Bob Stoker Politician

Bob Stoker is a UK Independence Party Councillor in South Belfast and former Member of the Northern Ireland Forum for South Belfast. He was elected to Northern Ireland Forum for Belfast South in May 1996. Stoker was elected as Councillor to represent the Balmoral Electoral Area in a by-election in May 1995. He was re-elected in May 1997, June 2001 and June 2005 and 2011.He was elected Deputy Lord Mayor in June 1998 and Lord Mayor of Belfast in June 1999. He contested the Belfast South constituency in Northern Ireland Assembly election 2007 but was unsuccessful. He finished 9th out of 18 candidates with 1,122 votes, 3.7% of the total 1st preference votes cast.Alderman Stoker, one of Belfast's longest serving Councillors left the Ulster Unionist Party in October 2014, joining UKIP. He cited wanting to be "part of a national party" and claimed that the old unionist parties were neglecting the very people on the ground who elected them.