William Neville John Thornton (born 1939 or 1940), known as Neville Thornton, is a former Northern Irish unionist politician.
Background
Thornton studied at Portora Royal School and Stranmillis College, before becoming a teacher. He also became the vice-president of the Fermanagh Young Unionist Association, and represented Northern Ireland in the Observer Mace debating competition.[1]
At the 1970 general election, Thornton stood for the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) in Mid Ulster, but was narrowly defeated by Bernadette Devlin.[1] He stood again at the February 1974 general election, in support of the Northern Ireland Assembly, but came bottom of the poll.[2] He became a full-time organiser for the UUP, but, increasingly at odds with the direction of the party, he resigned in 1974 to join the newly founded Unionist Party of Northern Ireland.[3]
References
- ^ a b The Times Guide to the House of Commons: 1970, p.217
- ^ "Mid-Ulster 1973-1982", Northern Ireland Elections
- ^ Richard Deutsch and Vivien Magowan, Northern Ireland: 1968-74, a chronology of events, Vol. 3, p.4