- North Down (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)
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Coordinates: 54°37′34″N 5°40′23″W / 54.626°N 5.673°W
North Down
Parliament of Northern Ireland
County constituencyNorth Down shown within Northern Ireland Created: 1929 Abolished: 1972 Election Method: First past the post North Down was a constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland.
Contents
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 Ulster Unionist James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon 1941 Independent Unionist Thomas Bailie 1945 Ulster Unionist 1953 Ulster Unionist Robert Samuel Nixon 1969 Ulster Unionist Robert Babington Election results
Northern Ireland 1921–72 
This article is part of the series:
Politics and government of
Northern Ireland 1921–72
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 Ulster Unionist R. Workman 5,137 45.0 N/A Majority 1,131 10.0 N/A Turnout 58.4 N/A Independent Unionist gain from Ulster Unionist Swing N/A At the Northern Ireland general election, 1945, Thomas Bailie was elected unopposed.[2]
General Election 1949: North Down[2] Party Candidate Votes % ±% Ulster Unionist Thomas Bailie 13,626 87.4 N/A Labour (NI) Sam Napier 1,956 12.6 N/A Majority 11,670 74.8 N/A Turnout 69.4 N/A Ulster Unionist hold Swing N/A General Election 1953: North Down[2] Party Candidate Votes % ±% Ulster Unionist 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 Ulster Unionist hold Swing N/A At the Northern Ireland general election, 1958, Robert Samuel Nixon was elected unopposed.[2]
General Election 1962: North Down[2] Party Candidate Votes % ±% Ulster Unionist Robert Samuel Nixon 11,067 68.7 N/A Liberal Arthur Burns 5,044 31.3 N/A Majority 6,023 37.4 N/A Turnout 58.0 N/A Ulster Unionist hold Swing N/A General Election 1965: North Down[2] Party Candidate Votes % ±% Ulster Unionist Robert Samuel Nixon 10,307 77.1 +8.4 Labour (NI) J. C. Marks 3,066 22.9 N/A Majority 7,241 54.2 +16.8 Turnout 46.0 -12.0 Ulster Unionist hold Swing N/A General Election 1969: North Down[2] Party Candidate Votes % ±% Ulster Unionist Robert Babington 9,013 85.2 +8.1 Liberal Sheelagh Murnaghan 1,567 14.8 N/A Majority 7,446 70.4 +16.2 Turnout 57.5 +11.5 Ulster Unionist hold Swing N/A References
- ^ Northern Ireland Parliamentary Election results: Constituency Boundaries
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Northern Ireland Parliamentary Election Results: Counties: Down
Parliament of Northern Ireland constituencies 1921–1929 1929–1973Antrim Antrim Borough · Bannside · Carrick · Larkfield (from 1969) · Larne · Mid Antrim · Newtownabbey (from 1969) · North Antrim · South AntrimArmagh Belfast East Belfast North Belfast South Belfast West Down Ards · Bangor (from 1969) · East Down · Iveagh · Lagan Valley (from 1969) · Mid Down · Mourne · North Down · South Down · West DownFermanagh and Tyrone Londonderry Queen's University Queen's University (to 1969)Categories:- Historic constituencies in County Down
- Northern Ireland Parliament constituencies established in 1929
- Constituencies of the Northern Ireland Parliament
- Northern Ireland Parliament constituencies disestablished in 1973
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