Erskine Holmes

Joseph Erskine Holmes (born February 1940) is a politician in Northern Ireland.

Holmes was educated at Annandale Grammar School and attended Queen's University Belfast.^[1] He chaired the Queen's University Labour Group in the early 1960s, serving alongside Michael Farrell and Eamonn McCann.^[2] On graduating, he became a teacher, and stood for the Northern Ireland Labour Party (NILP) in several elections.^[1]

For Westminster, Holmes stood in Belfast South at the 1966, taking 34.6% and second place, the NILP's best ever result in the seat.^[3] At the 1970 general election, he instead stood in Armagh,^[1] then back in Belfast South at the February and October 1974 general elections.^[4] He also stood in Belfast Ballynafeigh at the 1965 and 1969 Northern Ireland general elections,^[5] and Belfast South for the 1973 Northern Ireland Assembly election and Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention.^[4]

Holmes was a supporter of the civil rights movement, and served on the committee of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association.^[6] In 1971/2, Holmes served as chairman of the NILP,^[7] during which time he debated the party's attitude towards internment,^[8] and was known for his support of proportional representation.^[9] For part of the 1970s, he worked as full-time organiser of the NILP.^[10]

Holmes was elected to Belfast City Council at the Northern Ireland local elections, 1973 in Belfast Area A, but did not defend his seat in 1977.^[11]

By the Upper Bann by-election, 1990, the NILP had been disbanded, and Holmes stood as an independent candidate, campaigning for the "right to vote Labour".^[12] By the early 2000s, he was prominent in the Northern Ireland Housing Association,^[13] and he also has a long involvement with the co-operative movement, as founder of the NI Co-ownership Society and NI Assembly All Party Co-operative Group, and chairman of the Co-operative Press.^[14]

When the British Labour Party began admitting members in Northern Ireland, Holmes joined. However, the party refused to stand any candidates in the region, and in 2016 Holmes was part of a group which founded the Northern Ireland Labour Representation Committee, a parallel group with the primary purpose of contesting elections, becoming its nominating officer.^[15] He stood for the committee in Belfast East at the Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2016.

References

1. 1 2 3 The Times Guide to the House of Commons: February 1974, p.53
2. ↑ Andrée Sheehy Skeffington, Skeff: The Life of Owen Sheehy Skeffington, 1909-1970, p.117
3. ↑ "South Belfast 1950-1970", Northern Ireland Elections
4. 1 2 "South Belfast 1973-1984", Northern Ireland Elections
5. ↑ "Belfast", Northern Ireland House of Commons Election Results
6. ↑ Aaron Edwards, A History of the Northern Ireland Labour Party, pp.138, 168
7. ↑ Aaron Edwards, A History of the Northern Ireland Labour Party, p.230
8. ↑ Aaron Edwards, A History of the Northern Ireland Labour Party, p.201
9. ↑ Aaron Edwards, A History of the Northern Ireland Labour Party, p.196
10. ↑ Aaron Edwards, A History of the Northern Ireland Labour Party, p.212
11. ↑ "The Local Government Elections 1973-1981: Belfast", Northern Ireland Elections
12. ↑ Fortnight, no.280, p.4
13. ↑ "NI-Lithuanian labour trafficking exposed", BBC News, 5 November 2002
14. ↑ "Erskine Holmes", The Co-operative
15. ↑ Sam McBride, "Labour rebels defy party to set up new Northern Ireland party", Belfast Newsletter, 13 April 2016