Elections in Northern Ireland

Last updated

Elections in Northern Ireland are held on a regular basis to local councils, the Northern Ireland Assembly and to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Contents

The Northern Ireland Assembly has 90 members, elected in 18 five-member constituencies by the single transferable vote (STV) method. [1] Northern Ireland is represented at Westminster by 18 single-member constituencies elected by the first-past-the-post method.

Unlike in the rest of the United Kingdom, elections in Northern Ireland are administered centrally by the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland and the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland rather than by local authorities.

Elections to the United Kingdom House of Commons

Legend
U: Unionist; N: Nationalist; O: Other.
Results over time(Northern Irish seats for parliament)
Election SF (N) DUP (U) UUP (U) SDLP (N) APNI (O) TUV (U) UKUP (U) UPUP (U) UUUP (U) VUPP (U) RLP (N) PUP (U) Unity (N) NP (N) Lab (O) Ind U Ind N Ind Lab Total Total U Total N Total O
1922 11213112
1923 11213112
1924 131313
1929 11213112
1931 11213112
1935 11213112
1945 9211131021
1950 10212102
1951 92112921
1955 21012102
1959 121212
1964 121212
1966 11112111
1970 81121293
Feb. 1974 171312111
Oct. 1974 1613112102
1979 35111112102
1983 13111117152
1987 1393117134
1992 394117134
1997 22103118135
2001 456318117
2005 591318108
2010 5831118981
2015 4823118117
2017 710118117
2019 782118891
2024 751211118891

By-elections

Gains are marked with a grey background.

