Belfast South by-election, 1952

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The Belfast South by-election, 1952 was held following the resignation of Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Member of Parliament, Hugh Gage. [1]

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

History

Belfast South had consistently elected UUP members since its recreation in 1922, and no Irish nationalist had even stood in the seat in that period. The opposition came from the labour movement. Gage had first won the seat at the 1945 general election, but he faced opponents from both the Commonwealth Labour Party (CWLP) and the Northern Ireland Labour Party (NILP), who, between them, had taken 48% of the vote. The CWLP had merged with the UUP in 1947, so by the 1950 general election, Gage was able to take three-quarters of the vote, the rest going to a NILP opponent. The vote shares barely changed at the 1951 general election. [1]

Belfast South (UK Parliament constituency) Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom

Belfast South is a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons. It has been represented since 2017 by Emma Little-Pengelly of the Democratic Unionist Party.

The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings, the trade union movement or labor union movement, also called trade unionism or labor unionism on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other.

Candidates

The UUP selected David Campbell, while the NILP opted to stand their party secretary, Sam Napier. Napier had stood for the Northern Ireland House of Commons twice, for North Down in 1949 and for the Queen's University of Belfast in 1953. [1]

North Down was a constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland.

Queens University of Belfast (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency) Northern Ireland parliament constituency

Queen's University of Belfast was a university constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland from 1921 until 1969. It returned four MPs, using proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote. In 1969 the constituency was abolished by the under reforms carried out by the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland Terence O'Neill.

Result

The by-election was held on 4 November 1952. Campbell easily won the seat, taking more than three-quarters of the votes, in a near repeat of the result of the two previous general elections. He held the seat until his death in 1963. [1]

By-elections, also spelled bye-elections, are used to fill elected offices that have become vacant between general elections.

Belfast South by-election, 1952 [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
UUP David Campbell 23,067 75.1 -0.7
NI Labour Samuel Napier7,65524.9+0.7
Majority15,41250.2-1.4
Turnout 30,72246.4-27.4
Registered electors 65,196
UUP hold Swing

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 South Belfast 1950-1970, Northern Ireland Elections
  2. ↑ "1952 By Election Results". Archived from the original on 2012-02-25. Retrieved 2015-08-13.
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