Belfast West (UK Parliament constituency)
Belfast West | |
---|---|
Borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
Boundary of Belfast West in Northern Ireland. | |
Districts of Northern Ireland | Belfast, Lisburn |
Electorate | 60,817 (March 2011) |
Major settlements | Belfast |
Current constituency | |
Created | 1922 |
Member of parliament | Paul Maskey (Sinn Féin) |
Number of members | One |
Created from | Belfast Falls, Belfast St Anne's and Belfast Woodvale |
1885–1918 | |
Number of members | One |
Type of constituency | Borough constituency |
Replaced by | Belfast Falls, Belfast St Anne's and Belfast Woodvale |
Created from | Belfast |
Overlaps | |
European Parliament constituency | Northern Ireland |
Belfast West is a parliamentary constituency in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.
Boundaries
1950-1974: The County Borough of Belfast wards of Court, Falls, St Anne's, St George's, Smithfield, and Woodvale.
1974-1983: The County Borough of Belfast wards of Court, Falls, St Anne's, St George's, Smithfield, and Woodvale, and the Rural District of Lisburn electoral divisions of Andersonstown, Ballygammon, and Ladybrook.
1983-1997: The District of Belfast wards of Andersonstown, Ballygomartin, Central, Clonard, Court, Falls, Grosvenor, Highfield, Ladybrook, Milltown, North Howard, St James, Suffolk, and Whiterock.
1997-2010: The District of Belfast wards of Andersonstown, Beechmount, Clonard, Falls, Falls Park, Glencairn, Glencolin, Glen Road, Highfield, Ladybrook, Shankill, Upper Springfield, and Whiterock, and the District of Lisburn wards of Collin Glen, Kilwee, Poleglass, and Twinbrook.
2010-present: The District of Belfast wards of Andersonstown, Beechmount, Clonard, Falls, Falls Park, Glencairn, Glencolin, Glen Road, Highfield, Ladybrook, Shankill, Upper Springfield, and Whiterock, and the City of Lisburn wards of Collin Glen, Dunmurry, Kilwee, Poleglass, Twinbrook, and part of Derryaghy.
The seat was restored in 1922 (having been abolished for the 1918 general election) when as part of the establishment of the devolved Stormont Parliament for Northern Ireland, the number of MPs in the Westminster Parliament was drastically cut. In 1983 the Sandy Row and Donegall Road areas were removed[1] leaving a seat centred on the west section of Belfast, though between 1983 and 1997 it included the area around the Docks on the north east side of the Lagan Estuary.[2] Belfast West also contains part of the city of Lisburn district in the shape of the Poleglass and Twinbrook estates.
Prior to the 2010 general election, boundary changes added the Dunmurry ward and the northern part of Derriaghy ward to this seat. Following public consultation, the proposals were passed through Parliament via the Northern Ireland Parliamentary Constituencies Order.[3] In an unprecedented move by a Boundary Commission, an electoral ward was split between constituencies following disquiet in parts of Derriaghy. This ward is now split between Belfast West and Lagan Valley.
History
Belfast West has historically been the most nationalist of Belfast's four constituencies, though it is only in the last few decades that the votes for unionist parties have plunged to tiny levels. The constituency is largely made of a long, slender, belt along the Falls Road and its suburban extensions, with three of the five wards from the staunchly unionist Shankill area now something of a bolt-on, with a several kilometre long peace line dividing them from the rest of the constituency. There is also a smaller Protestant enclave at Suffolk.
The tenor of the constituency is largely working class and in the 1991 census it was one of only twenty constituencies where the majority of housing was still state owned. Although there are now large pockets of middle-class housing in Andersonstown and other suburban parts of the seat. Closer to the centre public-sector terraced housing, both Victorian and high quality modern housing, predominates, while in the suburbs, leafy pockets are scattered among post-War housing estates such as Lenadoon and Twinbrook.
The Westminster constituency was consistently held by the Ulster Unionist Party but always had strong Labour movement sympathies. In the UK general election, 1923, the Belfast Labour Party came within 1,000 votes of taking the seat. A by-election in 1943 was won by Jack Beattie, standing for the Northern Ireland Labour Party. For the next twenty-three years the seat would regularly change from unionist to nationalist/labour, with the latter represented by a variety of parties.
