Armagh by-election, 1954

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The Armagh by-election was held on 20 November 1954, following the resignation of Ulster Unionist Party Member of Parliament James Harden.

Ulster Unionist Party Political party in Northern Ireland

The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. Having gathered support in Northern Ireland during the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, the party governed Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972. It was supported by most unionist voters throughout the conflict known as the Troubles, during which time it was often referred to as the Official Unionist Party (OUP). Between 1905 and 1972 its MPs took the Conservative whip at Westminster, considered as part of the Conservative Party.

Contents

Harden had held the seat of Armagh since a by-election in 1948, and had not faced a contest since then. The seat had been held continually by Ulster Unionists since its recreation for the 1922 general election.

Armagh or County Armagh was a parliamentary constituency in the House of Commons. It was replaced in boundary changes in 1983.

Candidates

The Ulster Unionists stood C. W. Armstrong, the son of former Mid Armagh MP Henry Bruce Armstrong. He had served in the British Army and been involved in the oil industry in Burma, serving from 1940 to 1942 in that country's House of Representatives. [1]

Colonel Christopher Wyborne Armstrong was a politician from Northern Ireland. He was Ulster Unionist Member of Parliament for Armagh from a by-election in 1954 until he stood down at the 1959 general election.

Mid Armagh was a constituency in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was created by the Redistribution of Seats Act for the 1885 general election and returned one Member of Parliament (MP) until it was abolished with effect from the 1922 general election.

The two main opposition groups, the Northern Ireland Labour Party and the Nationalist Party, had both fared poorly at the Northern Ireland general election, 1953, and decided not to contest the by-election.

The Northern Ireland Labour Party (NILP) was a political party in Northern Ireland which operated from 1924 until 1987.

The Nationalist Party was the continuation of the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP), and was formed after partition, by the Northern Ireland-based members of the IPP.

Result

With only one candidate for the seat, Armstrong was declared elected unopposed. [2] This was the last unopposed election in any Westminster seat. Armstrong held the seat until the 1959 general election, when he stood down. [3]

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References

  1. ↑ Person Page - 26380, thePeerage.com
  2. ↑ "1954 By Election Results". Archived from the original on 2012-02-04. Retrieved 2015-08-14.
  3. ↑ Armagh 1950-1970, Northern Ireland Elections
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