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12 seats in Northern Ireland of the 630 seats in the House of Commons | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1955 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland was held on 26 May as part of the wider general election with 12 MPs elected in single-seat constituencies using first-past-the-post.
This was the first election to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom since the creation of Northern Ireland in 1921 where all constituencies in the region were contested
The Ulster Unionists regained the seat which they had lost to Jack Beattie from the Irish Labour Party. The nationalist interest was represented by Sinn Féin who gained the two seats previously held by the Nationalist Party. Patricia McLaughlin was the first woman elected as an MP for a Northern Ireland constituency.
In the election as a whole, the Conservative Party, which included the Ulster Unionists, led by Sir Anthony Eden as Prime Minister, continued in a majority government.
| Party | MPs | Change | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ulster Unionist | 10 |  2 | 442,647 | 68.5% | |
| Sinn Féin | 2 | 2 | 152,310 | 23.6% | |
| NI Labour | 0 |  | 35,614 | 5.5% | |
| Irish Labour | 0 |  1 | 16,050 | 2.5% | |
| Total | 12 | | 646,621 | 100 | |
| By-election | Date | Incumbent | Party | Winner | Party | Cause | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mid Ulster | 11 August 1955 [by 1] | Tom Mitchell | Sinn Féin | Tom Mitchell | Sinn Féin | Disqualification | ||
| Mid Ulster | 8 May 1956 [by 1] | Charles Beattie | Ulster Unionist | George Forrest | Ind. Unionist | Disqualification | ||
| Belfast East | 19 March 1959 | Alan McKibbin | Ulster Unionist | Stanley McMaster | Ulster Unionist | Death | ||
The 1918 Irish general election was the part of the 1918 United Kingdom general election which took place in Ireland. It is a key moment in modern Irish history because it saw the overwhelming defeat of the moderate nationalist Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP), which had dominated the Irish political landscape since the 1880s, and a landslide victory for the radical Sinn Féin party. Sinn Féin had never previously stood in a general election, but had won six seats in by-elections in 1917–18. The party had vowed in its manifesto to establish an independent Irish Republic. In Ulster, however, the Unionist Party was the most successful party.
Mid Ulster is a parliamentary constituency in the UK House of Commons. The current MP is Francie Molloy of Sinn Féin.
Fermanagh and South Tyrone is a parliamentary constituency in the British House of Commons. The current MP is Michelle Gildernew of Sinn Féin.
Belfast North is a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons. The current MP is John Finucane of Sinn Féin.
North Down is a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons. The current MP is Stephen Farry of the Alliance Party. Farry was elected to the position in the 2019 general election, replacing the incumbent Sylvia Hermon. Hermon had held the position since being elected to it in the 2001 general election, but chose not to contest in 2019.
Thomas James Mitchell was an Irish republican. He was active in the Irish Republican Army and took part in a raid on Omagh barracks in 1954, being captured and imprisoned. While in jail he was twice elected as a Member of the United Kingdom Parliament, but was disqualified and his elections overturned.
The by-election held in Mid Ulster on 11 August 1955 was called as a result of a vote in the British parliament on 18 July 1955 which voted 197 votes to 63 to nullify the result of the previous 1955 UK General Election in the constituency. At that election, Sinn Féin candidate Tom Mitchell took the seat.
Michael O'Neill was an Irish politician in the United Kingdom.
The 1982 Northern Ireland Assembly elections were held on 20 October 1982 in an attempt to re-establish devolution and power-sharing in Northern Ireland. Although the Northern Ireland Assembly officially lasted until 1986 it met infrequently and achieved very little.
The 1986 Northern Ireland by-elections were fifteen by-elections held on 23 January 1986, to fill vacancies in the Parliament of the United Kingdom caused by the resignation in December 1985 of all sitting Unionist Members of Parliament (MPs). The MPs, from the Ulster Unionist Party, Democratic Unionist Party and Ulster Popular Unionist Party, did this to highlight their opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement, signed the month before.
Charles Beattie was a Northern Irish farmer and auctioneer. Active in the Ulster Farmers' Union and in Unionist associations, he achieved senior office in the Orange Order and the Royal Black Institution and served on Omagh Rural District Council from 1952 until his death. He is principally known for an exceptionally brief career as a Member of the United Kingdom Parliament representing Mid Ulster; he did not win an election, but was declared elected when his opponent was disqualified. However, a few weeks after he took his seat, he was discovered to be holding an "office of profit under the Crown" which disqualified him.
The Mid Ulster by-election was held on 17 April 1969 following the death of George Forrest, the Ulster Unionist Party Member of Parliament for Mid Ulster. The two-way contest was unusual in featuring two female candidates.
The 1924 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland was held on 29 October as part of the wider general election in the United Kingdom. There were ten constituencies, seven single-seat constituencies with elected by FPTP and three two-seat constituencies with MPs elected by bloc voting.
The 1929 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland was held on 30 May as part of the wider general election. There were ten constituencies, seven single-seat constituencies with elected by FPTP and three two-seat constituencies with MPs elected by bloc voting.
The 1951 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland was held on 25 October as part of the wider general election with 12 MPs elected in single-seat constituencies using first-past-the-post.
The 1959 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland was held on 8 October with 12 MPs elected in single-seat constituencies using first-past-the-post as part of the wider general election in the United Kingdom.
The 1970 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland was held on 31 March with 12 MPs elected in single-seat constituencies using first-past-the-post as part of the wider general election in the United Kingdom. It was the first general election held after the Representation of the People Act 1969 which reduced the voting age from 21 to 18.
The February 1974 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland was held on 28 February with 12 MPs elected in single-seat constituencies using first-past-the-post as part of the wider general election in the United Kingdom.
The 1979 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland was held on 3 May with 12 MPs elected in single-seat constituencies using first-past-the-post as part of the wider general election in the United Kingdom.
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