In the 1966 general election the seat was won by Gerry Fitt of the Republican Labour Party. Later in 1970 he left that party to become a founder and first leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party. In the February 1974 general election, Belfast West was the only constituency in Northern Ireland to elect an MP supporting the Sunningdale Agreement. Fitt's majority was a narrow 2180 votes in February 1974 primarily due to the candidature of Albert Price, father of the Price sisters who were in prison in England for PIRA related offences. However the candidacy of a UVF backed candidate in October 1974 and a declining Unionist vote in 1979 led to him increasing his majorities in subsequent years. He retained the seat for the next nine years but increasingly distanced himself from nationalist groups and in late 1979 he left the SDLP altogether. He sat as an independent socialist but lost his seat in the 1983 when it was won by Gerry Adams of Sinn Féin. The Unionist vote which had still been at 30% in the 1982 Assembly elections was cut to 20% as a result of the 1983 boundary changes which, while adding the loyalist Glencairn area, removed the Donegall Road, Sandy Row and added the Nationalist Lenadoon area.
Adams' share of the vote, at 37%, was short of a majority and he achieved victory only due to Fitt and the SDLP candidate splitting the non-Sinn Féin vote. In 1987 Adams narrowly held his seat, but lost it in the 1992 general election amidst a strong tactical voting campaign in favour of Joe Hendron of the Social Democratic and Labour Party by unionists[4] in the Shankill Road area of the constituency. After the election a constituent, Maura McCrory, lodged an election petition challenging the result. The election court reported Hendron personally guilty of the illegal practice of failing to deliver a declaration verifying the return of his election expenses, and guilty through his election agent of failing to deliver a verified return of election expenses within 35 days, exceeding the maximum spending by £782.02, and failing to pay all the expenses within 28 days. Hendron's agent was also reported personally guilty of distributing election material without the name and address of the printer and publisher. The Judges granted both Hendron and his agent relief from their findings, on the grounds that the law had been broken through inadvertence; they therefore certified that Hendron had been duly elected.[5]
In the mid-1990s the Boundary Commission originally suggested removing the Shankill wards from the constituency and replacing them with about half of the Belfast South constituency namely the 6 wards of the Balmoral Electoral Area and the Shaftesbury ward, effectively transforming the seat into a Belfast South West constituency.
The subsequent local enquiries were bitterly contested with the SDLP favouring the commission's original proposals which would add an area where Sinn Féin had little support (and aside from the Shaftesbury ward, had not contested in council elections), while Sinn Féin argued instead for adding the mostly republican Twinbrook and Poleglass estates (where they were outpolling the SDLP in council elections by a margin of 3 to 1). With all parties except the SDLP supporting an option of retaining four seats in Belfast the latter option became the commissions final proposals and the Shankill wards remained in the constituency.
The boundary changes, coupled with the IRA ceasefire, meant that support for Sinn Féin in the constituency soared to new levels and in all elections held in the seat since 1996 they have taken over 50% of the vote. In 1997 Adams regained the seat and held it in 2001, 2005 and 2010. In 2011, Adams decided to stand in the 2011 Republic of Ireland general election and vacated his seat.
Members of Parliament
The Member of Parliament since a 2011 by-election is Paul Maskey of Sinn Féin, who succeeded Gerry Adams, the party president. Adams previously held the seat from 1983 to 1992 when he lost it to Joe Hendron of the Social Democratic and Labour Party but regained it in 1997.
