1973 Londonderry City Council election

The 1973 Londonderry City Council election took place on 30 May 1973 to elect members of Londonderry City Council in Northern Ireland. This was on the same day as other Northern Irish local elections. The campaign was significant in that, following changes to the election process and districts, Irish nationalist parties were able to take control of the council for the first time.

1973 Londonderry City Council election

2 May 2019

All 27 seats to Londonderry City Council
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Raymond McClean Jack Allen Ivor Canavan
Party SDLP United Loyalist Alliance
Leader's seat Londonderry D Londonderry E Londonderry E
Seats before N/A 12 N/A
Seats won 10 9 4
Seat change 10 3 4

  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Leader Fergus McAteer Michael Montgomery
Party Nationalist Republican Clubs
Leader's seat Londonderry E Londonderry C
Seats before 8 N/A
Seats won 3 1
Seat change 5 1

Map of the results by electoral area. Electoral areas are shaded according to the party that received the most votes. Circles represent the political affiliation of councillors elected for each electoral area.

Council control before election

Londonderry Development Commission

Council control after election

No overall control

Background

The election was the first held since the Londonderry Corporation had been reorganised under the Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971 following accusations of gerrymandering from the Corporation.[1] The vote was also the first to use the single transferable vote method of election for Londonderry council elections.[2]

During the elections, the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), and Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party joined forces as The United Loyalist Group for the Londonderry City Council elections.[3] The group also claimed the backing of the Loyalist Association of Workers, the Ulster Protestant Volunteers, and the Ulster Special Constabulary Association. It was jointly chaired by Gerard Glover, chair of the City of Londonderry and Foyle Unionist Association, and Gordon Hegarty, a parliamentary agent for the DUP. It was initially unclear whether the coalition had the backing of the UUP headquarters, but Jim Bailie, the party secretary, stated that "I am sure whatever they are doing is all right by me". The group had a four point programme: total defeat of the Irish Republican Army, control of the police to be given to the Northern Ireland Assembly, increased representation of Northern Ireland in the Westminster Parliament, and opposition to a Council of Ireland.[4] The group took over the local headquarters of the UUP, on Kennedy Place.[5]

The nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) contested Londonderry City Council elections for the first time since being established in 1970 in protest against abstentionism policies from the Nationalist Party.[6] It stood 19 candidates, the most of any party in the election.[5]

The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland stood 15 candidates, while the Derry Republican Club, backed by the Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA) stood 12, as did the United Loyalists. The Nationalist Party stood 10, including Fergus McAteer, son of the party leader, while there was a single Northern Ireland Labour Party candidate. Independent candidates included Brendan Duddy, a local fish-and-chip shop owner, and Finbar O'Doherty, a law student.[5]

Campaign

During the campaign, the British Army reduced its foot patrols in the city, arguing that this would help create an atmosphere in which people would feel confident to go and vote. The Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) did not conduct any bombings in the week leading up to the vote, an unusually long lull for the period.[7] The group also went door-to-door, calling for a boycott of the election.[5]

The day before the election, the PIRA and OIRA announced a surprising joint initiative of protest marches, strikes and the creation of "no-go areas" for police, in protest at internment, but coming at such a late point in the campaign, the Irish Times contended that it would have little effect on the vote.[5]

The Republican Clubs published a half-page advert in the Derry Journal, claiming that both the SDLP and the Nationalist Party had broken pledges not to contest local elections until all internees had been released. John Hume, deputy leader of the SDLP, claimed that the party's pledge was specific to the period when the Parliament of Northern Ireland had existed.[7] The Alliance Party accused Hume of having only visited Shantallow twice since he was elected to represent it in 1969, but Hume argued that he had visited it on numerous occasions, and had three volunteers running an advice centre in the district. Hume claimed that the Alliance Party's candidates were unionists and were "yesterday's men".[7]

The Nationalist Party argued that the SDLP was standing too many candidates, risking splitting the nationalist vote and thereby allowing the unionists to win more seats. It campaigned for the council to work closely with tenants' and other community groups, and for the council to move away from party politics.[8]

Hume claimed that the SDLP would do "very well", but would not be drawn on whether it would achieve a majority on the council, while Hegarty of the United Loyalists thought that it would win 10 seats. The Alliance Party focused its campaign on relieving unemployment and building new leisure, health, and community facilities, and believed it would win 7 or 8 seats. The Republican Club would not speculate on how many seats it would win, but Mickey Doherty claimed that it would take a "fairly substantial vote and surprise a lot of people".[5]

