David Burnside
Encyclopedia
David Wilson Boyd Burnside (born 24 August 1951) is a Northern Ireland
politician, and was Ulster Unionist Party
Member of Parliament
for South Antrim
.
In the 1970s Burnside served as Press Officer for the Vanguard Progressive Unionist Party
, and he unsuccessfully contested North Antrim
for the party at the Northern Ireland Assembly election, 1973
. After the collapse of Vanguard he joined the Ulster Unionists, but took a back seat from politics for many years while working as a prominent public relations
consultant based in London which led him to set up his own PR company.
Chairman Lord King to become the company's head of public relations
. In this role Burnside is widely acknowledged to have become one of the most powerful PR men in Britain
, speaking for King, administering a £5,000,000 budget and receiving numerous PR awards both in the UK and around the world.
His success is perhaps overshadowed by the nature of his departure. British Airways was witnessing the emergence of a potentially strong rival, Richard Branson
's Virgin Atlantic
. Virgin, which began with one route and one Boeing 747
in 1984 was beginning to emerge as a serious threat on some of BA's most lucrative routes.
Following Virgin's highly publicized mission of mercy to Iraq to fly home hostages who had been held by Saddam Hussein
in 1991, Lord King is reported to have told Burnside and CEO Colin Marshall to "do something about Branson". This began the campaign of "dirty tricks", masterminded by Burnside, which ended in Branson suing King and British Airways for libel in 1992. King countersued Branson and the case went to trial in 1993. British Airways, faced with likely defeat, settled the case giving £500,000 to Branson and a further £110,000 to his airline; further, BA was to pay the legal fees of up to £3,000,000. Tom Bower
's biography of Virgin's chief, Branson, published in 2000 gives a rather different perspective on this matter.
It was an article written by Burnside (given legal clearance) in BA News, the company's in house newsletter, that prompted Branson's legal action. In January 1993, following the settlement and investigations by BA's lawyers the board decided to sack Burnside. He was awarded a settlement of approximately £400,000 and free first class travel
on BA for four years.
constituency for the Ulster Unionists in a by-election in 2000, but narrowly lost to the Democratic Unionist Party
candidate Rev. Willie McCrea.
However he reversed this defeat in the 2001 general election
. Along with Jeffrey Donaldson
(MP) and the Rev. Martin Smyth
(MP), Burnside became an outspoken critic of his party leader, David Trimble
's support for the Good Friday Agreement, arguing that the Provisional IRA's slow pace of decommissioning its arms meant that Sinn Féin
, the political wing of the IRA, should not be allowed to serve in the power-sharing government.
On 23 June 2003, Burnside, Donaldson and Smyth resigned the UUP whip in the House of Commons, launching a strong attack on Trimble's leadership. The trio successfully fought off attempts to discipline them using the courts and in November 2003 both Burnside and Donaldson were elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly. However, Burnside declined to follow Donaldson when he resigned from the Ulster Unionist Party in December 2003. In 2005 he lost his Westminster Parliamentary seat. Burnside successfully retained his Assembly seat in March 2007.
Supporters of Burnside see him as a potential future leader of the Ulster Unionist Party; however, he declined to contest the 2005 leadership election
.
Burnside resigned as an Assembly Member in June 2009 to concentrate on his business interests. His seat was taken by Antrim councillor Danny Kinahan. He currently is mulling a return to politics, maybe to his former position.
takeover in 2007 but nothing came of it. There was not enough investment available for the move.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
politician, and was Ulster Unionist Party
Ulster Unionist Party
The Ulster Unionist Party – sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or, in a historic sense, simply the Unionist Party – is the more moderate of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for South Antrim
South Antrim (UK Parliament constituency)
South Antrim is a Parliamentary Constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons.-Boundaries:From 1885, this constituency was one of four county divisions of the former Antrim constituency...
.
In the 1970s Burnside served as Press Officer for the Vanguard Progressive Unionist Party
Vanguard Progressive Unionist Party
The Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party , informally known as Ulster Vanguard, was a unionist political party which existed in Northern Ireland between 1973 and 1978...
, and he unsuccessfully contested North Antrim
North Antrim (Assembly constituency)
North Antrim is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973...
for the party at the Northern Ireland Assembly election, 1973
Northern Ireland Assembly election, 1973
-Seats summary:-Source:* http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/fa73.htm...
. After the collapse of Vanguard he joined the Ulster Unionists, but took a back seat from politics for many years while working as a prominent public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
consultant based in London which led him to set up his own PR company.
British Airways
In 1984 David Burnside was recruited by the British AirwaysBritish Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
Chairman Lord King to become the company's head of public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
. In this role Burnside is widely acknowledged to have become one of the most powerful PR men in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, speaking for King, administering a £5,000,000 budget and receiving numerous PR awards both in the UK and around the world.
