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Julie Middleton replaces husband as Foyle MLA

Jayne McCormack,Political correspondentand
Barry O'Connor,BBC News NI
News imageBBC Shows a woman with glasses and smiling in front of a DUP banner, which says DUP and has a lion on the motif. BBC
Julie Middleton pictured at Stormont where she has succeeded her husband Gary as a DUP MLA

Julie Middleton has replaced her husband as the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) assembly member for Foyle, the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland has confirmed.

Gary Middleton announced last week that he was resigning from the Northern Ireland Assembly to deal with "significant" mental health challenges.

He had been an MLA at Stormont since 2015 and was briefly a junior minister in the executive having previously served as a councillor.

His wife Julie has served as a councillor since 2023 in the Faughan district of Derry City and Strabane District Council.

At a news conference at Stormont on Monday, Julie Middleton said she was "hugely honoured and excited" to take up the role and become the first female unionist MLA for the constituency.

She said she was born and bred in the area and that she had worked in the city throughout her life.

Julie Middleton said, despite being "sad about the circumstances" of her appointment, she insisted she was not "being parachuted in" but rather "stepping up" and was fully ready to serve as an MLA.

"Things have been difficult, but I'm not just a wife - I'm very much my own person," she said.

"Through this whole journey our family has been on, it's clear there needs to be more discussion about mental health.

DUP leader Gavin Robinson said Julie Middleton had a "strong, proud and proven track record" and would provide a strong voice for unionism in Foyle.

News imageGary is standing outside on a patch of grass. Behind him are a number of large green trees with red berries on them. He is wearing glasses and a white shirt with a blazer on top.
Gary Middleton had been an assembly member since 2015

In a statement last week, Gary Middleton said he had suffered from mental ill-health in recent months and it had limited his ability to represent his constituents.

"I had hoped to be able to return to work and to recover, but I have come to the point of accepting that if I am to focus on getting back to full health, I cannot do this whilst remaining in public office," he said.

He added he had been receiving treatment and that combined with support and encouragement from family and friends he could see a "glimmer of light in what has been a very dark tunnel".