Emma Little-Pengelly


Emma Little-Pengelly is a Democratic Unionist Party politician in Northern Ireland. She was the Member of Parliament for the Belfast South constituency in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 2017 until 2019, when she lost her seat to Claire Hanna of the SDLP. She previously served as an MLA for the Belfast South constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Early life and career

Little-Pengelly is the daughter of Maureen Elizabeth Little and the loyalist volunteer Noel Little. He was absent from her childhood between the ages of nine and eleven following his arrest for arms trafficking.
Little-Pengelly was educated at Markethill High School, Portadown College and at Queen's University Belfast. She qualified as a barrister in 2003. She was also a lecturer at the University of Ulster from 2004 to 2006.

Political career

Little-Pengelly began her political career in 2007 as Special Advisor to Reverend Ian Paisley while he was in the office of First Minister, where she worked as part of the DUP talks team with victims of the Troubles. Little-Pengelly remained in the position of Special Advisor when Peter Robinson assumed the office of First Minister in 2008 until 2015 after over 8 years in the position.
Little-Pengelly succeeded Jimmy Spratt as MLA for Belfast South in the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2015 following his retirement due to ill health. On 28 October 2015, Little-Pengelly was appointed as a junior minister in the Northern Ireland Executive Office.
She lost her seat in the 2017 Northern Ireland Assembly election as the total number of seats in Belfast South was reduced from 6 to 5, trailing her running mate Christopher Stalford by 15 votes at the time of her elimination.
In the 2017 UK general election Little-Pengelly became the MP for Belfast South, gaining the seat from the SDLP's Alasdair McDonnell. The former Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson was the chief strategist behind Little-Pengelly's campaign.
She subsequently lost the seat to the SDLP's Claire Hanna in the 2019 general election.

Personal life

Little-Pengelly is married to Richard Pengelly, who is the Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health in Northern Ireland. She has three stepchildren from Pengelly's first marriage.