Londonderry (UK Parliament constituency)
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Londonderry | |
---|---|
Former county constituency for the House of Commons | |
County | County Londonderry |
1801–1885 | |
Seats | 2 |
Created from | County Londonderry (IHC) |
Replaced by | |
1922–1983 | |
Seats | 1 |
Created from | |
Replaced by |
Londonderry was a parliamentary constituency in Northern Ireland represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament, as well as a constituency in elections to various regional bodies. It was replaced in boundary changes in 1983. Londonderry returned two MPs (1801–1885) and later one (1922–1983).
Boundaries
The constituency consisted, in 1801–1885, of the whole of County Londonderry,[a] except for the parliamentary boroughs of Coleraine and Londonderry City.
The seat was re-created in 1922. As part of the consequences of the devolved Stormont Parliament for Northern Ireland, the number of MPs in the Westminster Parliament was drastically cut. The seat was focused on County Londonderry. It comprised the administrative county of Londonderry and the County Borough of Londonderry.
In 1951, it was one of the last four seats to be uncontested in a United Kingdom general election.
In 1983 the number of seats for Northern Ireland was increased from 12 to 17 and Londonderry was split in two, forming Foyle and East Londonderry.
Members of Parliament
1801–1885
Election | First member | First party | Second member | Second party | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1801 | Hon. Charles Stewart[1] | Tory | Vacant | |||
1801 by-election | Sir George Hill, 2nd Bt | Tory | ||||
1802 | Lord George Beresford | |||||
1812 | Hon. William Ponsonby | |||||
1814 by-election | Alexander Stewart | Tory[2] | ||||
1815 by-election | George Robert Dawson | Tory[3] | ||||
1818 | Alexander Robert Stewart | Tory | ||||
1830 | Theobald Jones | Tory[4][5] | Sir Robert Bateson, 1st Bt | Tory[4][5] | ||
1834 | Conservative[4][5] | Conservative[4][5] | ||||
1842 by-election | Robert Bateson | Conservative[5] | ||||
1844 by-election | Thomas Bateson | |||||
1857 by-election | James Johnston Clark | |||||
1857 | Samuel MacCurdy Greer | Radical[6][7] | ||||
1859 | Robert Peel Dawson | Conservative[5] | Sir Frederick Heygate, 2nd Bt | |||
1874 | Richard Smyth | Liberal[5] | Hugh Law | Liberal[5] | ||
1878 by-election | Sir Thomas McClure, 1st Bt | |||||
1881 by-election | Andrew Porter | |||||
1884 by-election | Samuel Walker | |||||
1885 | constituency abolished: see North Londonderry & South Londonderry |
1922–1983
Election | Member | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
1922 | Sir Malcolm Macnaghten | Ulster Unionist | |
1929 by-election | Sir Ronald Ross | ||
1951 by-election | William Wellwood | ||
1955 | Robin Chichester-Clark | ||
February 1974 | William Ross | ||
1983 | constituency abolished: see Foyle & East Londonderry |
Westminster elections
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Londonderry_election_results.png)
Elections in the 1830s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Robert Bateson, Snr. | Unopposed | |||
Tory | Theobald Jones | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 866 | ||||
Tory hold | |||||
Tory hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Robert Bateson, Snr. | 631 | 38.7 | ||
Tory | Theobald Jones | 585 | 35.9 | ||
Whig | John Byng | 382 | 23.4 | ||
Tory | John Richard James Hart | 33 | 2.0 | ||
Majority | 203 | 12.5 | |||
Turnout | c. 816 | c. 92.9 | |||
Registered electors | 878 | ||||
Tory hold | |||||
Tory hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tory | Robert Bateson, Snr. | Unopposed | |||
Tory | Theobald Jones | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 2,172 | ||||
Tory hold | |||||
Tory hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Bateson, Snr. | Unopposed | |||
Conservative | Theobald Jones | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 2,658 | ||||
Conservative hold | |||||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Bateson, Snr. | Unopposed | |||
