1966 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland

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1966 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland
Ulster Banner.svg
  1964 31 March 1966 1970  

12 seats in Northern Ireland of the 630 seats in the House of Commons
 First partySecond party
 
Leader Terence O'Neill Gerry Fitt
Party Ulster Unionist Republican Labour
Leader since19631964
Leader's seatDid not stand [fn 1] Belfast West
Seats won111
Seat changeDecrease2.svg 1Increase2.svg 1
Popular vote368,62926,292
Percentage61.8%4.4%
SwingDecrease2.svg1.4%Increase2.svg2.1%

The 1966 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.

Contents

Results

The Ulster Unionists lost one seat to Gerry Fitt, leader of the new Republican Labour Party.

In the election as a whole, the Labour Party increased their majority and Harold Wilson continued as Prime Minister. The Conservative Party, which included the Ulster Unionists, were now led by Edward Heath.

Results [1] [2]
PartyMPsVotes
No.ChangeNo.%Change
Ulster Unionist 11Decrease2.svg 1368,62961.8%Decrease2.svg 1.4
Republican Labour 1Increase2.svg 126,2924.4%Increase2.svg 2.1
NI Labour 0Steady2.svg72,61312.2%Decrease2.svg 3.9
Independent Republican 0Steady2.svg62,78210.5%Decrease2.svg 5.4
Ulster Liberal 0Steady2.svg29,1094.9%Increase2.svg 2.2
Unity 0Steady2.svg14,6452.5%Increase2.svg 2.5
Total12Steady2.svg596,237100Steady2.svg

MPs elected

ConstituencyPartyMP
Antrim North Ulster Unionist Henry Clark
Antrim South Ulster Unionist Knox Cunningham
Armagh Ulster Unionist John Maginnis
Belfast East Ulster Unionist Stanley McMaster
Belfast North Ulster Unionist Stratton Mills
Belfast South Ulster Unionist Rafton Pounder
Belfast West Republican Labour Gerry Fitt
Down North Ulster Unionist George Currie
Down South Ulster Unionist Lawrence Orr
Fermanagh and South Tyrone Ulster Unionist Marquess of Abercorn
Londonderry Ulster Unionist Robin Chichester-Clark
Mid Ulster Ulster Unionist George Forrest

By-elections

By-electionDateIncumbentPartyWinnerPartyCause
Mid Ulster 17 April 1969 George Forrest Ulster Unionist Bernadette Devlin Unity Death

Footnotes

  1. O'Neill sat as the MP for Bannside in the Northern Ireland Parliament.

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References

  1. "Elections to the United Kingdom Parliament held in Northern Ireland: General Election 1966". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 20 January 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  2. "The 1966 Westminster Elections in Northern Ireland". ARK: Northern Ireland Elections. Archived from the original on 23 October 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2019.