Results by party

The Irish Times reported the city as having particularly high turnout, initially estimated as between 65 and 70%.[9][10] The count was the slowest in the whole of Northern Ireland.[11]

Below is a list of the results:[12]

Party Seats ± First Pref. votes FPv% ±%
SDLP 10 N/A 11,008 32.4 N/A
United Loyalist 9 -3 12,483 36.8 N/A
Alliance 4 N/A 4,930 14.5 N/A
Nationalist 3 -5 2,850 8.4
Republican Clubs 1 N/A 2,091 6.2 N/A
Independent 0 242 0.7
Independent Community 0 183 0.5
NI Labour 0 0 88 0.3
Independent Republican 0 71 0.2
Totals 27 34,625 100%

[12]

Results by electoral area

Below is a list of electoral results by constituency:[12]

Londonderry A

  • 1973: 3xUnLoy; 2xSDLP; 1xAll
Londonderry A - 6 seats[12]
PartyCandidateFPv%Count
1
United Loyalist Thomas M. Craig 50.2 1,294
United Loyalist R. C. Bond 1,126
United Loyalist Robinson 960
SDLP G. V. Peoples 32.2 879
United Loyalist Gordon Hegarty 767
SDLP Courtrey 752
SDLP T. A. Doherty 536
SDLP Millar 492
Alliance A. E. S. Barr 12.2 421
Alliance Gormley 415
Republican Clubs Gillespie 2.6 214
Alliance Morrison 175
Nationalist Mulhern 1.7 142
NI Labour Grace Stevenson 1.1 88
Electorate: 10,497   Valid: 8,262   Spoilt: 94   Quota: 1,181   Turnout: 8,356

    Londonderry B

    • 1973: 3xUnLoy; 1xSDLP; 1xAll
    Londonderry B - 5 seats[12]
    PartyCandidateFPv%Count
    1
    United Loyalist Glenn Barr 58.2 1,659
    United Loyalist Jeffrey 960
    SDLP Joe Fegan 18.3 940
    United Loyalist Anna Hay 875
    United Loyalist T. G. Heathley 874
    Alliance H. Faulkner 17.0 853
    SDLP Morrison 433
    Alliance Kelly 257
    Nationalist Boyle 4.3 166
    Alliance Sinclair 164
    Nationalist McCloskey 158
    Republican Clubs Moran 2.2 91
    Republican Clubs Shotter 72
    Electorate: 10,377   Valid: 7,502   Spoilt: 104   Quota: 1,251   Turnout: 7,606

      Londonderry C

      • 1973: 3xSDLP; 1xNat; 1xRepCl
      Londonderry C - 5 seats[12]
      PartyCandidateFPv%Count
      1
      SDLP Pat Devine 49.3 728
      Nationalist G. K. Barr 21.4 698
      SDLP Hugh Doherty 525
      SDLP Len Green 483
      Alliance Kelly 13.4 436
      Republican Clubs Michael Montgomery 15.9 401
      Nationalist McCrystal 378
      SDLP Nelis 374
      SDLP Moran 370
      Republican Clubs Liam Gallagher 272
      Alliance Kelly 239
      Republican Clubs P. C. Quinn 129
      Electorate: 9,324   Valid: 5,033   Spoilt: 206   Quota: 839   Turnout: 4,780

        Londonderry D

        • 1973: 2xSDLP; 1xUnLoy; 1xAll; 1xNat
        Londonderry D - 5 seats[12]
        PartyCandidateFPv%Count
        1
        United Loyalist Marlene Jefferson 23.4 1,041
        SDLP Raymond McClean 40.1 808
        SDLP Feeney 643
        Alliance J. Cosgrove 13.4 408
        Nationalist James Hegarty 11.3 341
        Republican Clubs Mickey Doherty 8.6 229
        SDLP William O'Connoll 214
        Nationalist C. McDaid 163
        Alliance Mulhern 155
        SDLP O'Hara 119
        Republican Clubs Lynch 96
        Independent Republican Finbar O'Doherty 1.6 71
        Independent Community O'Neill 1.5 67
        Republican Clubs McCool 59
        Alliance McKenna 31
        Electorate: 6,982   Valid: 4,445   Spoilt: 122   Quota: 741   Turnout: 4,567