Conservative | Theobald Jones | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 2,843 | ||||
Conservative hold | |||||
Conservative hold |
Elections in the 1840s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Bateson, Snr. | Unopposed | |||
Conservative | Theobald Jones | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 1,718 | ||||
Conservative hold | |||||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Bateson, Jnr. | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold |
- Caused by Bateson's resignation by accepting the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Thomas Bateson | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold |
- Caused by Bateson's death
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Thomas Bateson | Unopposed | |||
Conservative | Theobald Jones | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 4,663 | ||||
Conservative hold | |||||
Conservative hold |
Elections in the 1850s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Thomas Bateson | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold |
- Caused by Bateson's appointment as a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Thomas Bateson | 2,098 | 38.0 | N/A | |
Conservative | Theobald Jones | 1,909 | 34.6 | N/A | |
Radical | Samuel MacCurdy Greer | 1,518 | 27.5 | New | |
Majority | 391 | 7.1 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 3,522 (est) | 81.8 (est) | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 4,305 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | James Johnston Clark | 2,600 | 64.1 | −8.5 | |
Radical | Samuel MacCurdy Greer | 1,457 | 35.9 | +8.4 | |
Majority | 1,143 | 28.2 | +21.1 | ||
Turnout | 4,057 | 79.8 | −2.0 | ||
Registered electors | 5,081 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | −8.5 |
- Caused by Bateson's resignation.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | James Johnston Clark | 2,404 | 37.5 | −0.5 | |
Radical | Samuel MacCurdy Greer | 2,339 | 36.4 | +8.9 | |
Conservative | Henry Bruce | 1,676 | 26.1 | −8.5 | |
Turnout | 3,210 (est) | 63.2 (est) | −18.6 | ||
Registered electors | 5,081 | ||||
Majority | 65 | 1.1 | −6.0 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +2.5 | |||
Majority | 663 | 10.3 | N/A | ||
Radical gain from Conservative | Swing | +9.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Peel Dawson | 2,628 | 38.2 | +0.7 | |
Conservative | Frederick Heygate | 2,468 | 35.8 | +9.7 | |
Liberal | Samuel MacCurdy Greer | 1,790 | 26.0 | −10.4 | |
Majority | 678 | 9.8 | +8.7 | ||
Turnout | 4,338 (est) | 83.8 (est) | +20.6 | ||
Registered electors | 5,178 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | +3.2 | |||
Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +7.7 |
Elections in the 1860s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Peel Dawson | Unopposed | |||
Conservative | Frederick Heygate | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 5,512 | ||||
Conservative hold | |||||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Peel Dawson | Unopposed | |||
Conservative | Frederick Heygate | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 5,582 | ||||
Conservative hold | |||||
Conservative hold |
Elections in the 1870s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Richard Smyth | 2,988 | 33.8 | New | |
Liberal | Hugh Law | 2,701 | 30.6 | New | |
Conservative | Robert Jackson Alexander | 1,747 | 19.8 | N/A | |
Conservative | John Barré Beresford | 1,402 | 15.9 | N/A | |
Majority | 954 | 10.8 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 4,419 (est) | 82.4 (est) | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 5,362 | ||||
Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | N/A | |||
Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Thomas McClure | 2,479 | 56.9 | −7.5 | |
Conservative | Samuel Maxwell Alexander | 1,878 | 43.1 | +7.4 | |
Majority | 601 | 13.8 | +3.0 | ||
Turnout | 4,357 | 76.3 | −6.1 | ||
Registered electors | 5,714 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | −7.5 |
- Caused by Smyth's death.
