Kate Hoey relishing platform provided by House of Lords

Kate Hoey has said she feels “very honoured” to be going into the House of Lords with the nomination of Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Kate Hoey speaking in the House of CommonsKate Hoey speaking in the House of Commons
Kate Hoey speaking in the House of Commons

Ms Hoey, who worked as Mr Johnson’s commissioner for sport when he was Mayor of London, said: “I will continue to speak out strongly in support of Northern Ireland’s place within the United Kingdom.

“This is particularly important in the lead up to the centenary of Northern Ireland next year.

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“During my 30 years as a London MP I never forgot my roots, and particularly the role my wonderful parents had in my upbringing on a small Co Antrim farm.”

DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds. Picture: Colm Lenaghan/PacemakerDUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds. Picture: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker
DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds. Picture: Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker

The ex-Labour MP for Vauxhall is also a former chair of the Countryside Alliance.

She has also campaigned on behalf of terror victims and victims of institutional abuse, and chaired the Commons’ all-party group on Zimbabwe.

“I see this [peerage] also as an honour of behalf of all those ex-Labour voters who wanted to see us leave the European Union and were let down badly by my former party,” Ms Hoey said.

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“It is a nice recognition, but it is also a useful opportunity for me to still have a platform to talk about the issues I care about, and that matter to people, both in Northern Ireland and in the rest of the United Kingdom,” she added.

DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds said he is “honoured and humbled” to have been elevated to the House of Lords.

Mr Dodds was elected MP for North Belfast in 2001 and served for 18 years before losing his seat to Sinn Fein’s John Finucane at last year’s general election.

Having first entered public office as a Belfast City Councillor in 1985, Mr Dodds would go on to serve two terms as the city’s lord mayor, and sit as an MLA at Stormont for 12 years.

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He has also had two spells as Northern Ireland’s minister for social development – from 1999 to 2000 and again from 2001 to 2002.

Expressing his determination to represent Northern Ireland to the best of his abilities in the Lords, Mr Dodds said: “Our nation is confronting some of the greatest challenges we have ever faced. There are very important issues which we in Northern Ireland must continue to work through, building on the progress our society has made since I first entered politics.”

Mr Dodds added: “In all of my work my aim will be to make a positive contribution to keep Northern Ireland moving forward.”