John Carson (politician)

John Carson (born 1933) is a former Northern Ireland Ulster Unionist Party politician.

A draper who owned a shop in the interface area of the Duncairn Gardens in North Belfast, Carson was elected to Belfast City Council in 1973. The following year he was elected as a member of the United Ulster Unionist Coalition as Member of Parliament for Belfast North from 1974. However he was de-selected in 1979 after voting in favour of the Labour government in the crucial vote of confidence which they lost.

Despite this he retained his popularity in Belfast North consistently topping the poll in the electoral area 'H' which included over half of the parliamentary seat. He also topped the poll in North Belfast in the 1982 Assembly elections.

Carson was Lord Mayor of Belfast 1985-6 and in his capacity as a councillor was sometimes at odds with his party colleagues. For example, he attended a City Hall lunch attended by the then Secretary of State Tom King despite the Unionist policy of boycotting meetings with Government ministers in protest at the anglo-Irish agreement. [http://books.google.com/books?id=KnAyhBCnpLQC&pg=PA186&lpg=PA186&dq=dorothy+dunlop+unionist&source=web&ots=d8VaAW9n0t&sig=WijewJEmISZ_YSffZZh6HovwKfY#PPA184,M1] For this he was threatened with expulsion with the UUP however this threat was never realised.

He remained a member of Belfast City Council until 1997 when he lost his seat after 24 consecutive years on the council.

References

*"The Times Guide to the House of Commons", Times Newspapers Ltd, October 1974
*rayment