North Down (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)

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

North Down
Former County Constituency
for the Parliament of Northern Ireland
Former constituency
Created1929
Abolished1972
Election methodFirst past the post

Boundaries

North Down was a county constituency comprising part of northern County Down, immediately south east of Belfast. It was created when the House of Commons (Method of Voting and Redistribution of Seats) Act (Northern Ireland) 1929 introduced first-past-the-post elections throughout Northern Ireland. North Down was created by the division of Down into eight new constituencies. The constituency survived unchanged until 1969, when it gained part of Mid Down, but the eastern half of the seat was split away to form Bangor. It returned one Member of Parliament until the Parliament of Northern Ireland was temporarily suspended in 1972, and then formally abolished in 1973.

The original seat was centred on the town of Bangor and urban district of Holywood, and it also included parts of the rural districts of Castlereagh and Newtownards.[1]

Politics

The seat had a substantial unionist majority and was always won by unionist candidates, all but one representing the Ulster Unionist Party. It was sometimes contested by Northern Ireland Labour Party, Ulster Liberal Party and independent Unionist candidates, with only the independent Unionist receiving more than one third of the votes cast.[2]

Members of Parliament

Elected Party Name[2]
1929 UUP James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon
1941 Independent Unionist Thomas Bailie
1945 UUP
1953 UUP Robert Samuel Nixon
1969 UUP Robert Babington

Election results

At the 1929, 1933 and 1938 Northern Ireland general elections, James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon was elected unopposed.[2]

North Down by-election, 1941[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Unionist Thomas Bailie 6,268 55.0 N/A
UUP R. Workman 5,137 45.0 N/A
Majority 1,131 10.0 N/A
Turnout 58.4 N/A
Independent Unionist gain from UUP Swing N/A

At the 1945 Northern Ireland general election, Thomas Bailie was elected unopposed.[2]

General Election 1949: North Down[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
UUP Thomas Bailie 13,626 87.4 N/A
NI Labour Sam Napier 1,956 12.6 N/A
Majority 11,670 74.8 N/A
Turnout 69.4 N/A
UUP hold Swing N/A
General Election 1953: North Down[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
UUP Robert Samuel Nixon 7,868 53.7 -33.7
Independent Unionist Thomas Bailie 6,771 46.3 N/A
Majority 1,097 7.4 -67.4
Turnout 59.1 -10.3
UUP hold Swing N/A

At the 1958 Northern Ireland general election, Robert Samuel Nixon was elected unopposed.[2]

General Election 1962: North Down[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
UUP Robert Samuel Nixon 11,067 68.7 N/A
Ulster Liberal Arthur Burns 5,044 31.3 N/A
Majority 6,023 37.4 N/A
Turnout 58.0 N/A
UUP hold Swing N/A
General Election 1965: North Down[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
UUP Robert Samuel Nixon 10,307 77.1 +8.4
NI Labour J. C. Marks 3,066 22.9 N/A
Majority 7,241 54.2 +16.8
Turnout 46.0 -12.0
UUP hold Swing N/A
General Election 1969: North Down[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
UUP Robert Babington 9,013 85.2 +8.1
Ulster Liberal Sheelagh Murnaghan 1,567 14.8 N/A
Majority 7,446 70.4 +16.2
Turnout 57.5 +11.5
UUP hold Swing N/A

References

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