David Ervine

David Ervine MLA (July 21, 1953 - January 8, 2007) was a Northern Irish politician and the leader of the Progressive Unionist Party.



David Ervine was raised in a staunchly Protestant working-class area of east Belfast. Like many in his situation, he grew up closely identifying with his community and absorbed the Ulster Unionism ideals and opinions that go along with this identity. At the age of 19 Ervine joined the Ulster Volunteer Force, believing this to be the only way to ensure the defence of the Protestant community.




Ervine was imprisoned in Long Kesh in 1974 while an active member of the UVF, after being arrested driving a car bomb to its presumed target of a pub frequented by Catholic civilians. He later claimed that his witnessing of the carnage caused by the IRA's bombing of Belfast's city centre in 1972 on Bloody Friday, (21st July) drove him into the ranks of the UVF. On that day nine people died and huge devastation was caused to the city as, in little over an hour, 21 bombs exploded one after the other.




Ervine was released from prison in 1980. He owned a newsagents' in Belfast for several years before taking up full-time politics. He stood in local council elections as a Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) candidate in 1985. In 1998, he was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly to represent Belfast East and was re-elected in 2003. He was also a member of Belfast City Council from 1997.




Ervine was considered to be one of the most progressive unionists in Northern Ireland politics. He had been a strong supporter of the Good Friday Agreement and was one of the few unionist politicians to still actively support the Agreement. At a Labour Party meeting in 2001, then Northern Ireland Secretary, John Reid, described him as "possibly one of the most eloquent politicians in Northern Ireland". Some of the less articulate of his opponents made references to him having swallowed a dictionary. Some saw Ervine as one of the few politicians actively engaged with conflict resolution. However the PUP, as the political mouthpiece of the UVF, has close and highly controversial ties to the paramilitary organisation.




In May 2005, the Independent Monitoring Commission recommended a continuation of the financial sanctions on his Assembly salary imposed following its report of April 2004. The IMC was of the opinion that the UVF and the PUP maintain strong links while the UVF is heavily involved in criminality such as drugs trafficking and cigarette smuggling. It concluded that 12 months after the sanctions were originally imposed, the PUP leadership was still not doing enough to address the UVF's criminal activities.


Ervine is said to have played a pivotal role in bringing about loyalist ceasefire of 0ctober 1994.




On 13 May 2006 it was announced that when the Northern Ireland Assembly reconvenes, Ervine would join the Ulster Unionist assembly group, whilst remaining leader of the Progressive Unionists. Under the d'Hondt formula used for allocating places on the Northern Ireland Executive this would entitle the Ulster Unionists to an additional place.
The Presiding Officer (Speaker) of the Assembly, Ms Eileen Bell, MLA indicated at the first meeting of the 'shadow' Assembly (May 15, 2006) that she would take legal advice before ruling on whether Mr Ervine could be treated as a member of the UUP group.
On the 11 September 2006 Ms Bell announced that the Ulster Unionist Party Assembly Group did not have a headquarters, at least one party leader and a scheme for financial support thus did not qualify as a political party. This means that the UUPAG can't sit in the Assembly so the Alliance, for the time being, is invalid




Ervine was reported as having suffered two massive heart attacks and a stroke after attending a football match between Glentoran and Armagh at The Oval in Belfast on Saturday 6 January 2007. It was later confirmed that he had one heart attack, a stroke and brain haemorrhage. He was taken to the Ulster Hospital in Dundonald and was later taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast where he was admitted and reportedly died the following evening, Sunday 7 January. His death was given extensive coverage on RTÉ News at 9pm that night, with newsreader Anne Doyle going so far as to say he had just died as she was reading the headlines, and tributes beginning to pour in from Northern Ireland reporter Tommy Gorman, but this was retracted at the end of the bulletin. The RTÉ website even updated their story on his demise to death but ten minutes later reverted back to their old story of Ervine being in a critical condition in hospital. RTÉs Northern Editor, an embarrassed Tommy Gorman later apologised for his wrongly reported story of the death of Ervine in a radio interview. Ervine died on the 8 January .