[7] Though unsuccessful, he obtained a swing of 8.4% and polled ahead of Doug Beattie of the UUP and Dolores Kelly of the SDLP.

[10] He is the third openly gay MLA to serve, joining his party colleagues John Blair and Andrew Muir.

[13] He subsequently called on the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to stop the salaries of MLAs who refused to enter the Assembly in order to incentivise the DUP to "get back to work".

[14] Following the restoration of devolution in February 2024, Tennyson was appointed to the Committee for Finance and became a member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board.

While it was initially expected he would run unopposed, South Belfast MLA Kate Nicholl also put her name forward for the position.

I'm keen to build on the momentum left behind by Stephen [Farry] and his enormous legacy and to work with Naomi [Long] and our vibrant leadership team to grow the party even further.