54°36′47″N 5°55′44″W / 54.613°N 5.929°W
Belfast Dock | |
---|---|
Former Borough constituency for the Parliament of Northern Ireland | |
Former constituency | |
Created | 1929 |
Abolished | 1973 |
Election method | First 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
Election | Member | Party | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
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
(1921–72) |
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) |
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 | ||||
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 | ||||
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 | ||||
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 | ||||
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 | ||||
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 | ||||
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 | ||||
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 | ||||
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 | ||||