In November 2010, Adams announced his intention to contest the imminent election in the Republic of Ireland. Although the Disqualifications Act 2000 permits MPs to sit in Dáil Éireann, he submitted a letter of resignation to the Speaker in January 2011. However, the prescribed procedure for vacating a parliamentary seat involves applying for the post of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead, which he had "no intention" of doing. Thus he was still considered to hold the seat.[6] On 26 January, HM Treasury announced that Adams had been appointed as Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead. The Prime Minister, David Cameron claim that Adams had applied for the appointment, but this was later clarified to state that although he had not requested the appointment. Adams stated the Prime Minister's private secretary had apologised to him for making the announcement that Adams had 'accepted' the position, when in fact Adams resignation letter was taken to be a request to be so appointed, whatever his own wishes.[7]
Election results
Elections in the 2010s
General Election 2015: Belfast West [8] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Sinn Féin | Paul Maskey | 19,163 | 54.2 | -16.4 | |
People Before Profit | Gerry Carroll | 6,798 | 19.2 | +11.6 | |
SDLP | Alex Attwood | 3,475 | 9.8 | -3.7 | |
DUP | Frank McCoubrey | 2,773 | 7.8 | +1.7 | |
UUP | Bill Manwaring | 1,088 | 3.1 | +1.4 | |
UKIP | Brian Higginson[9] | 765 | 2.2 | N/A | |
Alliance | Gerard Catney [10] | 636 | 1.8 | +1.3 | |
Workers' Party | John Lowry[9] | 597 | 1.7 | N/A | |
NI Conservatives | Paul Shea | 34 | 0.1 | N/A | |
Majority | 12,365 | 35.0 | -19.7 | ||
Turnout | 35,329 | 56.3 | +2.3 | ||
Sinn Féin hold | Swing | -14.0 | |||
Changes above relate to the by-election in 2011 except for the turnout where the comparison is with the General Election in 2010.
Belfast West by-election, 2011[11] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Sinn Féin | Paul Maskey | 16,211 | 70.6 | −0.5 | |
SDLP | Alex Attwood | 3,088 | 13.5 | −2.9 | |
People Before Profit | Gerry Carroll | 1,751 | 7.6 | N/A | |
DUP | Brian Kingston | 1,393 | 6.1 | −1.5 | |
UUP | Bill Manwaring | 386 | 1.7 | −1.4 | |
Alliance | Aaron McIntyre | 122 | 0.5 | −1.4 | |
Majority | 13,123 | 57.1 | +2.4 | ||
Turnout | 22,951 | 37.5 | −16.5 | ||
Sinn Féin hold | Swing | +1.2 | |||
General Election 2010: Belfast West | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Sinn Féin | Gerry Adams | 22,840 | 71.1 | +2.5 | |
SDLP | Alex Attwood | 5,261 | 16.4 | +0.3 | |
DUP | William Humphrey | 2,436 | 7.6 | −3.3 | |
UCU-NF | Bill Manwaring | 1,000 | 3.1 | +0.6 | |
Alliance | Maíre Hendron | 596 | 1.9 | +1.8 | |
Majority | 17,579 | 54.7 | −1.2 | ||
Turnout | 32,133 | 54.0 | −13.5 | ||
Sinn Féin hold | Swing | +1.1 | |||
Elections in the 2000s
General Election 2005: Belfast West | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Sinn Féin | Gerry Adams | 24,348 | 70.5 | +4.4 | |
SDLP | Alex Attwood | 5,033 | 14.6 | −4.3 | |
DUP | Diane Dodds | 3,652 | 10.6 | +4.2 | |
UUP | Chris McGimpsey | 779 | 2.3 | −3.9 | |
Workers' Party | John Lowry | 432 | 1.3 | −0.5 | |
