The party whose founder once campaigned against the decriminalisation of homosexuality has its first openly gay councillor.
Alison Bennington is the first openly gay councillor for a party that is opposed to same sex marriage.
Ms Bennington was elected to the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council to represent Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party. The founder of the pro-union and Christian party, the late Rev Ian Paisley had once campaigned to, in his words, Save Ulster from Sodomy. Ms Bennington's victory after winning 1,053 votes was welcomed with cheers from supporters in Belfast but she declined to speak to the media.
She runs a consultancy firm and has previously worked in local government and has previously indicated her sexuality is a private matter.The DUP's deputy leader Nigel Dodds said:"Our party is open to everybody who subscribes to the aims and objectives of our parties, wants to ensure the union is defended and delivers all our policies.
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