Christopher Stalford: MLAs pay tribute to DUP politician

Tributes have been paid at Stormont to Christopher Stalford after the DUP assembly member's sudden death aged 39.

Mr Stalford was principal deputy speaker and had represented South Belfast since 2016, having served previously as councillor, high sheriff of Belfast and deputy mayor.

He is survived by his wife Laura and four children.

Ahead of the sitting, DUP assembly members gathered in the Great Hall at Stormont to pray.

They were led by North Antrim MLA Mervyn Storey.

Some then entered the chamber, with others heading to the assembly gallery which has been opened specially for other MLAs to sit and watch the tributes, because social distancing rules are still in place in the chamber limiting numbers.

After tributes had been paid, members took part in a minute's silence to reflect on Mr Stalford's life.

Mr Stalford's death was announced on Sunday and the tributes, paid across the political spectrum, referenced his wry humour, passion for politics and debate, and love for his wife and children.

DUP deputy leader Paula Bradley led a tearful tribute in the chamber on behalf of the party.

She said she wanted to "honour and give thanks for the life of our much-loved friend and esteemed colleague".

"Words cannot adequately explain the sense of pain and loss that is felt on these benches," she added.

She expressed her sympathies to Mr Stalford's family "on the loss of a man who was so utterly devoted to them".

"Christopher's joy came not in holding office but in how he could use that office to improve the everyday lives of those he was honoured to represent," she said.

"It was a mark of the man that he had friends on all sides of this chamber."

Before tributes began, DUP MLAs gathered together just outside the chamber in the great hall, led in prayer by the party's Mervyn Storey.

The DUP deputy leader Paula Bradley spoke tearfully as she thanked other parties for their kind tributes.

One by one, members of other parties shared their fond memories of the fierce debater, known for his wit but also his respect for the institutions and love of public service - something reflected by the Assembly Speaker Alex Maskey

Every MLA who spoke, conscious of what Stormont is now without, even more aware of the great loss felt by Christopher Stalford's family, who he was so deeply devoted to.

The former Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill has Covid so is not present.

Instead, Deirdre Hargey, the communities minister, led the tributes for Sinn Féin.

The South Belfast MLA said she first met Mr Stalford at Belfast City Council and "instantly thought he was older than me due to his mannerisms and his attire of his pinstriped suit, initially thinking this was the instructed uniform of all DUP councillors at that time".

Ms Hargey said he "enjoyed the cut and thrust" of debate and loved talking about his family, faith and unionism.

"Whilst our politics differed, we shared similarities, growing up in working class communities in south Belfast," she added.

Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) MLA Nichola Mallon told the chamber she had known the DUP MLA for 10 years.

"In all that time, I got to know a man who was challenging, argumentative, ambitious, some may even say combative, during debates but also a man who was kind, who was quick-witted, fiercely intelligent and very, very funny," Ms Mallon said.

She said his love for his wife and children "just radiated from him".

On Sunday, SDLP leader Colum Eastwood postponed his party's conference out of respect.

UUP leader Doug Beattie told the chamber Mr Stalford was "absolutely unique, he was a fierce debater".

"I have no words that will quench the anguish of his party colleagues sitting here today, I have no words that will help with the pain that his family is dealing with today," he said.

"I didn't just like Christopher Stalford, I was jealous of Christopher Stalford as he was truly a first class politician and family man."

Alliance Party leader Naomi Long said she first met Mr Stalford during their time at Belfast City Council.

She added that during his tenure as principal deputy speaker, Mr Stalford was "fair, he could be fierce, he kept us all in order", but "used his wit and self-deprecating humour and you never felt that when you were stopped or challenged by him that there was any animosity or personal discord behind it".

"We had very different political backgrounds and views but we had a lot in common," adding that they were "opponents but friends".

"We both lost our fathers at a young age, we were both fiercely proud of coming from working class backgrounds, we both had a passion for the communities we grow up in that drove us into politics and we both believed passionately that education was the route to lift people permanently out of disadvantage in life and we shared a deep faith.

Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) leader Jim Allister told the chamber that he was still having difficulty processing the shock of Mr Stalford's passing.

"That pales into total insignificance compared to the devastation that undoubtedly his beloved wife Laura and beautiful children are experiencing," he added, sending them his condolences.

He said Mr Stalford had come to work for him 20 years ago in his Belfast office.

"It was evident to me that he had the ability and talent which would make him the politician that he was," he said.

"Though our political perspectives diverged, I am pleased to say we retained a friendship and respect."

People Before Profit's Gerry Carroll said he could "only imagine the heartbreak" Mr Stalford's family were going through.

The West Belfast MLA said that he and Mr Stalford had "robust debate and strong disagreements" when they first met at Belfast City Hall in 2014.

Mr Carroll said he was "an absolutely fair speaker, someone who went out of his way to ensure all voices were heard in debates".

Clare Sugden, an independent MLA, said his passing was "devastating" and that she "felt numb" when she heard the news of his passing, and still does.

"We have lost one of our own. He was the epitome of public service," she said.

He was incredibly "funny and full of wit" said the East Londonderry representative.

Green Party leader Clare Bailey paid tribute to Mr Stalford's "absolute natural talent".

She said he was a witty man but one that, when his wit cut, it was "never with malice, and that's how he stood out".

"I do believe that this assembly and NI politics will miss him and I will miss him," she said.

Earlier, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said he last spoke to Mr Stalford on Friday.

"I was never to know how precious that conversation was to be," he told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme.

"A young man who came a long way, from a working class background in south Belfast to the deputy principal speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly - something he was immensely proud of.

"More than anything else and with his love for politics, the one thing that stood out about Christopher was his love for his family.

"His desire to create a better future for his children was something that drove him on."

Mr Stalford sat on the board of governors at Braniel Primary School.

On Monday morning, Diane Dawson, headteacher at Braniel Primary School, said Mr Stalford was "passionate" about education and "wanted the best for every single child irrespective of their background, or their creed or their colour or their denomination".

"We have a very integrated school here in Braniel Nursery and Primary and Christopher championed that," she said.

She said she had the privilege of knowing him as a father and a husband.

"What I saw with Christopher was his sense of fairness and wanting equality for every child in this school."