Rainbow Dream Ticket | Lynda Gilby | 154 | 0.4 | +0.2 | |
Independent | Liam Kennedy | 147 | 0.4 | +0.4 | |
Majority | 19,315 | 55.9 | +8.7 | ||
Turnout | 34,545 | 64.2 | −4.5 | ||
Sinn Féin hold | Swing | +4.4 | |||
General Election 2001: Belfast West | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Sinn Féin | Gerry Adams | 27,096 | 66.1 | +10.2 | |
SDLP | Alex Attwood | 7,754 | 18.9 | −19.8 | |
DUP | Eric Smyth | 2,641 | 6.4 | N/A | |
UUP | Chris McGimpsey | 2,541 | 6.2 | +2.8 | |
Workers' Party | John Lowry | 736 | 1.8 | +0.2 | |
Third Way | David Kerr | 116 | 0.3 | N/A | |
Rainbow Dream Ticket | Rainbow George Weiss | 98 | 0.2 | N/A | |
Majority | 19,342 | 47.2 | |||
Turnout | 40,982 | 68.7 | −5.5 | ||
Sinn Féin hold | Swing | ||||
Elections in the 1990s
General Election 1997: Belfast West | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Sinn Féin | Gerry Adams | 25,662 | 55.9 | +13.9 | |
SDLP | Joe Hendron | 17,753 | 38.7 | −5.5 | |
UUP | Fred Parkinson | 1,556 | 3.4 | −8.2 | |
Workers' Party | John Lowry | 721 | 1.6 | N/A | |
Human Rights | Liam Kennedy | 102 | 0.2 | N/A | |
Natural Law | Mary Daly | 91 | 0.2 | N/A | |
Majority | 7,909 | 17.2 | |||
Turnout | 45,885 | 74.3 | |||
Sinn Féin gain from SDLP | Swing | ||||
1997 Changes are compared to the 1992 notional results shown below.[12]
Notional 1992 UK General Election Result : Belfast West | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
SDLP | N/A | 20,045 | 44.2 | N/A | |
Sinn Féin | N/A | 19,027 | 42.0 | N/A | |
UUP | N/A | 5,275 | 11.6 | N/A | |
Others | N/A | 975 | 2.2 | N/A | |
Majority | 1,018 | 2.3 | N/A | ||
General Election 1992: Belfast West | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
SDLP | Joe Hendron | 17,415 | 43.6 | +7.9 | |
Sinn Féin | Gerry Adams | 16,826 | 42.1 | +1.0 | |
UUP | Fred Cobain | 4,766 | 11.9 | −6.8 | |
Workers' Party | John Lowry | 750 | 1.9 | −2.5 | |
Natural Law | Michael F. Kennedy | 213 | 0.5 | N/A | |
Majority | 589 | 1.7 | −3.7 | ||
Turnout | 34,545 | 73.2 | +4.1 | ||
SDLP gain from Sinn Féin | Swing | ||||
Elections in the 1980s
General Election 1987: Belfast West | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Sinn Féin | Gerry Adams | 16,862 | 41.1 | +2.1 | |
SDLP | Joe Hendron | 14,641 | 35.7 | +9.4 | |
UUP | Frank Millar | 7,646 | 18.7 | +12.9 | |
Workers' Party | Mary McMahon | 1,819 | 4.4 | −0.1 | |
Majority | 2,221 | 5.4 | −7.6 | ||
Turnout | 40,968 | 69.1 | −1.1 | ||
Sinn Féin hold | Swing | ||||
General Election 1983: Belfast West | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Sinn Féin | Gerry Adams | 16,379 | 36.9 | N/A | |
SDLP | Joe Hendron | 10,934 | 24.6 | −14.4 | |
Independent Socialist | Gerry Fitt | 10,326 | 23.3 | N/A | |
UUP | Thomas Passmore | 2,435 | 5.5 | −19.0 | |
DUP | George Albert Haffey | 2,399 | 5.4 | −5.8 | |
Workers' Party | Mary McMahon | 1,893 | 4.3 | −2.4 | |
Majority | 5,445 | 12.3 | −11.7 | ||
Turnout | 44,366 | 74.3 | +13.7 | ||
Sinn Féin gain from SDLP | Swing | ||||
Following the 1979 election, Fitt became increasingly at odds with the SDLP and left it, continuing to sit as an independent socialist.
