| 5th Northern Ireland Assembly | |
| Body: | Assembly |
| Country: | Northern Ireland |
| Meeting Place: | Parliament Buildings, Stormont |
| Election: | 2016 assembly election |
| Government: | Executive of the 5th Assembly |
| Term Start: | 5 May 2016 |
| Term End: | 25 January 2017 |
| Before: | 4th Assembly |
| After: | 6th Assembly |
| Membership1: | 108 |
| Chamber1 Leader1 Type: | Speaker |
| Chamber1 Leader1: | Robin Newton |
| Chamber1 Leader2 Type: | First Minister |
| Chamber1 Leader2: | Arlene Foster |
| Chamber1 Leader3 Type: | Deputy First Minister |
| Chamber1 Leader3: | Martin McGuinness |
| Session1 Start: | 12 May 2016 |
| Session1 End: | 24 January 2017 |
This is a list of the members of the fifth Northern Ireland Assembly, the unicameral devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) elected on 5 May 2016[1] or subsequently co-opted are listed by party and by constituency.
Only the Democratic Unionist Party, Sinn Féin and an Independent Unionist participated in the 4th Northern Ireland Executive, which now comprised nine rather than 12 departments.[2] The Ulster Unionist Party, Social Democratic and Labour Party and Alliance Party declined the roles they were entitled to, and under the Assembly and Executive Reform (Assembly Opposition) Act (Northern Ireland) 2016[3] the larger UUP and SDLP formed the first official Assembly Opposition.
The Assembly convened on 12 May, electing the DUP's Robin Newton as Speaker.
| Party | Designation | May 2016 election | Jan 2017 end | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ● | Unionist | 38 | 36 | ||
| ● | Nationalist | 28 | 28 | ||
| ♦ | Unionist | 16 | 16 | ||
| ♦ | Social Democratic and Labour Party | Nationalist | 12 | 12 | |
| ♢ | Alliance Party of Northern Ireland | Other | 8 | 8 | |
| ♢ | Green Party in Northern Ireland | Other | 2 | 2 | |
| ♢ | People Before Profit Alliance | Other | 2 | 2 | |
| ♢ | Unionist | 1 | 1 | ||
| ● | Unionist | 1 | 1 | ||
| ♢ | Independent | Unionist | 0 | 1 | |
| None | 0 | 1 | |||
| Total | 108 | ||||
| Roles at commencement: ● = Northern Ireland Executive (66); ♦ = Assembly Opposition (28); ♢ = Other opposition (13). | |||||
‡ Changed affiliation during the term
| Date co-opted | Constituency | Party | Outgoing | Co-optee | Reason | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 August 2016 | North Antrim | Daithí McKay | Philip McGuigan | Daithí McKay resigned.[4] | ||
| 7 December 2016 | Belfast West | Jennifer McCann | Órlaithí Flynn | Jennifer McCann resigned.[5] | ||
| Date | Constituency | Name | Previous affiliation | New affiliation | Circumstance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 May 2016 | Belfast East | Robin Newton | Robin Newton elected Speaker of the Assembly at its first sitting. | ||||
| 18 December 2016 | Strangford | Jonathan Bell | Jonathan Bell suspended from the DUP.[6] | ||||