ConstituencyDateIncumbentPartyWinnerPartyCause
Mid Armagh 23 June 1921 James Lonsdale UUP Henry Armstrong UUP Death
Belfast Duncairn 23 June 1921 Edward Carson UUP Thomas McConnell UUP Appointed Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
North Down 23 June 1921 Thomas Watters Brown UUP Thomas Watters Brown UUP Appointed Solicitor-General for Ireland
Mid Down 2 July 1921 James Craig UUP Robert Sharman-Crawford UUP Elected Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
West Down 5 July 1921 Daniel Martin Wilson UUP Thomas Browne Wallace UUP Appointed Recorder of Belfast
South Londonderry 29 August 1921 Denis Henry UUP Robert Chichester UUP Appointed Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland
South Londonderry 18 January 1922 Robert Chichester UUP William Pain UUP Death
West Down 17 February 1922 Thomas Browne Wallace UUP Hugh Hayes UUP Appointed Chief Clerk to the High Court of Northern Ireland
North Down 21 February 1922 Thomas Watters Brown UUP Sir Henry Wilson, Bt UUP Appointed to the High Court of Northern Ireland
North Londonderry 4 June 1922 Hugh T. Barrie UUP Malcolm Macnaghten UUP Death
North Down 21 July 1922 Sir Henry Wilson, Bt UUP John Simms UUP Killed by the IRA
Londonderry 29 January 1929 Malcolm Macnaghten UUP Ronald Ross UUP Appointment to High Court of Justice of England and Wales
Fermanagh and Tyrone 7 March 1931 Thomas Harbison Nationalist Cahir Healy Nationalist Death
Fermanagh and Tyrone 27 June 1934 Joseph Devlin Nationalist Joe Stewart Nationalist Death
Down 10 May 1939 David Reid UUP James Little UUP Death
Belfast East 8 February 1940 Herbert Dixon UUP Henry Harland UUP Elevation to the Peerage
Queen's University of Belfast 2 November 1940 Thomas Sinclair UUP Douglas Savory UUP Resignation
Belfast West 9 February 1943 Alexander Browne UUP Jack Beattie NI Labour Death
Antrim 11 February 1943 Sir Joseph McConnell, Bt UUP John Dermot Campbell UUP Death
Down 2 June 1946 James Little Ind. Unionist C. H. Mullan UUP Death
Armagh 5 March 1948 Sir William Allen UUP James Harden UUP Death by road accident
Belfast West 29 November 1950 J. G. MacManaway UUP Thomas Teevan UUP Disqualified under the House of Commons (Clergy Disqualification) Act 1801
Londonderry 19 May 1951 Ronald Ross UUP William Wellwood UUP Appointment as Northern Ireland Government Agent in London
North Antrim 27 October 1952 Sir Hugh O'Neill UUP Phelim O'Neill UUP Resignation
Belfast South 4 November 1952 Conolly Gage UUP David Campbell UUP Resignation
North Down 15 April 1953 Walter Smiles UUP Patricia Ford UUP Died in MV Princess Victoria ferry disaster
Armagh 20 November 1954 James Harden UUP C. W. Armstrong UUP Resignation
Mid Ulster 11 August 1955 Tom Mitchell Sinn Féin Tom Mitchell Sinn Féin Disqualification
Mid Ulster 8 May 1956 Charles Beattie UUP George Forrest Ind. Unionist Disqualification
Belfast East 19 March 1959 Alan McKibbin UUP Stanley McMaster UUP Death
Belfast South 22 October 1963 Sir David Campbell UUP Rafton Pounder UUP Death
Mid Ulster 17 April 1969 George Forrest UUP Bernadette Devlin Unity Death
Fermanagh and South Tyrone 9 April 1981 Frank Maguire Ind. Nationalist Bobby Sands Anti H-Block Death
Fermanagh and South Tyrone 20 August 1981 Bobby Sands Anti H-Block Owen Carron Anti H-Block Death from hunger strike
Belfast South 4 March 1982 Robert Bradford UUP Martin Smyth UUP Killed by the IRA
Antrim North 23 January 1986 Ian Paisley DUP Ian Paisley DUP Resignation in protest at Anglo-Irish Agreement
Antrim East 23 January 1986 Roy Beggs UUP Roy Beggs UUP Resignation in protest at Anglo-Irish Agreement
Antrim South 23 January 1986 Clifford Forsythe UUP Clifford Forsythe UUP Resignation in protest at Anglo-Irish Agreement
Belfast East 23 January 1986 Peter Robinson DUP Peter Robinson DUP Resignation in protest at Anglo-Irish Agreement
Belfast North 23 January 1986 Cecil Walker UUP Cecil Walker UUP Resignation in protest at Anglo-Irish Agreement
Belfast South 23 January 1986 Martin Smyth UUP Martin Smyth UUP Resignation in protest at Anglo-Irish Agreement
Down North 23 January 1986 James Kilfedder UPUP James Kilfedder UPUP Resignation in protest at Anglo-Irish Agreement
Down South 23 January 1986 Enoch Powell UUP Enoch Powell UUP Resignation in protest at Anglo-Irish Agreement
Fermanagh and South Tyrone 23 January 1986 Ken Maginnis UUP Ken Maginnis UUP Resignation in protest at Anglo-Irish Agreement
Lagan Valley 23 January 1986 James Molyneaux UUP James Molyneaux UUP Resignation in protest at Anglo-Irish Agreement
East Londonderry 23 January 1986 William Ross UUP William Ross UUP Resignation in protest at Anglo-Irish Agreement
Mid Ulster 23 January 1986 William McCrea DUP William McCrea DUP Resignation in protest at Anglo-Irish Agreement
Strangford 23 January 1986 John Taylor UUP John Taylor UUP Resignation in protest at Anglo-Irish Agreement
Newry and Armagh 23 January 1986 James Nicholson UUP Seamus Mallon SDLP Resignation in protest at Anglo-Irish Agreement
Upper Bann 23 January 1986 Harold McCusker UUP Harold McCusker UUP Resignation in protest at Anglo-Irish Agreement
Upper Bann 17 May 1990 Harold McCusker UUP David Trimble UUP Death
North Down 15 June 1995 Sir James Kilfedder UPUP Robert McCartney UK Unionist Death
South Antrim 21 September 2000 Clifford Forsythe UUP William McCrea DUP Death
Belfast West 9 June 2011 Gerry Adams Sinn Féin Paul Maskey Sinn Féin Resignation to contest the Louth constituency in the Irish general election
Mid Ulster 7 March 2013 Martin McGuinness Sinn Féin Francie Molloy Sinn Féin Resignation to end dual mandate as Member of Parliament and Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly
West Tyrone 3 May 2018 Barry McElduff Sinn Féin Órfhlaith Begley Sinn Féin Resignation