Elections in the 1970s
General Election 1979: Belfast West | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
SDLP | Gerry Fitt | 16,480 | 49.5 | +0.5 | |
UUP | Thomas Passmore | 8,245 | 24.8 | N/A | |
DUP | Billy Dickson | 3,716 | 11.2 | −25.3 | |
Republican Clubs | Brian Brennan | 2,284 | 6.9 | −1.1 | |
Alliance | John Cousins | 2,024 | 6.1 | N/A | |
NI Labour | Derek Peters | 540 | 1.6 | N/A | |
Majority | 8,235 | 24.7 | +12.2 | ||
Turnout | 33,289 | 56.5 | −10.7 | ||
SDLP hold | Swing | ||||
General Election October 1974: Belfast West | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
SDLP | Gerry Fitt | 21,821 | 49.0 | +8.0 | |
DUP | John McQuade | 16,265 | 36.5 | 0.0 | |
Republican Clubs | Kitty O'Kane | 3,547 | 8.0 | + 1.5 | |
Volunteer Political Party | Ken Gibson | 2,690 | 6.0 | N/A | |
Marxist-Leninist (Ireland) | Peter Kerins | 203 | 0.5 | N/A | |
Majority | 5,556 | 12.5 | + 8.3 | ||
Turnout | 67.2 | – 4.3 | |||
SDLP hold | Swing | ||||
General Election February 1974: Belfast West | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
SDLP | Gerry Fitt | 19,554 | 41.0 | N/A | |
DUP | John McQuade | 17,374 | 36.5 | ||
Independent Republican | Albert Price | 5,662 | 11.9 | N/A | |
Republican Clubs | John Brady | 3,088 | 6.5 | N/A | |
NI Labour | Billy Boyd | 1,989 | 4.2 | N/A | |
Majority | 2,180 | 4.6 | – 0.9 | ||
Turnout | 71.5 | – 13.0 | |||
SDLP gain from Republican Labour | Swing | ||||
After the 1970 election Fitt left the Republican Labour Party to cofound the Social Democratic & Labour Party. The remains of Republican Labour had disintegrated by 1974.
General Election 1970: Belfast West | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Republican Labour | Gerry Fitt | 30,649 | 52.8 | + 0.8 | |
UUP | Brian McRoberts | 27,451 | 47.3 | – 0.7 | |
Majority | 3,198 | 5.5 | + 1.4 | ||
Turnout | 84.5 | + 9.7 | |||
Republican Labour hold | Swing | ||||
Elections in the 1960s
General Election 1966: Belfast West | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Republican Labour | Gerry Fitt | 26,292 | 52.0 | + 23.7 | |
UUP | James Kilfedder | 24,281 | 48.0 | + 6.8 | |
Majority | 2,011 | 4.1 | – 8.7 | ||
Turnout | 74.8 | + 0.1 | |||
Republican Labour gain from UUP | Swing | ||||
General Election 1964: Belfast West | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
UUP | James Kilfedder | 21,337 | 41.2 | – 12.9 | |
Republican Labour | Harry Diamond | 14,678 | 28.3 | N/A | |
NI Labour | Billy Boyd | 12,579 | 24.3 | N/A | |
Independent Republican | Billy McMillen | 3,256 | 6.3 | N/A | |
Majority | 6,659 | 12.8 | – 3.8 | ||
Turnout | 74.7 | + 2.0 | |||
UUP hold | Swing | ||||
Elections in the 1950s
General Election 1959: Belfast West | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
UUP | Patricia McLaughlin | 28,898 | 54.1 | – 4.2 | |
Ind. Labour Group | John Joseph Brennan | 20,062 | 37.6 | N/A | |
Sinn Féin | Thomas Heenan | 4,416 | 8.3 | – 6.1 | |
Majority | 8,836 | 16.6 | – 14.3 | ||
Turnout | 72.7 | – 2.0 | |||
UUP hold | Swing | ||||
General Election 1955: Belfast West | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
UUP | Patricia McLaughlin | 34,191 | 58.3 | + 8.3 | |
Irish Labour | Jack Beattie | 20,062 | 27.4 | – 22.6 | |
Sinn Féin | Eamonn Boyce | 8,447 | 14.4 | N/A | |
Majority | 18,141 | 30.9 | + 30.9 | ||
Turnout | 74.7 | – 9.4 | |||
UUP gain from Irish Labour | Swing | ||||
General Election 1951: Belfast West | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Irish Labour | Jack Beattie | 33,174 | 50.0 | + 3.7 | |
UUP | Thomas Teevan | 33,149 | 50.0 | – 1.5 | |
Majority | 25 | 0.0 | – 5.2 | ||
Turnout | 84.1 | + 0.5 | |||
Irish Labour gain from UUP | Swing | ||||
Belfast West by-election, 1950 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
UUP | Thomas Teevan | 31,796 | 50.8 | – 0.7 | |
Irish Labour | Jack Beattie | 30,833 | 49.2 | + 2.9 | |
Majority | 913 | 1.5 | – 4.0 | ||
Turnout | 62,629 | ||||
UUP hold | Swing | ||||
