Rachel Woods
Woods in 2021
Member of
Ards and North Down Borough Council
In office
22 September 2022 – 23 October 2023
Preceded byLauren Kendall
Succeeded byLauren Kendall
ConstituencyHolywood and Clandeboye
In office
15 March 2018 – 11 October 2019
Preceded byJohn Barry
Succeeded byKathryn McNickle
ConstituencyHolywood and Clandeboye
In office
24 October 2016 – 15 March 2018
Preceded byPaul Roberts
Succeeded byJames Hunter
ConstituencyBangor West
Member of the Legislative Assembly
for North Down
In office
7 October 2019 – 28 March 2022
Preceded bySteven Agnew
Succeeded byConnie Egan
Personal details
Born (1989-04-15) 15 April 1989 (age 34)
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Political partyGreen Party
Alma materQueen's University Belfast (BA, MA)

Rachel Woods (born 15 April 1989) is a Northern Irish academic and former Green Party politician who served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for North Down from 2019 to 2022, having replaced the party's former leader, Steven Agnew.[1]

Early life

Woods is from Holywood, County Down.[2] She holds a degree in history and a master's from Queen's University Belfast. From the age of 15, Woods worked in hospitality as a cleaner, chef and bar worker. She also worked as a researcher and economic analyst for Analyse Africa, part of the Financial Times, and as a supervisor in Holywood bar The Dirty Duck Ale House.[3]

Political career

Woods joined the Green Party because she was "fed up screaming at the TV, fed up with politicians in my area who were supposed to represent me and who just didn't."[3]

Woods served as a councillor for the Holywood and Clandeboye electoral area on Ards and North Down Borough Council from 2016 until her selection as an MLA in 2019.

Woods passed many amendments to the Domestic Abuse Bill, including widening access to legal aid for victims of abuse and changes to the “child aggravator” clause providing for tougher custodial sentences where a child could be impacted by abuse, as well as additional reporting requirements.[4]

In 2022, her Safe Leave Bill passed the Assembly, making Northern Ireland the first region of the UK to provide 10 days paid leave to victims of domestic abuse.[5] Upon passage, the Bill was said to be "a life saver for many people who are experiencing or have experienced domestic abuse."[6]

She has called for votes at 16 in Northern Ireland elections and has been prominent in calls for the Northern Ireland local government pension scheme to divest from fossil fuels.[7][8] In March 2022, the pension scheme moved £2.8 billion of its funds into low-carbon investments.[9]

She lost her North Down seat in the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election to Connie Egan of the Alliance Party.[10]

References

  1. ^ "Greens pick councillor as new MLA in North Down". Belfast Telegraph. 25 September 2019. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  2. ^ Stewart, Linda (14 January 2020). "Me and my health: Rachel Woods on her lifestyle". Belfast Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  3. ^ a b "50:50 NI Meets Rachel Woods". 50:50 NI. 11 January 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  4. ^ Ireland, Green Party Northern. "Rachel Woods: Domestic Abuse Bill puts victims & survivors front & centre". Green Party Northern Ireland. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  5. ^ "Domestic Abuse (Safe Leave) Bill". Northern Ireland Assembly. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  6. ^ Woolley, Sarah (29 March 2022). "Groundbreaking new employment rights in Northern Ireland could save lives". Bakers, Food & Allied Workers Union. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  7. ^ Harte, Lauren (6 March 2019). "Northern Ireland public sector pension cash funds tobacco firms and arms trade". Belfast Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  8. ^ McLaughlin, Sophie (10 February 2022). "Calls for right to vote for 16 and 17-year-olds ahead of NI Assembly elections". BelfastLive. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  9. ^ "Progress Made On Govt Fossil Fuel Divestment". Construction Ireland. 29 March 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  10. ^ Coyle, Colin (8 May 2022). "Greens blame 'polarised politics' for wipeout at Stormont". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
Northern Ireland Assembly Preceded bySteven Agnew MLA for North Down 2019–2022 Succeeded byConnie Egan


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