North Antrim (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)

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North Antrim was a constituency of the Northern Ireland House of Commons.

The House of Commons (Method of Voting and Redistribution of Seats) Act (Northern Ireland), 1929 introduced first past the post elections for 48 single-member constituencies (including Antrim North).

This constituency was one of seven county divisions in Antrim, so it was smaller than the UK Parliament seat. From 1969 there were nine county divisions in Antrim, but the changes in the vicinity of Belfast did not affect the boundaries of this division.

It comprised (in terms of local government units existing in 1929) parts of the Rural Districts of Ballycastle and Ballymoney together with the whole of the Urban Districts of Ballycastle, Ballymoney and Portrush.

It returned one member of Parliament from 1929 until the Northern Ireland Parliament was prorogued in 1972 and formally abolished 1973.

The area was represented in the Northern Ireland Assembly under the Sunningdale Agreement, as part of a larger Antrim North, corresponding to the 1974-1983 UK Parliament constituency (which was one of two divisions of Antrim).

1 Politics
2 Members of Parliament
3 Elections
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Politics

County Antrim (except for parts of Belfast) is a strongly unionist area. There has never been the slightest chance of a republican or nationalist candidate being elected in a single-member Antrim county constituency, however the boundaries were drawn. Antrim North has not been an exception.

At the Northern Ireland general election of 1929 the new Antrim North division was the scene of a reasonably close Unionist/Liberal contest (less than a 20% majority). However this was the last appearance of a Liberal candidate for the Northern Ireland Parliament constituency, which became an extremely safe Unionist seat for the rest of its existence.

[edit] Members of Parliament

Year		Name
1929	Ulster Unionist	Robert John Lynn
1945	Ulster Unionist	William Victor McCleery
1958	Ulster Unionist	Phelim O'Neill

Note: After the prorogation of the Parliament in 1972, O'Neill joined the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland.

[edit] Elections

The elections in this constituency took place using the first past the post electoral system.

General Election 22 May 1929: Antrim North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ulster Unionist	Robert John Lynn	6,584	59.76	N/A
	Liberal	R. N. Boyd	4,433	40.24	N/A
Majority			2,151	19.52	N/A
Turnout			17,591	62.63	N/A
	Ulster Unionist gain from new seat		Swing	N/A

General Election 30 November 1933: Antrim North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ulster Unionist	Robert John Lynn	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Ulster Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 9 February 1938: Antrim North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ulster Unionist	Robert John Lynn	8,194	64.67	N/A
	Progressive Unionist	R. N. Boyd	4,477	35.33	N/A
Majority			3,717	29.33	N/A
Turnout			18,221	69.54	N/A
	Ulster Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 14 June 1945: Antrim North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ulster Unionist	Robert John Lynn	9,264	73.47	+8.80
	Labour (NI)	A. Stewart	3,345	26.53	+26.53
Majority			5,919	46.94	+17.61
Turnout			19,304	65.32	-4.22
	Ulster Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

Death of Lynn

North Antrim by-election, 1945
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ulster Unionist	William Victor McCleery	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Ulster Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 10 February 1949: Antrim North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ulster Unionist	William Victor McCleery	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Ulster Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 22 October 1953: Antrim North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ulster Unionist	William Victor McCleery	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Ulster Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

Seat vacant on dissolution (death of McCleery)

General Election 20 March 1958: Antrim North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ulster Unionist	Phelim O'Neill	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Ulster Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 31 May 1962: Antrim North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ulster Unionist	Phelim O'Neill	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Ulster Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 25 November 1965: Antrim North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ulster Unionist	Phelim O'Neill	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Ulster Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 24 February 1969: Antrim North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ulster Unionist	Phelim O'Neill	9,142	73.83	N/A
	Protestant Unionist	J. Wylie	3,241	26.17	N/A
Majority			5,901	47.65	N/A
Turnout			19,611	63.14	N/A
	Ulster Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

Parliament prorogued 30 March 1972 and abolished 18 July 1973

[edit] References

Northern Ireland Parliamentary Election Results 1921-1972, compiled and edited by Sydney Elliott (Political Reference Publications 1973)

[edit] External links

http://www.oireachtas.ie/members-hist/default.asp?housetype=0
http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/en.toc.dail.html
For more information about the Northern Ireland House of Commons see http://www.election.demon.co.uk/stormont/stormont.html

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