Belfast West by-election, 2011

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Belfast West by-election, 2011
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The Belfast West seat in the House of Commons.
Elected by simple majority using first past the post. Triggered by resignation of incumbent

  First party Second party
  Paul Maskey.jpg Alex Attwood 2015.jpg
Candidate Paul Maskey Alex Attwood
Party Sinn Féin SDLP
Popular vote16,211 3,088
Percentage70.6% 13.5%
SwingDecrease2.svg0.5%Decrease2.svg2.9%
  Third party Fourth party
  Gerry Carroll 2016.jpg No image wide.svg
Candidate Gerry Carroll Brian Kingston
Party People Before Profit DUP
Popular vote 1,751 1,393
Percentage 7.6% 6.1%
SwingNew partyDecrease2.svg1.5%

BelfastWestConstituency.svg

Map showing the Belfast West Parliamentary constituency within the Northern Ireland.
MP before election

Gerry Adams
Sinn Féin

Subsequent MP

Paul Maskey
Sinn Féin

The Belfast West by-election, 2011 was a by-election for the United Kingdom constituency of Belfast West following the resignation of the constituency's Member of Parliament, Gerry Adams [1] in advance of his candidacy in the 2011 general election in the Republic of Ireland. A writ for a by-election was moved in the House of Commons on 16 May 2011, and the vote took place on 9 June 2011. [2]

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

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

Belfast West is a parliamentary constituency (seat) in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It has won by Paul Maskey of Sinn Féin since 2011. In 2017 it ranked the most secure of Northern Ireland's 18 seats by percentage and/or numerical tally of its winning majority, followed by North Down and by North Antrim respectively.

Members of Parliament (MPs) sitting in the House of Commons in the United Kingdom are technically not permitted to resign their seats. To circumvent this prohibition, MPs who wish to resign can ask to be appointed to an "office of profit under the Crown", disqualifying them from sitting as MPs. While offices of profit are no longer disqualifying in general, various offices that no longer have duties associated with them still cause disqualification from and vacation of the seat.

Contents

Background

Gerry Adams had held Belfast West for Sinn Féin from 1983 to 1992, and continuously since 1997. [3] At the 1992 UK general election and in the 1974 and 1979 elections, the seat was won instead by the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), an Irish nationalist party, but by the 2010 general election, they were a long way behind Adams, the seat being the safest in Northern Ireland and the fourth safest anywhere in the UK. [4] A constituency of the same name, with boundaries identical to the Westminster constituency which existed before the 2010 election, was contested at the 2007 Northern Ireland Assembly election, using the single transferable vote method of election. Sinn Féin candidates won five of the six seats and the SDLP the other. [5]

Sinn Féin is a left-wing Irish republican political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Social Democratic and Labour Party Political party in Northern Ireland

The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) is a social-democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has 12 MLAs in the Northern Ireland Assembly. It has no elected representatives in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom having lost its three remaining Parliamentary seats in the 2017 general election.

In 2010, the two main unionist parties, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), both stood candidates in the seat, but took only 10.7% of the vote between them. The DUP did hold one of the six Assembly seats until 2007. [6] Although the UUP have not held their deposit in recent years, they held the Parliamentary seat until 1966. [7]

Democratic Unionist Party Political unionist party of Northern Ireland

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. Ian Paisley founded the DUP in 1971, during the Troubles, and led the party for the next 37 years. Now led by Arlene Foster, it is the party with the most seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the sixth-largest party in the House of Commons. Following the 2017 general election, the party agreed to support a Conservative minority government on a case-by-case basis on matters of mutual concern.

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.

Vacation of the seat

Members of the House of Commons, whether or not they have taken their seats, cannot resign in form, but a legal fiction has grown up to allow Members to resign in effect. Under Section 4 of the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975, if an MP wishes to vacate their seat, they can request appointment to either of two 'offices of profit under the Crown' which disqualify them from membership. As an Irish republican, Gerry Adams considered a British Crown appointment politically unacceptable, and therefore submitted a letter resigning his seat to the Speaker of the House of Commons on 20 January 2011; [8] he maintained that by doing so he had simply resigned. [9] Notwithstanding that he had not requested it, Adams was on 26 January appointed as Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead, a Treasury spokesperson explaining that this appointment had been made "consistent with long-standing precedent". [8] Although David Cameron said during Prime Minister's Questions that Adams had "accepted an office for profit under the Crown", Adams denied this and received an apology from the Prime Minister's Office for not informing him of the procedure and for stating that he had applied for the "post". [10]

A legal fiction is a fact assumed or created by courts which is then used in order to help reach a decision or to apply a legal rule. The concept is used almost exclusively in common law jurisdictions, particularly in England.

House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975

The House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that prohibits certain categories of people from becoming members of the House of Commons. It was an updated version of similar older acts, including the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1957.

Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom) presiding officer of the United Kingdoms lower chamber of Parliament

The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the United Kingdom's lower chamber of Parliament. The office is currently held by John Bercow, who was initially elected on 22 June 2009, following the resignation of Michael Martin. He has since been re-elected (unopposed) three times, following the general elections in 2010, 2015 and 2017.

Calling the by-election

In order for a by-election to take place, an MP makes a motion in the House of Commons to the Speaker to issue a warrant to the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery, who then issues the writ ordering that the election take place. Traditionally, the MP comes from the same party as the member that has stood down. [11] However, because Sinn Féin MPs do not take their seats in the Commons, the writ was moved by the Government Chief Whip, Conservative Patrick McLoughlin MP on 16 May 2011. [12]

In the Government of the United Kingdom, the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery is a senior civil servant who is the head of the Crown Office.

