Jim Speers

Who is Jim Speers?

Jim Speers, known as Jim Speers, is a Unionist politician in Northern Ireland.

Speers works as a businessman and part-time farmer. He was elected to Armagh City and District Council in 1977 for the Ulster Unionist Party.

Seamus Mallon, a Social Democratic and Labour Party member of the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1982 was disqualified because he had been a member of the Irish Seanad at the time of his election. A by-election was held in April 1983 for Mallon's seat in Armagh. The SDLP called on voters to boycott the election, which Speers contested as the UUP candidate. He easily beat the only other candidate, Tom French of the Workers' Party, and served on the Assembly until it was abolished in 1986.

Speers contested Newry and Armagh at the United Kingdom general election, 1992, and took second place, with 36% of the vote. In 1996, he was elected to the Northern Ireland Forum, as a UUP representative for Newry and Armagh. However, he failed to take a seat at the Northern Ireland Assembly election, 1998.