His success is perhaps overshadowed by the nature of his departure. British Airways was witnessing the emergence of a potentially strong rival, Richard Branson
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....
's Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic Airways
Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited is a British airline owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Singapore Airlines...
. Virgin, which began with one route and one Boeing 747
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...
in 1984 was beginning to emerge as a serious threat on some of BA's most lucrative routes.
Following Virgin's highly publicized mission of mercy to Iraq to fly home hostages who had been held by Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
in 1991, Lord King is reported to have told Burnside and CEO Colin Marshall to "do something about Branson". This began the campaign of "dirty tricks", masterminded by Burnside, which ended in Branson suing King and British Airways for libel in 1992. King countersued Branson and the case went to trial in 1993. British Airways, faced with likely defeat, settled the case giving £500,000 to Branson and a further £110,000 to his airline; further, BA was to pay the legal fees of up to £3,000,000. Tom Bower
Tom Bower
Tom Bower is a British writer, noted for his revelatory investigative work such as his unauthorized biographies.A former Panorama reporter, his books include unauthorised biographies of Tiny Rowland, Robert Maxwell, Mohamed Al-Fayed, Geoffrey Robinson, Gordon Brown and Richard Branson...
's biography of Virgin's chief, Branson, published in 2000 gives a rather different perspective on this matter.
It was an article written by Burnside (given legal clearance) in BA News, the company's in house newsletter, that prompted Branson's legal action. In January 1993, following the settlement and investigations by BA's lawyers the board decided to sack Burnside. He was awarded a settlement of approximately £400,000 and free first class travel
First class travel
First class is the most luxurious class of accommodation on a train, passenger ship, airplane, or other conveyance. It is usually much more expensive than business class and economy class, and offers the best amenities.-Aviation:...
on BA for four years.
Return to politics
He was selected to defend the South AntrimSouth Antrim (UK Parliament constituency)
South Antrim is a Parliamentary Constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons.-Boundaries:From 1885, this constituency was one of four county divisions of the former Antrim constituency...
constituency for the Ulster Unionists in a by-election in 2000, but narrowly lost to the Democratic Unionist Party
Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. Founded by Ian Paisley and currently led by Peter Robinson, it is currently the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons of the...
candidate Rev. Willie McCrea.
However he reversed this defeat in the 2001 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
. Along with Jeffrey Donaldson
Jeffrey Donaldson
Jeffrey Mark Donaldson, MP is a Northern Irish politician and Member of Parliament for Lagan Valley belonging to the Democratic Unionist Party...
(MP) and the Rev. Martin Smyth
Martin Smyth
Reverend William Martin Smyth is a Northern Irish unionist politician, and was Ulster Unionist Party Member of Parliament for Belfast South from 1982-2005...
(MP), Burnside became an outspoken critic of his party leader, David Trimble
David Trimble
William David Trimble, Baron Trimble, PC , is a politician from Northern Ireland. He served as Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party , was the first First Minister of Northern Ireland , and was a Member of the British Parliament . He is currently a life peer for the Conservative Party...
's support for the Good Friday Agreement, arguing that the Provisional IRA's slow pace of decommissioning its arms meant that Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
, the political wing of the IRA, should not be allowed to serve in the power-sharing government.
On 23 June 2003, Burnside, Donaldson and Smyth resigned the UUP whip in the House of Commons, launching a strong attack on Trimble's leadership. The trio successfully fought off attempts to discipline them using the courts and in November 2003 both Burnside and Donaldson were elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly. However, Burnside declined to follow Donaldson when he resigned from the Ulster Unionist Party in December 2003. In 2005 he lost his Westminster Parliamentary seat. Burnside successfully retained his Assembly seat in March 2007.
Supporters of Burnside see him as a potential future leader of the Ulster Unionist Party; however, he declined to contest the 2005 leadership election
Ulster Unionist Party leadership election, 2005
The 2005 Ulster Unionist Party leadership election began on 7 May 2005 when David Trimble resigned as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party following his party's poor performance in the 2005 general election when it lost all but one of its seats, including Trimble's own...
.
Burnside resigned as an Assembly Member in June 2009 to concentrate on his business interests. His seat was taken by Antrim councillor Danny Kinahan. He currently is mulling a return to politics, maybe to his former position.
Rangers Football Club
Burnside was linked to a potential RangersRangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
takeover in 2007 but nothing came of it. There was not enough investment available for the move.
Sources
- Gregory, Martyn. Dirty Tricks: British Airways' Secret War Against Virgin Atlantic. London: Virgin, 2000. ISBN 0-7535-0458-8
- BBC Profile
- Glasgow Rangers Burnside Article
- Maiden Speech : House of Commons - 26 June 2001