Recall petition

Referendums

Northern Ireland-specific referendums

United Kingdom-wide referendums

Elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly

Legend
U: Unionist; N: Nationalist; O: Other.
Election DUP (U) SF (N) UUP (U) SDLP (N) APNI (O) UKUP (U) UPUP (U) PUP (U) VUPP (U) UPNI (U) NILP (O) NIWC (O) GPNI (O) TUV (U) PBP (O) Ind U Ind N Ind OTotal Total U Total N Total O
1973 8311987147850199
1975 1219178145127852179
1982 2152614101178491910
1998 201828246522310858428
2003 30242718611110859427
2007 36281816711110855449
2011 38291614811110856439
2016 3828161282121108564012
2017 282710128211190403911
2022 2527981711290373518

Elections to the European Parliament

From 1979 to 2020, three of the seats in the European Parliament allocated to the United Kingdom formed a three-seat constituency elected by single transferable vote. It differed from European Parliament constituencies elsewhere in the United Kingdom which used the D'Hondt method. The United Kingdom withdrew from the European Union on 31 January 2020, and the constituency was abolished.

Year
DUP SF APNI UUP SDLP
1979 10011
1984 10011
1989 10011
1994 10011
1999 10011
2004 11010
2009 11010
2014 11010
2019 11100

Ad hoc elections

Elections to the Northern Ireland House of Commons

By-elections

Local elections

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of the United Kingdom</span> How political power is currently designated in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy where executive power is delegated by legislation and social conventions to a unitary parliamentary democracy. From this a hereditary monarch, currently King Charles III, serves as head of state while the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, currently Sir Keir Starmer since 2024, serves as the elected head of government.

A university constituency is a constituency, used in elections to a legislature, that represents the members of one or more universities rather than residents of a geographical area. These may or may not involve plural voting, in which voters are eligible to vote in or as part of this entity and their home area's geographical constituency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parliament of Northern Ireland</span> Home rule legislature created in 1921

The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended because of its inability to restore order during The Troubles, resulting in the introduction of Direct Rule. It was abolished under the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1998 Northern Ireland Assembly election</span>

The 1998 Northern Ireland Assembly election took place on Thursday, 25 June 1998. This was the first election to the new devolved Northern Ireland Assembly. Six members from each of Northern Ireland's eighteen Westminster Parliamentary constituencies were elected by single transferable vote, giving a total of 108 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House of Commons of Northern Ireland</span> Lower house of the bicameral legislature (1920-73) of Northern Ireland

The House of Commons of Northern Ireland was the lower house of the Parliament of Northern Ireland created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. The upper house in the bicameral parliament was called the Senate. It was abolished with the passing of the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973.

An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, electorate, or (election) precinct, is a subdivision of a larger state created to provide its population with representation in the larger state's constituency. That body, or the state's constitution or a body established for that purpose, determines each district's boundaries and whether each will be represented by a single member or multiple members. Generally, only voters (constituents) who reside within the district are permitted to vote in an election held there. District representatives may be elected by a first-past-the-post system, a proportional representative system, or another voting method. They may be selected by a direct election under universal suffrage, an indirect election, or another form of suffrage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Antrim (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1983 onwards

East Antrim is a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons. The current MP is Sammy Wilson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Down (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1950 onwards

South Down is a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons. The current MP seat is vacant due to the dissolution of parliament ahead of the 2024 United Kingdom general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Down (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1950 onwards

North Down is a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons. The current MP is Alex Easton, elected at the 2024 United Kingdom general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Kingdom constituencies</span> Various types of electoral area in the UK

In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons.

