Clare Bailey

Clare Bailey (born 18 June 1970) is a Northern Irish politician who has been the Leader of Green Party Northern Ireland since November 2018, and a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Belfast South since 2016.

Clare Bailey
MLA
Bailey in 2020
Leader of Green Party Northern Ireland
Assumed office
21 November 2018
DeputyCllr Malachai O'Hara
Preceded bySteven Agnew
Deputy Leader of Green Party Northern Ireland
In office
November 2014 – 1 October 2017
LeaderSteven Agnew
Preceded byOffice created
Succeeded byTanya Jones
Member of the Legislative Assembly
for Belfast South
Assumed office
May 2016
Preceded byFearghal McKinney
Personal details
Born (1970-06-18) 18 June 1970
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Political partyGreen Party
Children2
Alma materQueen's University Belfast

Early life

Bailey was born in Clonard on the Lower Falls.[1] She was one of the first 28 pupils of Lagan College, Northern Ireland's first integrated school.[2][3] She later attended Queen's University Belfast.

Political career

Bailey identifies as pro-choice and a feminist.[4] She was a client escort for women accessing healthcare advice at the Belfast Marie Stopes Clinic, enduring assault and intimidation from anti-abortion protesters.[5] She has also worked supporting survivors of sexual violence and abuse.[6]

In 2011 she stood unsuccessfully for the Laganbank district electoral area on Belfast City Council, narrowly missing a seat and coming 6th in a 5-seater district electoral area.

Bailey was elected as an MLA in Belfast South at the 2016 Assembly election. She nearly trebled the Green Party vote in the area compared to the previous Assembly election. Political commentators considered her election so unlikely that pundit Alex Kane said he would sing on the steps of the Assembly if Bailey was elected. Kane kept this promise and was filmed by the BBC doing so.[7][8]

Bailey was re-elected to the Assembly in 2017.[9][10]

She served as the Greens' Deputy Leader until 2017. In November 2018, Bailey became Leader of the Green Party.

In May 2019, Bailey ran unsuccessfully for European Parliament, receiving 12,471 votes which placed her 7th and increased the Greens' share of the vote by 0.48%.

In 2022, Bailey secured cross-party support and successfully passed a bill through the Assembly creating 'safe zones' around abortion clinics to prevent the harassment of women.[11] Bailey also proposed her own Climate Change Bill, and ultimately succeeded in strengthening Minister Edwin Poots' eventual Climate Change Bill.[12][13] Bailey said that Poots' Bill "simply wouldn’t be in place" if it wasn’t for the Green Party proposing a climate bill in the first place.[14]

Speaking ahead of the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election, Bailey highlighted the Green Party's outsized influence in the Assembly by noting that the Greens' policies, previously dismissed by rival parties, were now appearing in their manifestos.[15]

References
  1. McNeilly, Claire (24 July 2017). "MLA Clare Bailey: I know what it's like to be homeless single mum on benefits". Belfast Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  2. Atkinson, Karen (11 March 2017). "The Scout Hall school". BBC News. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  3. "Clare Bailey MLA, South Belfast". The Green Party Northern Ireland.
  4. "The Big Interview: Clare Bailey deputy leader of the Green Party". Belfast Telegraph. 28 June 2015.
  5. Ferguson, Amanda (8 December 2017). "Closure of Marie Stopes Belfast clinic ends five years of hostility". The Irish Times. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  6. The Newsroom (28 May 2016). "'˜I could have ended up sleeping on the streets'". News Letter. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  7. "Political pundit Alex Kane dons dress and sings on steps of Stormont after losing Assembly election bet". belfasttelegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  8. "Alex Kane keeps promise to sing in dress". BBC News. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  9. Allsop, Bradley (8 May 2016). "Winds of change as Greens and People Before Profit win seats". Bright Green. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  10. "NI Assembly election: DUP remains largest as assembly count ends". BBC News. 7 May 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  11. "Range of legislation passed in final hours of Assembly mandate". belfasttelegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  12. "Running late, but Bailey sees climate bill amendment pass". belfasttelegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  13. Manley, John (11 March 2022). "Green leader Clare Bailey slams rivals who 'rowed back' on net zero commitments ahead of assembly election". The Irish News. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  14. "Climate Change Bill was 'not everything' Green Party leader Clare Bailey hoped for". belfasttelegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  15. Hughes, Brendan (11 March 2022). "Green leader says their long-held policies now adopted by rivals". BelfastLive. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
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