West Down (UK Parliament constituency)

West Down
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
County	County Down
1885–1922
Seats	1
Created from	County Down
Replaced by	Down

West Down was a United Kingdom parliamentary constituency in Ireland. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1885 to 1922, on the electoral system of first past the post.

Boundaries

From 1801 to 1885, County Down returned two MPs to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom sitting at the Palace of Westminster, with separate representation for the parliamentary boroughs of Downpatrick and Newry. Under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Downpatrick ceased to exist as a parliamentary borough and the parliamentary county was divided into four divisions: North Down, East Down, West Down, and South Down.

Under the Redistribution of Seats (Ireland) Act 1918, Newry ceased to exist as a parliamentary borough, and the parliamentary county gained the additional division of Mid Down. ^[1] Sinn Féin contested the 1918 general election on an abstentionist platform that instead of taking up any seats at Westminster, they would establish a revolutionary assembly in Dublin. All MPs elected to Irish seats were invited to participate in the First Dáil convened in January 1919, but no members outside of Sinn Féin did so. ^[2]

The Government of Ireland Act 1920 established the Parliament of Northern Ireland, which came into operation in 1921. The representation of Northern Ireland in the Parliament of the United Kingdom was reduced from 30 MPs to 13 MPs, taking effect at the 1922 United Kingdom general election. At Westminster, the five divisions of County Down were replaced by a two-member county constituency of Down. An eight-seat constituency of Down was created for the House of Commons of Northern Ireland, which formed the basis in republican theory for representation in the Second Dáil. ^[3]

1885–1918	The baronies of Iveagh Lower, Lower Half, and Iveagh Lower, Upper Half, and that part of the barony of Iveagh Upper, Upper Half lying within the parishes of Aghaderg, Annaclone and Seapatrick. [4] [5]
1918–1922	The rural district of Moira; the rural district of Banbridge, except for the district electoral divisions of Ballyward, Crossgar and Leitrim (included in the East Down division); and the urban districts of Banbridge and Dromore. [6]

Members of Parliament

Election	Member	Party
1885	Lord Arthur Hill		Irish Conservative
1886
1886 b
1892			Irish Unionist
1895
1898 b	Arthur Hill		Irish Unionist
1900
1905 b	Harry Liddell		Irish Unionist
1906
1907 b	Lord Arthur Hill		Irish Unionist
1908 b	William MacCaw		Irish Unionist
Jan. 1910
Dec. 1910
1918	Daniel Martin Wilson		Irish Unionist
1921 b	Thomas Browne Wallace		UUP
1922 b	Hugh Hayes		UUP
1922	constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1880s

1885 general election: West Down ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Conservative	Lord Arthur Hill	Unopposed
	Irish Conservative win (new seat)

1886 general election: West Down ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Conservative	Lord Arthur Hill	6,589	84.6	N/A
	Irish Parliamentary	John Baptish McHugh	1,199	15.4	New
Majority			5,390	69.2	N/A
Turnout			7,788	80.3	N/A
Registered electors			9,695
	Irish Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

Hill was re-appointed Comptroller of the Household, requiring a by-election.

1886 West Down by-election ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Conservative	Lord Arthur Hill	Unopposed
	Irish Conservative hold

Elections in the 1890s

1892 general election: West Down ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	Lord Arthur Hill	Unopposed
	Irish Unionist hold

1895 general election: West Down ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	Lord Arthur Hill	Unopposed
	Irish Unionist hold

• Hill resigned.

1898 West Down by-election ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	Arthur Hill	Unopposed
	Irish Unionist hold

Elections in the 1900s

1900 general election: West Down ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	Arthur Hill	Unopposed
	Irish Unionist hold

• Hill resigns.

1905 West Down by-election ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Harry Liddell	4,037	57.2	N/A
	Ind. Unionist	Andrew Beattie	3,015	42.8	New
Majority			1,022	14.4	N/A
Turnout			7,052	85.4	N/A
Registered electors			8,254
	Liberal Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

1906 general election: West Down ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	Harry Liddell	Unopposed
	Irish Unionist hold

• Liddell resigns.

1907 West Down by-election ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	Lord Arthur Hill	3,702	55.9	N/A
	Ind. Unionist	Andrew Beattie	2,918	44.1	New
Majority			784	11.8	N/A
Turnout			6,620	79.1	N/A
Registered electors			8,369
	Irish Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

• Hill resigns.

1908 West Down by-election ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	William MacCaw	4,051	59.5	N/A
	Ind. Unionist	Andrew Beattie	2,760	40.5	N/A
Majority			1,291	19.0	N/A
Turnout			6,811	82.7	N/A
Registered electors			8,233
	Irish Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1910s

January 1910 general election: West Down ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	William MacCaw	Unopposed
	Irish Unionist hold

December 1910 general election: West Down ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	William MacCaw	Unopposed
	Irish Unionist hold

General Election 14 December 1918: West Down ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Unionist	Daniel Martin Wilson	10,559	85.7	N/A
	Sinn Féin	Bernard Campbell	1,725	14.0	New
Majority			8,834	71.7	N/A
Turnout			12,284	68.3	N/A
Registered electors			17,997
	Irish Unionist hold		Swing

• Wilson appointed as Recorder of Belfast

1921 West Down by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	Thomas Browne Wallace	Unopposed
	UUP hold

• Wallace appointed Chief Clerk to the High Court of Northern Ireland

1922 West Down by-election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	Hugh Hayes	Unopposed
	UUP hold

Sources

• Walker, Brian M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801–1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. ISBN   0901714127.
• Stenton, M.; Lees, S., eds. (1978). Who's Who of British members of parliament: Volume II 1886–1918. The Harvester Press.
• Stenton, M.; Lees, S., eds. (1979). Who's Who of British members of parliament: Volume III 1919–1945. The Harvester Press.
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "D" (part 3)

References

1. Representation of the People Bill 1917: redistribution of seats: report. Boundary Commission (Ireland). 1917.
2. "3. An Rolla". Dáil Debates (in Irish). F (1). Houses of the Oireachtas. 21 January 1919.
3. "Appendix 19: Dáil Éireann: Extract from Minutes of Meeting on 16th August 1921: Copy of Roll". Dáil Debates. T (17). Houses of the Oireachtas.
4. "Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict. c. 23), s. 8 and Seventh Schedule, Part III" (PDF). legislation.gov.uk .
5. Maps of baronies at "Down Maps". Sabhal Mòr Ostaig. 24 December 2007.
6. "Redistribution of Seats (Ireland) Act 1918 (7 & 8 Geo. 5. c. 65), Fourth Schedule, Part I" (PDF). legislation.gov.uk .
7. Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801–1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. pp. 343, 387. ISBN   0901714127.