Elections in the 1880s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Hugh Law | 3,012 | 37.5 | +6.9 | |
Liberal | Thomas McClure | 2,912 | 36.3 | +2.5 | |
Conservative | Samuel Maxwell Alexander | 2,107 | 26.2 | −9.5 | |
Majority | 805 | 10.1 | −0.7 | ||
Turnout | 5,069 (est) | 86.6 (est) | +4.2 | ||
Registered electors | 5,853 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | +5.8 | |||
Liberal hold | Swing | +3.6 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Hugh Law | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 5,853 | ||||
Liberal hold |
- Caused by Law's appointment as Attorney-General for Ireland
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Andrew Porter | 2,701 | 56.1 | −17.7 | |
Conservative | Samuel Wilson | 2,054 | 42.7 | +16.5 | |
Home Rule | Charles John Dempsey | 56 | 1.2 | New | |
Majority | 647 | 13.4 | +3.3 | ||
Turnout | 4,811 | 81.6 | −5.0 (est) | ||
Registered electors | 5,896 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | −17.1 |
- Caused by Law's appointment as Lord Chancellor of Ireland
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Samuel Walker | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 5,798 | ||||
Liberal hold |
- Caused by Porter's appointment as Master of the Rolls
Elections in the 1920s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | Malcolm Macnaghten | 30,743 | 75.7 | ||
Ind. Nationalist |
|
9,861 | 24.3 | ||
Majority | 20,882 | 51.4 | |||
Turnout | 40,604 | 63.9 | |||
UUP win (new seat) |
- anti-partition
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | Malcolm Macnaghten | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | |||||
UUP hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | Malcolm Macnaghten | 30,875 | 82.9 | N/A | |
Sinn Féin | Charles MacWhinney | 5,869 | 15.8 | New | |
Ind. Unionist | William Galt | 517 | 1.4 | New | |
Majority | 25,006 | 67.1 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 37,261 | 59.1 | N/A | ||
UUP hold | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | Ronald Deane Ross | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | |||||
UUP hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | Ronald Deane Ross | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | |||||
UUP hold |
Elections in the 1930s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | Ronald Deane Ross | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | |||||
UUP hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | Ronald Deane Ross | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | |||||
UUP hold |
Elections in the 1940s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | Ronald Ross | 40,214 | 50.8 | N/A | |
Nationalist | Denis Cavanagh | 37,561 | 47.4 | New | |
NI Labour | Milton Gordon | 1,471 | 1.9 | New | |
Majority | 2,653 | 3.4 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 79,246 | 88.1 | N/A | ||
UUP hold | Swing | N/A |
Elections in the 1950s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | Ronald Ross | 36,602 | 62.6 | +11.8 | |
Ind. Republican | Hugh McAteer | 21,880 | 37.4 | New | |
Majority | 14,722 | 25.2 | +21.8 | ||
Turnout | 58,482 | 80.7 | −7.4 | ||
UUP hold | Swing |
- In the 1951 Londonderry by-election[9] and the 1951 United Kingdom general election, William Wellwood was elected unopposed.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | William Wellwood | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | |||||
UUP hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | William Wellwood | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | |||||
UUP hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | Robin Chichester-Clark | 35,673 | 64.5 | N/A | |
Sinn Féin | Manus Canning | 19,640 | 35.5 | New | |
Majority | 16,033 | 29.0 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 55,313 | 77.6 | N/A | ||
UUP hold | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | Robin Chichester-Clark | 37,529 | 73.0 | +8.5 | |
Sinn Féin | Manus Canning | 13,872 | 27.0 | −8.5 | |
