Jim Shannon

Richard James Shannon (born 25 March 1955) is a Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician. He has sat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom since 2010 as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Strangford and is the DUP's Health Spokesperson. He had previously sat in the Northern Ireland Assembly from 1998 to 2010 as the Member of the Legislative Assembly of Northern Ireland (MLA) for Strangford.

Personal life
Richard Shannon was born on 25 March 1955 in Omagh, Northern Ireland. He is a member of the Orange Order and Apprentice Boys of Derry. He has been voted "least sexy MP" in a list of all Westminster MPs but laughed off his position at the bottom of the poll. In 2022, Shannon broke down in tears as he thanked his "long-suffering" wife in the Commons. Shannon lost his mother-in-law to Covid-19 and has previously spoken about her in the House as well.

Military service
Shannon served in the Ulster Defence Regiment in 1974-1975 and 1976-1977. He subsequently served over eleven years in the Royal Artillery Territorial Army (TA) and achieved the rank of Lance Bombardier, until he was expelled in May 1989. Two other TA soldiers were also discharged. The expulsions followed the theft of Blowpipe man-portable surface-to-air missile components from the TA base in Newtownards by the loyalist paramilitary group Ulster Resistance. Shannon and the other two soldiers were discharged for ‘their membership of extremist Protestant organisations with paramilitary links’. Shannon was a founder member of Ulster Resistance and also a member of the Ulster Clubs. A colleague stationed at the Newtownards base, Sergeant Samuel Quinn, had been arrested at the Hilton Hotel, Paris in April 1989 attempting to exchange missile technology for guns from South Africa. Two other members of Ulster Resistance, Noel Little and James King, were also arrested. Both men were long-time DUP activists.

Shannon later confirmed that following his dismissal from the Territorial Army he had been questioned by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and released without charge. He suggested that his arrest was "designed to embarrass the DUP" ahead of the upcoming European Parliament election.

Political career
Shannon was a longstanding councillor, first elected to Ards Borough Council in 1985 and serving as Mayor in 1991–1992. He was elected as a member of the Northern Ireland Forum for Political Dialogue in 1996. Shannon was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly for Strangford in 1998 and then re-elected in 2003 and 2007, representing the DUP.

2010–15 Parliament
At the 2010 general election, Shannon was elected to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom as MP for Strangford with 45.9% of the vote and a majority of 5,876. Following his election to Westminster, Shannon resigned his Assembly seat in favour of Simpson Gibson.

2015–17 Parliament
Shannon was re-elected as MP for Strangford at the 2015 general election with a decreased vote share of 44.4% and an increased majority of 10,185. Shannon was an advocate for Leave Means Leave, a pro-Brexit campaign.

Expenses
In 2015, Shannon was the highest-claiming MP out of 650, claiming £205,798, not including travel which led to his expenses being investigated.

In 2016, the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority announced it was launching a formal investigation into Shannon's expenses. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority found breaches of the MPs' Scheme of Business Costs and Expenses by his constituency workers for claiming mileage and said £13,925 must be repaid by the MP.

2017–19 Parliament
At the 2017 general election, Shannon was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 62% and an increased majority of 18,343.

Shannon was one of the most active contributors to debates in the 2017–2019 Parliament, intervening in almost every adjournment debate, which he says he does to support fellow backbench MPs who wish to raise issues in typically poorly attended debates.

2019–24 Parliament
At the 2019 general election, Shannon was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 47.2% and a decreased majority of 7,071.

Since January 2023, Shannon has been a member of the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee having previously served on the committee from December 2016 to November 2019 in the previous Parliament.

2024–present Parliament
Shannon was again re-elected at the 2024 general election with a decreased vote share of 40% and a decreased majority of 5,131.

On 9 July 2024, Shannon chose to swear his parliamentary Oath of Allegiance in the Ulster Scots dialect after his re-election as an MP. He appeared on BBC Radio 4 saying that he is hoping for a deal from the Labour government that "will free Northern Ireland from the shackles of Europe" on 14 July 2024. Following the State Opening of Parliament on 17 July 2024, he asked the new Prime Minister Keir Starmer to outline exactly what his "10-year plan" will be for Northern Ireland.