Carla Lockhart is the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MP for Upper Bann, having first been elected to parliament at the 2019 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Lockhart received 21,642 votes, representing 45.7% of the vote share. The Sinn Féin candidate, Catherine Nelson, received 14,236 votes (30.1%), while the Alliance Party candidate, Eóin Tennyson, secured 6,322 votes (13.3%). Lockhart was duly elected with a majority of 7,406.

The Upper Bann constituency is located in Northern Ireland, primarily within County Armagh and including parts of County Down. It contains the towns of Lurgan, Portadown, and Craigavon. The constituency generally has a Protestant majority with a significant Catholic minority. It was represented by former Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader David Trimble from 1990 until 2005, when the DUP’s David Simpson secured the seat.

Political Career

Lockhart was first elected MP for Upper Bann, succeeding Simpson, at the 2019 general election with a majority of 8,210 votes over Sinn Féin. She was re-elected in 2024 with a majority of 7,406.

At Westminster, Lockhart served as a member of the Northern Ireland affairs committee from November 2022 until May 2024.

Lockhart is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for pro-life.

Lockhart delivered her maiden speech in the House of Commons on 8 January 2020, during a debate on Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019.

In it, she said: “I have always longed to make a difference in society and make it a brighter, better place for future generations. Northern Ireland suffered greatly at the hands of terrorism, and we do not want to return to those days.

“We want a peaceful, prosperous society and one that is moving forward. We have moved on from those dark days in Northern Ireland. We want to see investment, improved healthcare provision, a better education system and improved infrastructure.”

She added: “I started my political career at the age of 21 as a local councillor representing Lurgan and progressed to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2016. My passion for politics and the Union started when I was much younger. I had the privilege of growing up right in the very heart of Ulster in a working-class family, and I am proud of the roots and the grounding that I have.

“Growing up near the border with the Republic of Ireland and knowing many families who had loved ones murdered, I was always very aware of the troubles in Northern Ireland and why we had such a love for the Union and our British way of life.”

Prior to her election to Westminster, Lockhart served as a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for the Upper Bann constituency from 2016 to 2019.

Before becoming an MLA, she was a local councillor on Craigavon Borough Council, representing the Lurgan area from 2007 until 2016. She served as the last mayor of Craigavon Borough Council before it merged into the larger Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council.

Political Views

Lockhart is considered socially conservative, reflecting positions adopted by the Democratic Unionist Party.

Lockhart voted against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, better known as the assisted dying bill, at both second reading (November 2024) and third reading (June 2025).

Addressing the House during the bill’s second reading, Lockhart argued that the “answer to a fear of death or of dying badly, or even a desire for a good death, is not logically to legalise a means of bringing about death in a more efficient or sanitised state-sponsored fashion.”

She added: “The bill undermines the foundation on which our NHS is built – to preserve and protect life. It is not about individual pain; it is about a societal change that would end and devalue lives.

“t puts at risk the lives of vulnerable and marginalised people across our communities, with wholly inadequate safeguards against coercion. As has been the case in every country where such legislation has been introduced, it would see the rapid expansion of eligibility criteria, and it cannot protect against the unreliability of a terminal diagnosis.

“When we look at the complications of the drugs used in places such as Oregon, we see that it would not guarantee a good death.”

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Lockhart voted against a backbench amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that sought to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales in June 2025. The amendment, which was passed by a majority of 242 votes, removed women from the threat of prosecution for ending a pregnancy at any stage. As an issue of conscience, MPs were allowed to vote according to their personal beliefs.

As chair of the pro-life APPG, Lockhart has spoken out against abortion.

Following the release of NI abortion statistics in early 2025, she stated: “These are not just statistics; each number represents a precious life lost… It is my firm belief that we in Northern Ireland remain a majority pro-life people… We continue to work with like-minded people in exploring what more the Department of Health can do to repeal this legislation which was forced upon us from Westminster”.

Mass deportation: In May 2025, Lockhart signed an early day motion (EDM) concerning the mass deportation of illegal migrants. The motion, tabled by the independent MP Rupert Lowe, expressed “grave concern at the continued presence of over one million illegal migrants in the United Kingdom”.

The EDM urged the government to “implement a comprehensive national strategy to identify, detain, and deport all individuals found to be residing in the United Kingdom illegally, and to ensure that such policies are backed by the necessary legislative, diplomatic, logistical and financial resources to restore confidence in the rule of law and the security of our borders.”

Covid passes vote (2021): Lockhart was one of 126 MPs to vote against Covid passes in England in December 2021.

Before Politics

Born on 28 February 1985, Carla Lockhart grew up on a family farm near Aughnacloy, County Tyrone.

She attended Aughnacloy College before studying at the University of Ulster, where she graduated with a degree in business studies.

Before holding elected office, Lockhart worked for the Democratic Unionist Party.

Personal Life

Lockhart is married to Rodney Condell, a quantity surveyor and farmer. The couple have one son, Charlie.

She is a member of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster.

Trivia

Lockhart is the Democratic Unionist Party’s only female representative in the House of Commons.