General Election 1950: Belfast West | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
UUP | James Godfrey MacManaway | 33,917 | 51.5 | + 5.0 | |
Irish Labour | Jack Beattie | 30,539 | 46.3 | – 7.2 | |
Sinn Féin | Jimmy Steele | 1,482 | 2.2 | N/A | |
Majority | 3,378 | 5.2 | – 1.8 | ||
Turnout | 83.6 | + 10.5 | |||
UUP gain from Independent | Swing | ||||
Elections in the 1940s
General Election 1945: Belfast West Electorate 80,641 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Independent Labour | Jack Beattie | 30,787 | 53.5 | N/A | |
UUP | Knox Cunningham | 26,729 | 46.5 | – 16.1 | |
Majority | 4,058 | 7.0 | – 18.2 | ||
Turnout | 57,516 | 73.1 | + 5.1 | ||
Independent Labour gain from UUP | Swing | ||||
Belfast West by-election, 1943 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
NI Labour | Jack Beattie | 19,936 | 46.2 | N/A | |
UUP | Knox Cunningham | 14,426 | 33.4 | – 29.2 | |
Ind. Unionist Association | William McConnell Wilton | 7,551 | 17.5 | N/A | |
Independent Republican | Hugh Corvin | 1,250 | 2.9 | – 34.5 | |
Majority | 5,510 | 12.8 | – 12.4 | ||
Turnout | 54.8 | – 13.2 | |||
NI Labour gain from UUP | Swing | ||||
Elections in the 1930s
General Election 1935: Belfast West | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
UUP | Alexander Browne | 34,060 | 62.6 | + 4.0 | |
Independent Republican | Charles Leddy | 20,313 | 37.4 | – 4.0 | |
Majority | 13,747 | 25.2 | + 8.0 | ||
Turnout | 68.0 | – 0.1 | |||
UUP hold | Swing | ||||
General Election 1931: Belfast West | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
UUP | Alexander Browne | 31,113 | 58.6 | + 0.7 | |
Nationalist | Thomas Joseph Campbell | 22,006 | 41.4 | – 0.7 | |
Majority | 9,107 | 17.2 | + 1.4 | ||
Turnout | 68.1 | – 5.8 | |||
UUP hold | Swing | ||||
Note: The sitting MP, W.E.D. Allen, had joined the New Party earlier in 1931 but did not contest the seat at the general election.
Elections in the 1920s
General Election 1929: Belfast West | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
UUP | William Edward David Allen | 33,274 | 57.9 | + 3.4 | |
Independent Republican | Frank C.J. MacDermot | 24,177 | 42.1 | N/A | |
Majority | 9,097 | 15.8 | + 1.7 | ||
Turnout | 73.9 | – 5.2 | |||
UUP hold | Swing | n/a | |||
General Election 1924: Belfast West | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
UUP | Robert Lynn | 28,435 | 54.5 | + 1.6 | |
NI Labour | Harry Midgley | 21,122 | 40.4 | – 3.7 | |
Sinn Féin | Patrick Nash | 2,688 | 5.1 | N/A | |
Majority | 7,313 | 14.1 | + 8.3 | ||
Turnout | 79.1 | + 8.8 | |||
UUP hold | Swing | ||||
General Election 1923: Belfast West | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
UUP | Robert Lynn | 24,975 | 52.9 | N/A | |
Belfast Labour | Harry Midgley | 22,255 | 47.1 | N/A | |
Majority | 2,720 | 5.8 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 70.3 | N/A | |||
UUP hold | Swing | ||||
General Election 1922: Belfast West | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
UUP | Robert Lynn | Unopposed | N/A | N/A | |
UUP hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Elections in the 1910s
General Election December 1910: Belfast West | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Irish Parliamentary | Joseph Devlin | 4,543 | 52.7 | -0.2 | |
Liberal Unionist | John Boyd Carpenter | 4,080 | 47.3 | +1.1 | |
Majority | 463 | 5.4 | -1.3 | ||
Turnout | 8,623 | 93.4 | -1.8 | ||
Irish Parliamentary hold | Swing | ||||
General Election January 1910: Belfast West | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Irish Parliamentary | Joseph Devlin | 4,651 | 52.9 | +3.7 | |
Liberal Unionist | John Boyd Carpenter | 4,064 | 46.2 | -2.8 | |
Independent Nationalist | Patrick J. Magee | 75 | 0.9 | N/A | |
Majority | 587 | 6.7 | +6.5 | ||
Turnout | 8,790 | 95.2 | +0.6 | ||
Irish Parliamentary hold | Swing | ||||
Elections in the 1900s
General Election 1906: Belfast West | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Irish Parliamentary | Joseph Devlin | 4,138 | 49.2 | N/A | |
Liberal Unionist | J. R. Smiley | 4,122 | 49.0 | N/A | |
Ind. Liberal Unionist | Alexander Carlisle | 153 | 1.8 | N/A | |
Majority | 16 | 0.2 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 8,413 | 94.6 | N/A | ||
Irish Parliamentary gain from Liberal Unionist | Swing | ||||
Belfast West by-election, 1903: Belfast West | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Liberal Unionist | H. O. Arnold-Forster | Unopposed | N/A | N/A | |
Liberal Unionist hold | Swing | N/A | |||
General Election 1900: Belfast West | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Liberal Unionist | H. O. Arnold-Forster | Unopposed | N/A | N/A | |
Liberal Unionist hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Elections in the 1890s
General Election 1895: Belfast West | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Liberal Unionist | H. O. Arnold-Forster | Unopposed | N/A | N/A | |
Liberal Unionist hold | Swing | N/A | |||
General Election 1892: Belfast West | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Liberal Unionist | H. O. Arnold-Forster | 4,266 | 55.5 | N/A | |
Irish National Federation | Thomas Sexton | 3,427 | 44.5 | -6.2 | |
Majority | 839 | 10.9 | +9.6 | ||
Turnout | 7,693 | ||||
Liberal Unionist gain from Irish Parliamentary | Swing | ||||
Elections in the 1880s
General Election 1886: Belfast West | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Irish Parliamentary | Thomas Sexton | 3,832 | 50.7 | +0.9 | |
Conservative | James Horner Haslett | 3,729 | 49.3 | -0.9 | |
Majority | 103 | 1.3 | +0.8 | ||
Turnout | 7,561 | ||||
Irish Parliamentary gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
General Election 1885: Belfast West | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
Conservative | James Horner Haslett | 3,778 | 50.2 | N/A | |
Irish Parliamentary | Thomas Sexton | 3,743 | 49.8 | N/A | |
Majority | 35 | 0.5 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 7,521 | N/A | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
See also
References
- ↑ Almanac of British Politics 3rd ed, Robert Waller
- ↑ http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/bwb.htm
- ↑ http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2008/draft/ukdsi_9780110813172_en_1
- ↑ "Beaten at the Ballot Box". The Economist. 18 April 1992. p. 62.
- ↑ "McCrory v Hendron" [1993] NI QBD 177.
- ↑ "'Sacred' constitution 'may force Adams to stay as MP". bbc.co.uk (BBC). 25 January 2011. Archived from the original on 25 January 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
- ↑ "Manor of Northstead". HM Treasury. 26 January 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
- ↑ election result http://www.eoni.org.uk/Elections/Election-results-and-statistics/Election-results-and-statistics-2003-onwards/Elections-2015/UK-Parliamentary-Election-Results/UK-Parliamentary-Election-Result-Belfast-East-(3) 23Aug15
- 1 2 "Member of Parliament for Belfast West". YourNextMP. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
- ↑ http://electionresults.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/belfast-east-2015_10.html
- ↑ Sinn Fein's Paul Maskey wins West Belfast by-election, BBC News, 10 June 2011
- ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/election97/constituencies/45.htm
Further reading
- F. W. S. Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918 – 1949
- F. W. S. Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1950 – 1970
- The Liberal Year Book For 1917, Liberal Publication Department
- The Constitutional Year Book For 1912, Conservative Central Office
- The Constitutional Year Book For 1894, Conservative Central Office
External links
- Guardian Unlimited Politics (Election results from 1992 to the present)
- http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/ (Election results from 1951 to the present)
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 2) (Complete list of MPs)
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