54°36′47″N 5°55′44″W / 54.613°N 5.929°W / 54.613; -5.929

Belfast Dock
Former Borough constituency
for the Parliament of Northern Ireland
Belfast Dock 1929-1969
Belfast Dock shown within Belfast and Belfast shown within Northern Ireland
Former constituency
Created1929
Abolished1973
Election methodFirst past the post

Belfast Dock was a constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland.

Boundaries

Belfast Dock was a borough constituency comprising part of northern Belfast. It was created in 1929 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.

Belfast Dock was created by the division of Belfast East into four new constituencies. It survived unchanged, returning one member of Parliament, until the Parliament of Northern Ireland was temporarily suspended in 1972, and then formally abolished in 1973.[1]

The boundaries were the same as the former Dock ward. This meant that the boundary ran from Carlisle Circus, along Clifton Street, up North Queen Street, along Great George's Street, along the Belfast Lough, along Brougham Street and Duncairn Gardens and from the top of Duncairn Gardens, along the Antrim Road to Carlisle Circus. Consequently, the constituency was almost identical to the current New Lodge ward.

The constituency is now part of Belfast North.

Politics

The constituency was one of the most marginal in the Northern Ireland Parliament changing hands at every election until 1965. In every election from 1933 to 1965 the incumbent member lost his seat.[1]

Members of Parliament

ElectionMemberParty
1929 Charles Blakiston-Houston Ulster Unionist Party
1933 Harry Midgley Northern Ireland Labour Party
1938 George Anthony Clark Ulster Unionist Party
1945 Hugh Downey Northern Ireland Labour Party
1949 Thomas Loftus Cole Ulster Unionist Party
1953 Murtagh Morgan Irish Labour Party
1958 William Oliver Ulster Unionist Party
1962 Gerry Fitt Irish Labour Party
1965 Republican Labour Party
1970 Social Democratic and Labour Party
1973 Constituency abolished

Elections results

General Election 22 May 1929: Belfast Dock[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Charles Blakiston-Houston 4,035 46.6
NI Labour Dawson Gordon 3,003 34.7
Ind. Unionist James Woods Gyle 1,619 18.7
Majority 1,032 11.9
Turnout 8,657 73.7
Ulster Unionist win (new seat)
General Election 30 November 1933: Belfast Dock[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
NI Labour Harry Midgley 4,893 57.0 +22.3
Ulster Unionist Charles Blakiston-Houston 3,685 43.0 -3.6
Majority 1,208 14.0 N/A
Turnout 8,578 77.5 +3.8
NI Labour gain from Ulster Unionist Swing
General Election 9 February 1938: Belfast Dock[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist George Anthony Clark 3,578 42.6 -0.4
Nationalist James Collins 2,891 34.5 New
NI Labour Harry Midgley 1,943 22.9 -34.1
Majority 687 8.1 N/A
Turnout 8,412 82.5 +5.0
Ulster Unionist gain from NI Labour Swing
General Election 14 June 1945: Belfast Dock[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
NI Labour Hugh Downey 3,985 57.7 +34.8
Ulster Unionist George Anthony Clark 2,924 42.3 -0.3
Majority 1,061 15.4 N/A
Turnout 6,909 78.5 -4.0
NI Labour gain from Ulster Unionist Swing
General Election 10 February 1949: Belfast Dock[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Thomas Loftus Cole 3,674 52.0 +9.7
NI Labour Hugh Downey 3,390 48.0 -9.7
Majority 284 4.0 N/A
Turnout 7,064 79.8 +1.3
Ulster Unionist gain from NI Labour Swing
General Election 22 October 1953: Belfast Dock[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Irish Labour Murtagh Morgan 3,537 51.3 New
Ulster Unionist Thomas Loftus Cole 3,358 48.7 -3.3
Majority 179 2.6 N/A
Turnout 6,895 75.9 -3.9
Irish Labour gain from Ulster Unionist Swing
General Election 20 March 1958: Belfast Dock[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist William Oliver 3,156 52.1 +3.4
Irish Labour Gerry Fitt 2,900 47.9 -3.4
Majority 256 4.2 N/A
Turnout 6,056 73.9 -2.0
Ulster Unionist gain from Irish Labour Swing
General Election 31 May 1962: Belfast Dock[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Irish Labour Gerry Fitt 3,288 54.2 +6.3
Ulster Unionist William Oliver 2,781 45.8 -6.3
Majority 507 8.4 N/A
Turnout 6,069 77.9 +4.0
Irish Labour gain from Ulster Unionist Swing
General Election 25 November 1965: Belfast Dock[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Labour Gerry Fitt 3,326 62.3 New
Ulster Unionist William Oliver 2,016 37.7 -8.1
Majority 1,310 24.6 N/A
Turnout 5,342 70.3 -7.6
Republican Labour gain from Irish Labour Swing
General Election 24 February 1969: Belfast Dock[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Labour Gerry Fitt 3,274 62.8 +0.5
Ulster Unionist Harold E. Smith 1,936 37.2 -0.5
Majority 1,338 25.6 +1.0
Turnout 5,210 72.2 +1.9
Republican Labour hold Swing

References

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