Diane Forsythe

Diane Forsythe is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician, serving as a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for South Down since 2022. Forsythe as the first female unionist MLA to represent the area. Forsythe is the DUP's Spokesperson for Communities, Childcare and Early Years.

Political career
She unsuccessfully stood for election in the South Down Westminster constituency at the 2017 UK general election. She came in third place polling 8,867 votes, equating to 17.4% of the total vote.

In April 2022, shortly before the 2022 Assembly election, all of the DUP's officers in South Down refused to endorse the party's candidate Forsythe and resigned from the DUP. They claimed that Forsythe was "imposed" on them by the DUP without proper consultation.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland launched an investigation into "a defamatory message" being shared about Forsythe during the election campaign.

On 5 May 2022, Diane Forsythe was elected as the new Democratic Unionist Party MLA for the South Down Constituency. Polling 6,497 first preference votes, and successful being elected on the 6th count with 11,073 votes. She became the first female unionist MLA for the constituency.