John Wesley Neville Martin (1916-17 April 1966) 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 who served as a member of 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...

 for 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...

.

Biography

Martin was educated at a grammar school before becoming the director of a sack company that was based in both Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

 and Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

. He was also a founder member of the Belfast Rotary Club

Rotary International

Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...

.

Politics

He was elected Member of Parliament for Belfast Woodvale

Belfast Woodvale (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)

Belfast Woodvale was a constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland.-Boundaries:Belfast Woodvale was a borough constituency comprising part of western Belfast...

 in a by-election in 1955 following Robert Harcourt

Robert Harcourt

Sir Robert John Rolston Harcourt, JP was a Northern Irish politician.Robert Harcourt became the director of F. E. Harcourt and Company coal merchants. He was High Sheriff of Belfast in 1949, and later in the year unsuccessfully stood as the Ulster Unionist Party candidate for South Down...

's appointment to the Senate of Northern Ireland

Senate of Northern Ireland

The Senate of Northern Ireland was the upper house of the Parliament of Northern Ireland created by the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It was abolished with the passing of the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973.-Powers:...

. He lost his seat in the 1958 general election

Northern Ireland general election, 1958

-References:*-See also:*MPs elected in the Northern Ireland general election, 1958...

 when Northern Ireland Labour Party

Northern Ireland Labour Party

The Northern Ireland Labour Party was an Irish political party which operated from 1924 until 1987.In 1913 the British Labour Party resolved to give the recently formed Irish Labour Party exclusive organising rights in Ireland...

 candidate Billy Boyd

Billy Boyd (politician)

Billy Boyd was a politician from Northern Ireland.Boyd worked in the shipyards of Belfast and became active in the Northern Ireland Labour Party and stood unsuccessfully in Belfast Woodvale in the Northern Ireland general election, 1953, then again in a 1955 by-election...

 defeated him. After his defeat Martin suggested that the close ties between the Ulster Unionist Party and the Conservative Party

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

were counterproductive as they were driving some working-class people who would otherwise identify as Unionist away from the party.