Jimmy Spratt

Jimmy Spratt
Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Belfast South
In office 7 March 2007 – 28 September 2015
Preceded by	Mark Robinson
Succeeded by	Emma Pengelly
Personal details
Born	19 August 1951 [1]
Nationality	British
Political party	Democratic Unionist Party
Children	4
Occupation	Politician
Profession	Police Officer
Religion	Presbyterian

Jimmy Spratt (born 19 August 1951) is a British politician and former police officer from Northern Ireland. He was an MLA for South Belfast from 2007 to 2015.

Early life

Jimmy Spratt is a former Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officer who joined in 1972 and served for 30 years in Derry and Belfast. He worked for the Close Protection Unit including as Primary Protection Officer and was attached to a former Secretary of State, NIO Ministers, the RUC Chief Constable and other VIPs.

He was heavily involved in the Police Federation for Northern Ireland and acted as Chairman until his retirement. Spratt also served on Government Committees at regional and national level representing the British Police Service and has served on the Home Office Working Group for Health and Safety and Police Negotiating Board for pay and conditions across the UK.

Political career

Spratt was an MLA for South Belfast in the Northern Ireland Assembly from 2007 to 2015. He was also a Councillor on Castlereagh Borough Council from 2005 to 2014, and served as the leader of the DUP group.^[2]

Political positions held:

• Councillor^[3] 2005—
• MLA 2007—2015
• Vice-Chairman of the Committee for Employment and Learning 2007—2008
• Member of the Committee of the Office of First and Deputy First Minister 2007—2015
• Chairman of the Assembly and Executive Review Committee^[4] 2008—
• Member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board^[5] 2008—2011
• Chairman of the Regional Development committee 2011—

He stood as a DUP candidate for the Belfast South constituency in the 2005 United Kingdom General Election, losing a seat held by unionism for a century to Alasdair McDonnell of the SDLP by 1,235 votes. Gaining the name Splitter Spratt.^[6][7] In the 2010 general election he again lost, and Alasdair McDonnell increased his majority from 3.9% to 17.3%.

Other

When the chief executive of Translink was criticised for not appearing before Stormont's regional development committee, Spratt said that he did not think it was "a hardship for someone on £200,000" to appear before it and "explain what's going on".^[8] Mr. Spratt has made uncomplimentary and impolitic comments regarding cyclists ^[9] and called those who objected to the proposals for the Maze 'nutters' which he denied until Hansard was published ^[10] and he was obliged to apologise.^[11]

Personal life

He has been married for over thirty years, with four grown-up sons and is an active member of his local Presbyterian church.

References

1. "MLA Details: Mr Jimmy Spratt". niassembly.gov.uk.
2. http://www.jimmyspratt.org/about.php Official website
3. http://www.castlereagh.gov.uk/south4.asp
4. http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/assem_exec/2007mandate/assem_exec.htm
5. "Deborah Watters (Vice Chair) - Members and Committees - Northern Ireland Policing Board". nipolicingboard.org.uk.
6. "How it all went wrong - BelfastTelegraph.co.uk". BelfastTelegraph. BelfastTelegraph. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
7. "South Belfast to fall?". BelfastTelegraph. Slugger O'Toole. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
8. "BBC News - Translink chief criticised over absence from Stormont committee". BBC News. BBC News.
9. "Belfast commuter cyclists' concerns get short shrift at Stormont - Northern Ireland Greenways". Northern Ireland Greenways.
10. "Programme for Government: Progress Report from the First Minister and deputy First Minister". niassembly.gov.uk.
11. "The Maze: DUP's Jimmy Spratt also ends up full of regret for calling plan's opponents 'nutters'". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk.