Belfast North (UK Parliament constituency)

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Belfast North
Borough constituency
Belfast North shown within Northern Ireland
Created: 1885, 1922
MP: Nigel Dodds
Party: Democratic Unionist
Type: House of Commons
Districts: Belfast City Council, Newtownabbey
EP constituency: Northern Ireland

Belfast North is a Parliamentary Constituency in the House of Commons and also an Assembly constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Contents

[edit] Boundaries

The seat was created in 1922 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. The seat is centred on the north section of Belfast, though at times the area around the Docks on the north side of the Lagan Estuary has instead been part of variously Belfast East and Belfast West. Belfast North also contains part of the district of Newtownabbey.

Belfast North contains 14 wards of Belfast City Council and 5 of Newtownabbey Borough Council. The constituency suffered the highest level of violence in Northern Ireland during The Troubles and covers many areas synonymous with the conflict – the New Lodge, Ardoyne, Rathcoole, Ballysillan and Woodvale. The overall tenor of the constituency is working-class, with a high proportion of residents in public housing, and concentrations of low-income single people in the middle Antrim Road and Cliftonville areas. There are some upscale residential areas around Belfast Castle and on the slopes of Cavehill. Sectarian divisions are stark, with a number of Peace Lines cutting through the constituency and, as of 2005, occasional outbursts of sectarian street violence, and was the focus for ugly post-ceasefire incidents such as the Holy Cross dispute.

[edit] Proposed boundary changes

At the time of writing the Boundary Commission has proposed alterations for the boundaries of constituencies in Northern Ireland. Belfast North currently has one of the smallest electorates of any constituency in Northern Ireland and it is proposed to expand it further into Newtownabbey, taking in areas currently contained in both East Antrim and South Antrim.

The four wards which the Boundary Commission have proposed to add to the constituency from Newtownabbey have almost exactly the same composition in terms of community background as the existing constituency.

Not included in the proposals is a common suggestion to reunite the five wards centred on the Shankill Road which are currently split between Belfast West and Belfast North. At the boundary commission hearings in September 2005, the SDLP proposed extending the seat to Cloughfern and Jordanstown. The DUP supported the addition of Cloughfern option. Sinn Féin had little to say at the enquiry and were generally supportive of the commission's proposals. The issue of transferring the Crumlin and Woodvale wards to West Belfast to unite the Greater Shankill was raised by Alliance and a private individual but was vociferously opposed by the DUP led by local MP Nigel Dodds and to a lesser extent by the Ulster Unionists. Both the SDLP and Sinn Féin had little to say on the latter issue and neither opposed nor supported it.

[edit] History

Belfast North has a unionist majority though the nationalist vote is considerable. It has generated particular interest for a number of highly unusual elections results, as well as for several candidates and MPs prominently disagreeing with their parties.

Of the five main political parties in Northern Ireland, four (the Ulster Unionist Party, the Democratic Unionist Party, the Social Democratic and Labour Party and Sinn Féin) all have relatively strong support bases and routinely poll similar results. Other parties such as the Alliance, Progressive Unionist Party, Unionist Party of Northern Ireland, Conservatives and the Workers' Party have at times polled significantly, as have independent candidates, with the result that many elections have been won on comparatively low shares of the vote. The elections to the various assemblies have often seen the seats for the constituency heavily split - in 1998 no party won more than one Assembly seat.

The area saw a steady out movement of Protestants during the Troubles, to some degree replaced by a growing Catholic population, although the overall population of the area fell sharply. However, all the inner-city communities in the constituency are now haemorrhaging electors, and the overall ethnic composition of the constituency now seems stable.

The seat was consistently held by the Ulster Unionist Party from its creation until the 1970s. In 1972 the first notable dissent occurred when the sitting MP, Stratton Mills, dissented from the UUP's decision to withdraw from the Conservative whip at Westminster over the suspension of the Stormont Parliament. Mills remained as a Conservative MP, but the following year Mills joined the Alliance, giving them their only Westminster representation to date.

In the February 1974 general election the seat was won by John Carson of the Ulster Unionist Party with backing by the Vanguard Progressive Unionist Party and the Democratic Unionist Party on a united slate in opposition to the Sunningdale Agreement. Carson's victory came despite a majority of votes being cast for pro-Sunningdale candidates, albeit split between the Pro-Assembly Unionists, the Social Democratic and Labour Party and the Northern Ireland Labour Party. Carson held his seat in the October 1974 election but was deselected by the local Ulster Unionists over his support for the minority Labour government.

The 1979 general election saw one of the most dramatic results of all when Johnny McQuade of the Democratic Unionist Party won the seat with a mere 27.6% of the vote - the third lowest total for a successful candidate in a UK general election in the twentieth century. This came about due to the strong showing of several other parties, dividng the vote strongly. McQuade also had the distinction of being the oldest person to be initially elected to Westminster in the 20th century and did not restand at the next general election.

In 1983, Cecil Walker regained the seat for the UUP, beating Scotsman George Seawright of the DUP. In the 1987 general election the UUP and DUP agreed a pact in opposition to the Anglo Irish Agreement. Seawright had been expelled from the DUP and stood in the election, reviving the Protestant Unionist Party label, but was unsuccessful.

Walker continued to hold the seat until 2001 but gained a reputation for inactivity. In the 2001 general election the DUP contested the seat for the first time since 1983, with their candidate Nigel Dodds campaigning heavily on both their opposition to the Good Friday Agreement and Walker's record. Walker also suffered from a disastrous television interview during the campaign. In the election Walker's vote collapsed to a mere 12%, coming fourth whilst Dodds won the seat. The UUP vote fell even further in both the 2003 Assembly election and the 2005 general election and it seems extremely doubtful that they will retake the seat at the next general election. Much of the attention now focuses on the growth of the Sinn Féin vote.

[edit] Westminster elections

[edit] Members of Parliament

The Member of Parliament since the 2001 general election is Nigel Dodds of the Democratic Unionist Party. He defeated Cecil Walker of the Ulster Unionist Party who had sat for the seat since 1983.

Year Member Party
1885 William Ewart Ulster Unionist
1889 Edward James Harland Ulster Unionist
1896 James Horner Haslett Ulster Unionist
1905 Daniel Dixon Ulster Unionist
1907 George Smith Clark Ulster Unionist
1910 Robert Thompson Ulster Unionist
Abolished 1918; revived 1922
1922 T.E. McConnell Ulster Unionist
1929 Thomas Somerset Ulster Unionist
1945 William Frederick Neill Ulster Unionist
1950 H. Montgomery Hyde[1] Ulster Unionist
1959 Stratton Mills Ulster Unionist 1959 - 1972
Conservative (refusing to secede
when the UUP had withdrawn from
the Conservative whip) 1972 - 1973
Alliance 1973 - 1974
1974 John Carson Ulster Unionist
1979 John McQuade Democratic Unionist
1983 Cecil Walker Ulster Unionist
2001 Nigel Dodds Democratic Unionist

[edit] Elections

[edit] Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Belfast North
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Unionist Nigel Dodds 13,935 45.6 +4.8
Sinn Féin Gerry Kelly 8,747 28.6 +3.4
Social Democratic & Labour Alban Maginness 4,950 16.2 -4.8
Ulster Unionist Fred Cobain 2,154 7.1 -4.9
Alliance (NI) Marjorie Hawkins 438 1.4 +1.4
Workers Party Marcella Delaney 165 0.5 -0.1
Rainbow Dream Ticket Lynda Gilby 151 0.5 +0.2
Majority 5,188 17.0
Turnout 30,540 57.8 -9.4
Democratic Unionist hold Swing +0.7
General Election 2001: Belfast North
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Unionist Nigel Dodds 16,718 40.8 0.0
Sinn Féin Gerry Kelly 10,331 25.2 +5.0
Social Democratic & Labour Alban Maginness 8,592 21.0 +0.6
Ulster Unionist Cecil Walker 4,904 12.0 -39.8
Workers Party Marcella Delaney 253 0.6 -0.1
Rainbow Dream Ticket Rainbow George Weiss 134 0.3 N/A
Majority 6,387 15.6
Turnout 40,932 67.2 +3.0
Democratic Unionist gain from Ulster Unionist Swing

[edit] Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Belfast North
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Cecil Walker 21,478 51.8
Social Democratic & Labour Alban Maginness 8,454 20.4
Sinn Féin Jon Kelly 8,375 20.2
Alliance (NI) Tom Campbell 2,221 5.4
Green (NI) P. Emerson 539 1.3
Workers Party P. Treanor 297 0.7
Natural Law A. Gribben 98 0.2
Majority 13,024
Turnout 64.2
Ulster Unionist hold Swing
General Election 1992: Belfast North
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Cecil Walker 17,240 48.0
Social Democratic & Labour Alban Maginness 7,615 21.2
Sinn Féin Paddy McManus 4,693 13.1
Alliance (NI) Tom Campbell 2,246 6.3
Conservative Margaret Redpath 2,107 5.9
New Agenda S. Lynch 1,386 3.9
Workers Party M. Smith 419 1.2
Natural Law D. O'Leary 208 0.6
Majority 9,625
Turnout 65.2
Ulster Unionist hold Swing

[edit] Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Belfast North
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Cecil Walker 14,355 39.0
Social Democratic & Labour Alban Maginness 5,795 15.7
Protestant Unionist George Seawright 5,671 15.4
Sinn Féin Paddy McManus 5,062 13.8
Workers Party Seamus Lynch 3,062 8.3
Alliance (NI) Tom Campbell 2,871 7.8
Majority 8,560 23.3
Turnout 62.3
Ulster Unionist hold Swing
Belfast North by-election, 1986
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Cecil Walker 21,649
Alliance (NI) Paul Maguire 5,072
Workers Party Seamus Lynch 3,563
Majority 16,577
Turnout
Ulster Unionist hold Swing
General Election 1983: Belfast North
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Cecil Walker 15,339 36.2
Democratic Unionist George Seawright 8,260 19.5
Social Democratic & Labour B. Feeny 5,944 14.0
Sinn Féin J. Austin 5,451 12.9
Alliance (NI) P. Maguire 3,879 9.1
Workers Party Seamus Lynch 2,412 5.7
Independent DUP William Gault 1,134 2.7
Majority 7,079 16.7
Turnout 69.4
Ulster Unionist gain from Democratic Unionist Swing

[edit] Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1979: Belfast North
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Unionist Johnny McQuade 11,690 27.6
Ulster Unionist Cecil Walker 10,695 25.3
Social Democratic & Labour Paschal O'Hare 7,823 18.5
Unionist Party NI Anne Dickson 4,220 10.0
Alliance (NI) John Cushnahan 4,120 9.7
Republican Clubs Seamus Lynch 1,907 4.5
Labour (NI) Alan Carr 1,889 4.4
Majority 995 2.4
Turnout 42,344 65.1
Democratic Unionist gain from Ulster Unionist Swing
General Election October 1974: Belfast North
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist John Carson 29,662 62.6
Social Democratic & Labour Thomas Donnelly 11,400 24.1
Alliance (NI) John Ferguson 3,807 8.1
Labour (NI) William Boyd 2,481 5.2
Majority 18,222 38.5
Turnout 47,670 65.9
Ulster Unionist hold Swing
General Election February 1974: Belfast North
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist John Carson 21,531 43.7
Pro-Assembly Unionist David Smyth 12,755 25.9
Social Democratic & Labour Thomas Donnelly 12,003 24.4
Labour (NI) S. Scott 2,917 5.9
Majority 8,776 17.8
Turnout 68.2
Ulster Unionist hold Swing
General Election 1970: Belfast North
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Stratton Mills 28,668 48.5
Labour (NI) John Sharkey 18,894 31.9
Protestant Unionist William Beattie 11,173 18.8
Independent Unionist John McKeague 441 0.8
Majority 9,774 16.5
Turnout 59,176 78.0
Ulster Unionist hold Swing

[edit] Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1966: Belfast North
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Stratton Mills 26,891 57.4
Labour (NI) David Overend 19,927 42.6
Majority 6,964 14.9
Turnout 46,818 65.5
Ulster Unionist hold Swing
General Election 1964: Belfast North
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Stratton Mills 29,976 59.6
Labour (NI) John McDowell 17,564 34.9
Independent Republican Francis McGlade 2,743 5.5
Majority 12,412 24.7
Turnout 50,283 69.5
Ulster Unionist hold Swing

[edit] Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1959: Belfast North
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Stratton Mills 32,173 60.7
Labour (NI) John McDowell 18,640 35.2
Sinn Féin Francis McGlade 2,156 4.1
Majority 13,533 25.6
Turnout 52,969 71.1
Ulster Unionist hold Swing
General Election 1951: Belfast North
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Harford Hyde 34,995 60.7
Labour (NI) James Morrow 22,685 39.3
Majority 12,310 21.3
Turnout 57,680 75.7
Ulster Unionist hold Swing
General Election 1950: Belfast North
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Harford Hyde 36,412 64.4
Labour (NI) William Leeburn 20,146 35.6
Majority 16,266 28.8
Turnout 56,558 74.9
Ulster Unionist hold Swing

[edit] Elections in the 1940s

General Election 1945: Belfast North
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist William Neill 25,761 55.3
Labour (NI) William Leeburn 20,845 44.7
Majority 4,916 10.6
Turnout 46,606 63.6
Ulster Unionist hold Swing

[edit] Elections in the 1930s

[edit] Elections in the 1920s

General Election 1929: Belfast North
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Thomas Somerset 27,812 62.1
Independent Unionist Thomas Henderson 10,909 24.4
Independent David Wilson 6,059 13.5
Majority 16,903 37.8
Turnout 44,780 72.9
Ulster Unionist hold Swing
General Election 1924: Belfast North
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Thomas McConnell 34,182 96.6
Sinn Féin Hugh Corvin 1,192 3.4
Majority 32,990 93.3
Turnout 35,374 75.4
Ulster Unionist hold Swing
General Election 1923: Belfast North
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Thomas McConnell 16,771 52.5
Independent Unionist Thomas Henderson 15,171 47.5
Majority 1,600 5.0
Turnout 31,942 68.2
Ulster Unionist hold Swing
In the 1922 UK general election, Thomas McConnell was elected unopposed.

[edit] Assemblies and Forum elections

The six MLAs for the constituency elected in the 2003 election are:

In the 1998 election the six MLAs elected were:

Changes 1998-2003

In the 1996 election to the Northern Ireland Peace Forum, 5 Forum members were elected from North Belfast. They were as follows:

In 1982 elections were held for an Assembly for Northern Ireland to hold the Secretary of State to account, in the hope that this would be the first step towards restoring devolution. North Blefast elected 5 members as follows:

In 1975 elections were held to a Constitutional Convention which sought (unsuccessfully) to generate a consensus on the future of the province. The six members elected from North Belfast were:

In 1973 elections were held to the Assembly set up under the Sunningdale Agreement. The six members elected from North Belfast were:

[edit] Sources

[edit] See also

Constituencies in Northern Ireland
DUP

Belfast East | Belfast North | East Antrim | East Londonderry | Lagan Valley | North Antrim | South Antrim | Strangford | Upper Bann
Sinn Féin

Belfast West | Fermanagh and South Tyrone | Mid Ulster | Newry and Armagh | West Tyrone
SDLP

Belfast South | Foyle | South Down
UUP

North Down
Northern Ireland European constituency: DUP (1) | Sinn Féin (1) | UUP (1)
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