Herbert Heslip was a Northern Irish

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 with the 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...

 (UUP).

Heslip was a well-known figure in County Down Unionism, serving as a member of Down District Council

Down District Council

Down District Council is a Local Council in County Down in Northern Ireland. The Council is headquartered in Downpatrick. Other towns in the Council area are Ardglass, Ballynahinch, Castlewellan, Clough, Crossgar, Dundrum, Killough, Killyleagh, Newcastle, Saintfield, Seaforde and Strangford...

 from 1968–1973 and then of Banbridge

Banbridge

Banbridge is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road. It was named after a bridge built over the Bann in 1712. The town grew as a coaching stop on the road from Belfast to Dublin and thrived from Irish linen manufacturing...

 District Council until 1985. Following the death of Raymond McCullough

Raymond McCullough

Raymond McCullough was a Northern Ireland politician with the Ulster Unionist Party.McCullough, who was Honorary Secretary of the South Down Unionist Association, was elected to Banbridge District Council uon that body's creation in 1973 and subsequently served as chairman...

 in 1985 Heslip attempted to regain his seat in a by-election but was defeated by McCullough's daughter Vivienne.

Heslip was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly of 1973

Northern Ireland Assembly (1973)

The Northern Ireland Assembly was a legislative assembly set up by the Government of the United Kingdom on 3 May 1973 to restore devolved government to Northern Ireland with the power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive made up of unionists and nationalists....

, serving as Deputy Speaker, and also sat in its successor the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention

Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention

The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention was an elected body set up in 1975 by the UK Labour government of Harold Wilson as an attempt to deal with constitutional issues surrounding the status of Northern Ireland....

, in both cases for South Down

South Down (Assembly constituency)

South Down 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...

. By conviction however he supported a return to the Parliament of Northern Ireland

Parliament of Northern Ireland

The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended...

. He also served as Vice-President of the loyalist

Ulster loyalism

Ulster loyalism is an ideology that is opposed to a united Ireland. It can mean either support for upholding Northern Ireland's status as a constituent part of the United Kingdom , support for Northern Ireland independence, or support for loyalist paramilitaries...

 vigilante group Down Orange Welfare

Down Orange Welfare

Down Orange Welfare was an loyalist paramilitary vigilante group active in Northern Ireland during the 1970s. Active in rural areas of County Down, the group faded after failing to win support away from larger paramilitary groups such as the Ulster Defence Association.The group was established in...

.