BC-STV is the proposed voting system recommended by the Citizens' Assembly on Electoral Reform in October 2004 for use in British Columbia, and belongs to the single transferable vote family of voting systems. BC-STV was supported by a majority of the voters in a referendum held in 2005 but the government had legislated that it would not be bound by any vote lower than 60 percent in favour. Because of the strong majority support for BC-STV, the government elected to stage a second referendum in 2009, but with increased public funding for information campaigns to better inform the electorate about the differences between the existing and proposed systems. The leadership of both the "yes" side and the "no" side were assigned by the government. The proposal was rejected with 60.9 percent voting against, vs. 39.1 percent in favour, in the 2009 vote.

Historically, the single transferable vote (STV) electoral system has seen a series of relatively modest periods of usage and disusage throughout the world; however, today it is seeing increasing popularity and proposed implementation as a method of proportional representation and a goal of electoral reform. STV has been used in many different local, regional and national electoral systems, as well as in various other types of bodies, around the world.

Instant-runoff voting (IRV) is a ranked voting method used in single-winner elections. IRV is also known outside the US as the alternative vote (AV). Today it is in use at a national level to elect the Australian House of Representatives, the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea, the President of Ireland and President of India. In Australia it is also used for elections to the legislative assemblies of all states and territories except Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory, and for the Tasmanian Legislative Council.

Electoral reform is a change in electoral systems which alters how public desires are expressed in election results.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Northern Ireland Assembly election</span>

The 2011 Northern Ireland Assembly election took place on Thursday, 5 May, following the dissolution of the Northern Ireland Assembly at midnight on 24 March 2011. It was the fourth election to take place since the devolved assembly was established in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House of Commons (Method of Voting and Redistribution of Seats) Act (Northern Ireland) 1929</span> United Kingdom legislation

The House of Commons Act 1929 was an act of the Parliament of Northern Ireland at Stormont which changed the usual voting system used for the House of Commons of Northern Ireland from single transferable vote (STV) to first past the post (FPTP). As a consequence, the act also subdivided nine of the ten multiple-seat constituencies established by the Government of Ireland Act 1920 into 48 single-seat constituencies. The only exception was the Queen's University constituency, which remained STV under a plural voting system until its 1969 abolition. The act was passed in time for the 1929 Stormont election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elections in the United Kingdom</span>

There are five types of elections in the United Kingdom: elections to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elections to devolved parliaments and assemblies, local elections, mayoral elections, and police and crime commissioner elections. Within each of those categories, there may also be by-elections. Elections are held on Election Day, which is conventionally a Thursday, and under the provisions of the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022 the timing of general elections can be held at the discretion of the prime minister during any five-year period. All other types of elections are held after fixed periods, though early elections to the devolved assemblies and parliaments can occur in certain situations. The five electoral systems used are: the single member plurality system (first-past-the-post), the multi-member plurality, the single transferable vote, the additional member system, and the supplementary vote.

Semi-proportional representation characterizes multi-winner electoral systems which allow representation of minorities, but are not intended to reflect the strength of the competing political forces in close proportion to the votes they receive. Semi-proportional voting systems are generally used as a compromise between complex and expensive but more-proportional systems and simple winner-take-all systems. Examples of semi-proportional systems include the single non-transferable vote, limited voting, and parallel voting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electoral system</span> Method by which voters make a choice between options

An electoral system or voting system is a set of rules that determine how elections and referendums are conducted and how their results are determined. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political elections may take place in business, non-profit organisations and informal organisations. These rules govern all aspects of the voting process: when elections occur, who is allowed to vote, who can stand as a candidate, how ballots are marked and cast, how the ballots are counted, how votes translate into the election outcome, limits on campaign spending, and other factors that can affect the result. Political electoral systems are defined by constitutions and electoral laws, are typically conducted by election commissions, and can use multiple types of elections for different offices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom</span> Election

The 2014 European Parliament election was the United Kingdom's component of the 2014 European Parliament election, held on Thursday 22 May 2014, coinciding with the 2014 local elections in England and Northern Ireland. In total, 73 Members of the European Parliament were elected from the United Kingdom using proportional representation. England, Scotland and Wales use a closed-list party list system of PR, while Northern Ireland used the single transferable vote (STV).

References

  1. Whyte, Nicholas. "The Single Transferable Vote (STV)". Northern Ireland Elections. Retrieved 28 June 2016.