians in the UK.[3]
Contents
Early life
Carla Lockhart was born on 28 February 1985 in Aughnacloy, a village in County Tyrone in Northern Ireland. Shew grew up on the family farm just outside of the village and she describes her upbringing as "working-class" and "Christian".[1][4]
Lockhart joined the right-wing conservative political party the Democratic Unionist Party while she was at university, inspired by Ian Paisley and Peter Robinson.[4]
Political career
In 2007, aged 22, Carla Lockhart became a councilor for Lurgan.[4]
Between 2012 and 2013, Lockhart served as Mayor of Craigavon.
As part of the 2016 Northern Ireland Assembly election which took place on May 5 that year, Lockhart was elected as the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Upper Bann.[5]
On December 12, 2019, Lockhart was elected as the DUP Member of Parliament for the UK parliamentary constituency of Upper Bann, winning 41% of the vote beating her nearest rival, John O'Dowd of Sinn Féin by over 16 points.
On January 8, 2020, Lockhart used her maiden speech as an MP to send a strong pro-life message, calling upon HM Government to stop legislation for abortion laws in Northern Ireland.[4]
On February 24, 2021, UK pro-life group Right to Life announced that Carla Lockhart had been appointed as the co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Pro-Life Group, a group representing pro-life interests in the British parliament.[6]
On March 6, 2023, Lockhart authored an article urging the UK's governing party the Conservatives to scrap their plan to increase corporation tax and "recalibrate" towards lower taxes. Lockhart also pointed out that the plan contradicted the party's 2019 manifesto pledge to lower the tax burden on businesses.[7]
Policies and views
A strong conservative, Lockhart has consistently stood up against the murder of unborn children through abortion[8] believes in the value of hard work,[1] and criticized the UK's generally high taxes.[7]
On issues relating to the CCP pandemic, Lockhart voted in favour of mandatory face coverings. However, she voted against mandatory vaccination of NHS staff and vaccine passports.[9]
Economics
Lockhart called out Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's decision to raise taxes from 19% to 25%, describing it an "anti-business" and "anti-jobs" action that would "drive investors away".[7]
Ethics
Carla Lockhart is pro-life, and her opposition to the introduction of abortion in Northern Ireland was he focus of her first speech in parliament in January 2020. Between 2019 and 2023, Lockhart had voted against the pro-abortion lobby on 6 of 7 votes, and abstained from one.[10]
Personal life
Lockhart is married to Rodney Condell, a quantity surveyor. She has one son.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 I’ve miscarried twice, the pain was horrendous and never leaves you... If it’s God’s plan, I’d still like to have children
- ↑ Carla Lockhart abuse 'totally unacceptable'
- ↑ Register Of All-Party Parliamentary Groups (as at 21 April 2021)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 About Carla Lockhart MP
- ↑ NI Assembly Election 2016
- ↑ Carla Lockhart MP appointed Co-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Pro-Life Group in Westminster
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 High tax economy will drive investors away
- ↑ Carla Lockhart MP - My DUP
- ↑ How did my MP vote on masks and vaccine passports?
- ↑ Where does Carla Lockhart stand on Abortion?
