James McClure (Unionist politician)

William James McClure MBE (15 June 1926 – 3 August 2014)[1] was a Unionist politician based in Coleraine, Northern Ireland, who served as President of the Democratic Unionist Party.[2] McClure died on 3 August 2014 at the age of 88.[3]

McClure was first elected in 1975 to the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention representing Londonderry.[4] He was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1982 for the same constituency.[5] In 1977 he was elected to Coleraine Borough Council and remained a member until his death,[6] serving as Mayor from 1983–84, and from 1997–99, and as Deputy Mayor from 1982–83, 1985–93, and 2004–05. He served on the Coleraine Policing and Community Safety Partnership.

McClure was a fundamentalist Protestant and a member of the Independent Orange Order. He was an opponent of commercial trading, gambling and football games being played on Sundays, arguing that "the Christian Sabbath is a day for God not for gambling. It is a day for worshipping the Saviour, not for sport."[7]