Majority | 23,657 | 46.0 | +17.0 | ||
Turnout | 51,401 | 70.2 | −7.4 | ||
UUP hold | Swing | +8.5 |
Elections in the 1960s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | Robin Chichester-Clark | 37,700 | 64.1 | −8.9 | |
Ind. Republican | Hugh McAteer | 21,123 | 35.9 | New | |
Majority | 16,577 | 28.2 | −17.8 | ||
Turnout | 58,823 | 76.5 | +6.3 | ||
UUP hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | Robin Chichester-Clark | 34,729 | 58.1 | −6.0 | |
Nationalist | Paddy Gormley | 22,167 | 37.1 | New | |
Ind. Republican | Neil Gillespie | 2,860 | 4.8 | −31.1 | |
Majority | 12,562 | 21.0 | −7.2 | ||
Turnout | 59,756 | 76.4 | −0.1 | ||
UUP hold | Swing |
Elections in the 1970s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | Robin Chichester-Clark | 39,141 | 53.1 | −5.0 | |
Unity | Eddie McAteer | 27,006 | 36.6 | New | |
Derry Labour | Eamonn McCann | 7,565 | 10.3 | New | |
Majority | 12,135 | 16.5 | −4.5 | ||
Turnout | 73,712 | 81.6 | +5.2 | ||
UUP hold | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | William Ross | 33,060 | 52.7 | −0.4 | |
SDLP | Hugh Logue | 23,670 | 37.7 | New | |
Republican Clubs | Michael Montgomery | 4,889 | 7.8 | New | |
Independent | Richard Foster | 1,162 | 1.9 | New | |
Majority | 9,390 | 15.0 | −1.5 | ||
Turnout | 62,781 | 68.1 | −13.5 | ||
UUP hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | William Ross | 35,138 | 54.4 | +1.7 | |
SDLP | John Hume | 26,118 | 40.4 | +2.7 | |
Republican Clubs | Michael Montgomery | 2,530 | 3.9 | −3.9 | |
Independent | Richard Foster | 846 | 1.3 | −0.6 | |
Majority | 9,020 | 14.0 | −1.0 | ||
Turnout | 64,632 | 69.3 | +1.2 | ||
UUP hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | William Ross | 31,592 | 49.7 | −4.7 | |
SDLP | Hugh Logue | 19,185 | 30.2 | −10.2 | |
Alliance | Arthur Barr | 5,830 | 9.2 | New | |
Irish Independence | Fergus McAteer | 5,489 | 8.6 | New | |
Republican Clubs | Eamonn Melaugh | 888 | 1.4 | −2.5 | |
Independent Labour | William Webster | 639 | 1.0 | New | |
Majority | 12,407 | 19.5 | +5.5 | ||
Turnout | 63,623 | 67.1 | −2.2 | ||
UUP hold | Swing |
Politics and history of the constituency
From its inception Londonderry had a unionist majority, though by the 1970s the nationalist vote was approaching 40% in some elections.
In 1974 the Ulster Unionist Party repudiated the Sunningdale Agreement and so did not reselect Robin Chichester-Clark, who had been a Minister in the government of Edward Heath. Instead they ran William Ross, who held the seat until 1983. He was then elected for the new East Londonderry.
For the history of the area post 1983, please see Foyle (UK Parliament constituency) and East Londonderry.
Notes
- ^ There is a longstanding Derry/Londonderry name dispute. This article follows the approach that Derry refers to the city and County Londonderry refers to the county (outside of organisations' names, which may follow their own approaches).
References
- ^ known as Sir Charles Stewart from 1813
- ^ Farrell, Stephen. "STEWART, Alexander Robert (1795-1850), of Ards, Letterkenny, co. Donegal". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
- ^ Farrell, Stephen. "DAWSON, George Robert (1790-1856), of Castledawson, co. Londonderry and 16 Upper Grosvenor Street, Mdx". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Smith, Henry Stooks (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections (Second ed.). Simpkin, Marshall & Company. p. 233.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. pp. 227–228, 296–297. ISBN 0901714127.
- ^ "Triumphant Return of the Conservative". Tyrone Constitution. 13 March 1857. p. 2. Retrieved 6 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Correspondence". Belfast News-Letter. 13 April 1857. p. 1. Retrieved 6 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ a b Farrell, Stephen. "Co. Londonderry". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
- ^ "1951 By Election Results". Archived from the original on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 12 August 2015.