Alex Easton

Alexander Easton (born 19 May 1969) is a Northern Irish politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for North Down since 2024. He previously served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for North Down from 2003 to 2024.

Originally a member of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Easton represented Ballyholme and Groomsport on the North Down Borough Council from 2001 to 2014, and became an MLA in 2003. He left the party, then led by Jeffrey Donaldson, in July 2021 following disagreements over the party's leadership and has since stood as an independent unionist.

Easton won the House of Commons seat of North Down at the 2024 United Kingdom general election as an independent, having failed to win the seat as the DUP candidate in three previous elections. He defeated the incumbent Alliance Party deputy leader Stephen Farry with a majority of 7,305 (16.8 per cent).

Early life Easton is of South African descent through his South African father. He grew up in Bangor, before moving several times and returning to Bangor when he was 10.

He was re-elected as an independent candidate in the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election, topping the poll in the constituency for the fifth consecutive time.

He was elected as an independent in North Down at the 2024 United Kingdom general election. On 24 May 2024 the DUP and TUV announced that they were supporting his candidature and would not stand a candidate in the constituency.

Personal life He is a member of the Orange Order and the Church of Ireland. He served on the North Down Policing Partnership.

In January 2023, his parents, both in their 80s, were killed in a fire at their home in Bangor, County Down.

On 6 August 2025 he climbed to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro for two charities, Bangor food bank and UHub (a mental Health charity), raising £31,000.