          Londonderry E

          Londonderry E, covering Shantallow, Pennyburn and Rosemount, was the most politically and socially mixed of the electoral areas. With 19 candidates for 6 seats, the last councillors were elected on the 16th count.[11]

          • 1973: 2xSDLP; 2xUnLoy; 1xAll; 1xNat
          Londonderry E - 6 seats[12]
          PartyCandidateFPv%Count
          1
          United Loyalist Jack Allen 33.6 1,519
          SDLP Dan Casey 31.1 995
          United Loyalist Albert McCartney 893
          SDLP Craig 729
          Alliance Ivor Canavan 15.8 718
          SDLP Michael Durey 703
          Nationalist Fergus McAteer 9.2 573
          United Loyalist Walker 5.92 515
          Alliance Mrs Roulston 300
          SDLP Mrs A. Gallagher 284
          Alliance Brian Brown 246
          Independent Brendan Duddy 2.8 242
          Republican Clubs S. Gallagher 6.1 284
          Nationalist Doherty 208
          Republican Clubs P. Gallagher 162
          Republican Clubs Sweeney 145
          Non Party Community Candidate Bergin 1.3 116
          Alliance Commander 112
          Nationalist Geraldine O'Driscoll 23
          Electorate: 12,899   Valid: 8,704   Spoilt: 153   Quota: 1,244   Turnout: 8,857

            Aftermath

            Even though the United Loyalists won the most votes, the SDLP won the most councillors with ten being elected to the United Loyalists' nine.[12] The nonsectarian Alliance Party of Northern Ireland won four, the Nationalist Party won three and one was won by the Republican Clubs.[12] The result gave parties supported by the city's Catholic community a majority on the council for the first time.[13] The SDLP were disappointed not to win a majority on the council. John Hume blamed this on transfers going to other parties, noting the United Loyalist voters in the Bogside had transferred to the Alliance Party, while Republican Club voters in Londonderry E had transferred to the Nationalist Party.[14]

            The new council elected Raymond McClean of the SDLP as Mayor of Londonderry, only the second Catholic mayor in the city's history, while Jack Allen of the United Loyalists was elected as deputy mayor.[15]

            Following the election, there had been disputes within the United Loyalists. Some members of the UUP once said to the DUP's Anna Hay, who had been elected to Londonderry B[12] and was the mother of the future Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly William Hay, that they had only "lent" her her seat due to the UUP being historically the stronger unionist party at the time.[16]

            References

            1. Hopley, Cherry-Lynne. "Beginning of the Troubles - Northern Ireland 1969". Academia.edu. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
            2. Collins, Neil (2004). Political Issues in Ireland Today (3rd ed.). Manchester University Press. p. 65. ISBN 0719065712.
            3. Ó Dochartaigh, Niall (2004). From civil rights to armalites (2nd ed.). Springer. p. 261. ISBN 0230006043.
            4. "Derry unionists unite to fight elections". Irish Times. 11 April 1973.
            5. Campbell, Sarah (4 February 2015). "New Nationalism? The S.D.L.P. and the creation of a socialist and labour party in Northern Ireland, 1969–75". Irish Historical Studies. 38 (151): 422–438. doi:10.1017/S0021121400001577. ISSN 0021-1214. Retrieved 20 June 2020 via University of Cambridge.
            6. "SDLP target again in election feud". Irish Times. 30 May 1973.
            7. "Nationalists restrict aims in Derry". Irish Times. 11 May 1973.
            8. "About 2m vote in north and south". Irish Times. 31 May 1973.
            9. "North-South vote of about 2 million". Irish Times. 31 May 1973.
            10. "Unionists back to strength". Irish Times. 1 June 1973.
            11. "Local Government Elections 1973 - 1981: Londonderry". ARK. 29 October 2003. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
            12. Russell, Richard (2014). Modernity, Community and Plurality in Brian Friel's drama. Syracuse University Press. p. 153. ISBN 978-0815652342.
            13. "Unionists top the council poll". Irish Times. 2 June 1973.
            14. "Catholic mayor for Derry". Irish Times. 13 June 1973.
            15. Newsroom, The (25 November 2010). "William recalls Council 'Hay' days". Londonderry Sentinel. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
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