Conservative Party (UK) Political party in the United Kingdom

The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom. Presently led by Theresa May, it has been the governing party since 2010. It presently has 314 Members of Parliament in the House of Commons, 249 members of the House of Lords, and 18 members of the European Parliament. It also has 31 Members of the Scottish Parliament, 12 members of the Welsh Assembly, eight members of the London Assembly and 9,008 local councillors. One of the major parties of UK politics, it has formed the government on 45 occasions, more than any other party.

Patrick McLoughlin British Conservative Party politician

Sir Patrick Allen McLoughlin is a British Conservative politician. He first became a member of parliament (MP) at the 1986 by-election in West Derbyshire. The constituency became the Derbyshire Dales for the 2010 general election; McLoughlin has remained the seat's MP. As a former miner, he is one of the few Conservative MPs to have been a manual worker before being elected to Parliament. On 4 September 2012, he was appointed Secretary of State for Transport. On 14 July 2016, he became Chairman of the Conservative Party and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, under the new administration of Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May. He resigned as chairman on 8 January 2018.

Candidates

Alex Attwood, the Environment Minister in the Northern Ireland Executive, and the Social Democratic and Labour Party's candidate for the seat at the 2010 general election was the SDLP candidate for the by-election. [13]

Alex Attwood Northern Irish politician

Alex Attwood is an Irish politician, who served as Minister for Environment in the Northern Ireland Executive. He is a member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party and formerly represented Belfast West in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Department of the Environment (Northern Ireland) Northern Irish government department

The Department of the Environment was a devolved Northern Irish government department in the Northern Ireland Executive. The minister with overall responsibility for the department was the Minister for the Environment.

The Northern Ireland Executive is the devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branch of the legislature Northern Ireland Assembly. It is answerable to the Assembly and was established according to the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, which followed the Good Friday Agreement. The executive is referred to in the legislation as the Executive Committee of the Assembly and is an example of a consociationalist government.

Brian Kingston was the Democratic Unionist Party candidate. [14]

Paul Maskey, a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly, won the Sinn Féin nomination. [15] Danny Morrison, the former publicity director of Sinn Féin, had suggested that the party should stand aside and instead back a candidacy for former Respect Party MP George Galloway. [16]

Results

By-election

Belfast West by-election, 2011 [17] [18]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Sinn Féin Paul Maskey 16,211 70.6 −0.5
SDLP Alex Attwood 3,088 13.5 −2.9
People Before Profit Gerry Carroll 1,751 7.6N/A
DUP Brian Kingston 1,393 6.1 −1.5
UUP Bill Manwaring 386 1.7 −1.4
Alliance Aaron McIntyre 122 0.5 −1.4
Majority 13,123 57.1 +2.4
Turnout 22,951 37.5 −16.5
Registered electors 61,441
Sinn Féin hold Swing +1.2

Previous General Election

General Election 2010: Belfast West [19]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Sinn Féin Gerry Adams 22,840 71.1 +2.5
SDLP Alex Attwood 5,261 16.4 +0.3
DUP William Humphrey 2,436 7.6 −3.3
UCU-NF Bill Manwaring 1,000 3.1 +0.6
Alliance Maíre Hendron 596 1.9 +1.8
Majority 17,579 54.7 −1.2
Turnout 32,133 54.0 −13.5
Registered electors 59,522
Sinn Féin hold Swing +1.1

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Manor of Northstead". HM Treasury. 26 January 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  2. ↑ "Notice of election" (PDF). Belfast Area Electoral Office. 19 May 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
  3. ↑ Gerry Adams resigns as West Belfast MP BBC News
  4. ↑ "Constituencies in order of % Majority after the 2010 General Election". Politicsresources.net. 13 January 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
  5. ↑ West Belfast 2007, Northern Ireland Elections
  6. ↑ West Belfast, Northern Ireland Elections
  7. ↑ West Belfast 1950-1970, Northern Ireland Elections
  8. 1 2 "Adams 'becomes baron'". The Irish Times . 26 January 2011. Archived from the original on 27 January 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  9. ↑ Adams comments on Cameron claims Sinnfein.ie
  10. ↑ "Downing Street apology for Gerry Adams". BBC Online . 26 January 2011. Archived from the original on 1 February 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  11. ↑ "Microsoft Word - M07 - Parliamentary Elections.doc" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-28.
  12. ↑ "Go-ahead given for Belfast poll - Northern Ireland, Local & National". Belfasttelegraph.co.uk. 2011-05-16. Retrieved 2011-05-28.
  13. ↑ "(Andersonstown News) - The Candidate". Belfast Media. 2011-03-24. Retrieved 2011-05-28.
  14. ↑ - DUP Nomination for West Belfast by-election, 24 May 2011
  15. ↑ "Paul Maskey 'wants to run for West Belfast'". Bbc.co.uk. 2011-05-11. Archived from the original on 12 May 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-28.
  16. ↑ Martina Purdy, "Galloway to run for West Belfast?", BBC News , 21 January 2011
  17. ↑ Sinn Fein's Paul Maskey wins West Belfast by-election, BBC News, 10 June 2011
  18. ↑ Northern Ireland Elections, Northern Ireland Elections, 6 May 2018
  19. ↑ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
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