Who is the newly independent unionist MP Carla Lockhart ?

Carla Lockhart has resigned from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) over its handling of the fallout of a parading dispute.

The MP is to sit as an independent unionist in the House of Commons.

Her resignation was widely expected after a clash with the DUP leadership over its failure to remove Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill from her role as first minister.

O'Neill and several other senior Sinn Féin figures have been interviewed by police for taking part in a protest which prevented an Orange Order parade from going down the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road in Portadown last month.

Responding to her resignation, the DUP said the only winner out of further divisions within unionism was Sinn Féin.

Lockhart represents the Upper Bann at Westminster, a constituency covering towns and communities including Lurgan, Portadown and Craigavon.

She was first elected to the House of Commons in December 2019 and retained her seat at the 2024 general election.

Lockhart grew up on her family's farm outside Aughnacloy in County Tyrone. She has said her upbringing taught her "the importance of hard work, respect and being a good neighbour".

She attended Aughnacloy College before studying business studies at Ulster University.

On her parliamentary website, Lockhart says she joined the DUP while at university, inspired by Ian Paisley's "conviction politics" and Peter Robinson's "confident, coherent unionist message".

Lockhart entered the political arena in 2007, when she became a local councillor representing Lurgan. She went on to become the youngest mayor of Craigavon Borough Council, serving as its final first citizen before local government reorganisation.

In May 2016, she was elected as an MLA (member of the legislative assembly) for Upper Bann in the Northern Ireland Assembly. During her time at Stormont, she served on the education committee and the public accounts committee.

Her time in the assembly was relatively short. She resigned her assembly seat in December 2019 after winning the Upper Bann constituency at the general election, succeeding David Simpson at Westminster.

Lockhart was re-elected in 2024 as an MP and has continued to represent Upper Bann at Westminster since then.

The DUP blocked a functioning executive and assembly from February 2022 for about two years, in protest against post-Brexit trade arrangements.

Unionists said checks on goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom weakened Northern Ireland's place in the union.

When the DUP did a deal over the Irish Sea border to get Stormont back in 2024, Lockhart was critical of it.

In her resignation letter, she cited her concerns over the implementation of the Irish Sea border as another reason.

As Upper Bann MP, the Portadown-based dispute has played out within her constituency.

She has been one of the DUP's most vocal supporters of the Orange Order's efforts to march along the Garvaghy Road.

The dispute returned to the headlines in 2026 after a court challenge overturned a Parades Commission decision restricting the parade.

The commission subsequently allowed the march to proceed under stricter conditions, but the planned procession was prevented from taking place after residents blocked the route.

The debate intensified when elected nationalist MLAs including First Minister Michelle O'Neill joined protesters on the road.

Lockhart publicly backed the Orange Order's position, arguing that its members should be allowed to complete the traditional route.

At a rally in Portadown on 30 September, she said, "there'll be no capitulation on the part of the Portadown district".

She also criticised a proposed resolution document put forward by Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant, describing it as "not acceptable".

The document was part of efforts to resolve the dispute between the Orange Order and the Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition.

On 9 October Sir Chris banned the Orange Order parade at Drumcree.

Sir Chris said the PSNI chief constable advised him "it would not be possible to enable the procession to happen without a major intervention which would carry an unacceptable risk of serious injury, disorder and a wider contagion effect across Northern Ireland".

Following the ban, Lockhart called for a tougher response from the DUP over O'Neill's involvement in the protests.

Speaking the day after the parade ban outside Drumcree Church she said her constituents were angry with O'Neill, accusing her of "thumbing her nose at unionism and at the Orange Order and at this community".

Lockhart said: "It cannot be business as usual at Stormont", adding that the DUP must take action against O'Neill.

Lockhart stood down as party officer on 22 October.

On 24 October, she attended a rally in Portadown in support of the Orange Order, where she repeated her challenge to the DUP leadership: "Profound consequences must mean profound consequences. Michelle O'Neill must go."

The MP had called on her party to withdraw its Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly from her office – a move that would automatically force O'Neill from her role.

On Thursday, DUP leader Gavin Robinson said Little-Pengelly would not participate in joint engagements with O'Neill and permission would not be granted for the first minister to operate on a solo basis.

In June, Lockhart rejected criticism of her after she was pictured at a protest standing near masked men.

She was attending a counter-demonstration in Scarva against a Palestine solidarity walk.

The MP defended her presence at the protest, saying she would "never apologise for standing with my community". She said she had been there with other unionist representatives and community leaders to help the protests pass without incident.

In a social media post Lockhart said: "Throughout the day we engaged with senior police officers, relayed concerns, encouraged restraint and worked to ensure calm heads prevailed. We were not there to inflame tensions. We were there to prevent them escalating."

However, her appearance drew criticism from politicians across several parties. SDLP leader Claire Hanna described the images as "bleak and disturbing", while the Sinn Féin MP for the area, Chris Hazzard, challenged Lockhart over her presence alongside masked men.

Writing on X, Hazzard challenged Lockhart to look into what the area has to offer "rather than standing with masked men intimidating women & children".

Alliance deputy leader Eóin Tennyson said at the time: "MPs should be challenging intimidation and sectarianism wherever it appears, not standing with masked men while vile abuse is hurled."

Northern Ireland Justice Minister Naomi Long also criticised Lockhart, accusing her of playing to a crowd wearing masks and shouting abuse.

Lockhart, in turn, condemned the "abuse directed at [her]" and accused her critics of commenting without having been present at the scene.