Londonderry (UK Parliament constituency)
Londonderry | |
---|---|
Former County constituency for the House of Commons | |
1801–1885 | |
Replaced by | North Londonderry and South Londonderry |
1922–1983 | |
Replaced by | East Londonderry and Foyle |
Created from | Londonderry City, North Londonderry and South Londonderry |
Londonderry was a Parliamentary Constituency in the House of Commons and also a constituency in elections to various regional bodies. It was replaced in boundary changes in 1983. It returned two MPs 1801–1885 and one 1922–1983.
Boundaries
The constituency consisted, in 1801–1885, of the whole of County Londonderry, 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 | Tory | ||||
1812 | Hon. William Ponsonby | Tory | ||||
1814 by-election | Alexander Stewart | Tory | ||||
1815 by-election | George Robert Dawson | Tory | ||||
1818 | Alexander Robert Stewart | Tory | ||||
1830 | Theobald Jones | Tory[2][3] | Sir Robert Bateson, 1st Bt | Tory[2][3] | ||
1834 | Conservative[2][3] | Conservative[2][3] | ||||
1842 by-election | Robert Bateson | Conservative[3] | ||||
1844 by-election | Thomas Bateson | Conservative[3] | ||||
1857 by-election | James Johnston Clark | Conservative[3] | ||||
1857 | Samuel MacCurdy Greer | Radical[4][5] | ||||
1859 | Robert Peel Dawson | Conservative[3] | Sir Frederick Heygate, 2nd Bt | Conservative[3] | ||
1874 | Richard Smyth | Liberal[3] | Hugh Law | Liberal[3] | ||
1878 by-election | Sir Thomas McClure, 1st Bt | Liberal[3] | ||||
1881 by-election | Andrew Porter | Liberal[3] | ||||
1884 by-election | Samuel Walker | Liberal[3] | ||||
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 | Ulster Unionist | |
1951 by-election | William Wellwood | Ulster Unionist | |
1955 | Robin Chichester-Clark | Ulster Unionist | |
February 1974 | William Ross | Ulster Unionist | |
1983 | constituency abolished: see Foyle & East Londonderry |
Notes
- ↑ known as Sir Charles Stewart from 1813
- 1 2 3 4 Smith, Henry Stooks (1842). The Register of Parliamentary Contested Elections (Second ed.). Simpkin, Marshall & Company. p. 233. Retrieved 6 October 2018 – via Google Books.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
- ↑ "Triumphant Return of the Conservative". Tyrone Constituion. 13 March 1857. p. 2. Retrieved 6 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
- ↑ "Correspondence". Belfast News-Letter. 13 April 1857. p. 1. Retrieved 6 October 2018 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
Westminster elections
Elections in the 1970s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | William Ross | 31,592 | 49.7 | ||
SDLP | Hugh Logue | 19,185 | 30.2 | ||
Alliance | Arthur Barr | 5,830 | 9.2 | ||
Irish Independence | Fergus McAteer | 5,489 | 8.6 | ||
Republican Clubs | Eamonn Melaugh | 888 | 1.4 | ||
Independent Labour | William Webster | 639 | 1.0 | ||
Majority | 12,407 | 19.5 | |||
Turnout | 63,623 | 67.1 | |||
UUP hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | William Ross | 35,138 | 54.4 | ||
SDLP | John Hume | 26,118 | 40.4 | ||
Republican Clubs | Michael Montgomery | 2,530 | 3.9 | ||
Independent | Richard Foster | 846 | 1.3 | ||
Majority | 9,020 | 14.0 | |||
Turnout | 64,632 | 69.3 | |||
UUP hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | William Ross | 33,060 | 52.7 | ||
SDLP | Hugh Logue | 23,670 | 37.7 | ||
Republican Clubs | Michael Montgomery | 4,889 | 7.8 | ||
Independent | Richard Foster | 1,162 | 1.9 | ||
Majority | 9,390 | 15.0 | |||
Turnout | 62,781 | 68.1 | |||
UUP hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | Robin Chichester-Clark | 39,141 | 53.1 | ||
Unity | Eddie McAteer | 27,006 | 36.6 | ||
Derry Labour | Eamonn McCann | 7,565 | 10.3 | ||
Majority | 12,135 | 16.5 | |||
Turnout | 73,712 | 81.6 | |||
UUP hold | Swing |
Elections in the 1960s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | Robin Chichester-Clark | 34,729 | 58.1 | ||
Nationalist | Paddy Gormley | 22,167 | 37.1 | ||
Independent Republican | Neil Gillespie | 2,860 | 4.8 | ||
Majority | 12,562 | 21.0 | |||
Turnout | 59,756 | 76.4 | |||
UUP hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | Robin Chichester-Clark | 37,700 | 64.1 | ||
Independent Republican | Hugh McAteer | 21,123 | 35.9 | ||
Majority | 16,577 | 28.1 | |||
Turnout | 58,823 | 76.5 | |||
UUP hold | Swing |
Elections in the 1950s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | Robin Chichester-Clark | 37,529 | 73.0 | ||
Sinn Féin | Manus Canning | 13,872 | 27.0 | ||
Majority | 23,657 | 46.0 | |||
Turnout | 51,401 | 70.2 | |||
UUP hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | Robin Chichester-Clark | 35,673 | 64.5 | ||
Sinn Féin | Manus Canning | 19,640 | 35.5 | ||
Majority | 16,033 | 29.0 | |||
Turnout | 55,313 | 77.6 | |||
UUP hold | Swing |
- In the Londonderry by-election, 1951[1] and the United Kingdom general election, 1951, William Wellwood was elected unopposed.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | Ronald Ross | 36,602 | 62.6 | ||
Independent Republican | Hugh McAteer | 21,880 | 37.4 | ||
Majority | 14,722 | 25.2 | |||
Turnout | 58,482 | 80.7 | |||
UUP hold | Swing |
Elections in the 1940s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | Ronald Ross | 40,214 | 50.8 | N/A | |
Nationalist | Denis Cavanagh | 37,561 | 47.4 | N/A | |
NI Labour | Milton Gordon | 1,471 | 1.9 | N/A | |
Majority | 2,653 | 3.4 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 79,246 | 88.1 | N/A | ||
UUP hold | Swing | N/A |
Elections in the 1930s
- In the 1931 and 1935 general elections, Ronald Deane Ross was elected unopposed.
Elections in the 1920s
- In the Londonderry by-election, 1929 and the United Kingdom general election, 1929, Ronald Deane Ross was elected unopposed.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | Malcolm Macnaghten | 30,875 | 82.9 | N/A | |
Sinn Féin | Charles MacWhinney | 5,869 | 15.8 | N/A | |
Independent Unionist | William Galt | 517 | 1.4 | N/A | |
Majority | 25,006 | 67.1 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 37,261 | 59.1 | N/A | ||
UUP hold | Swing | N/A |
- In the United Kingdom general election, 1923, Malcolm Macnaghten was elected unopposed.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | Malcolm Macnaghten | 30,743 | 75.7 | N/A | |
Independent Nationalist |
|
9,861 | 24.3 | N/A | |
Majority | 20,882 | 51.4 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 40,604 | 63.9 | N/A | ||
UUP hold | Swing | N/A |
- anti-partition
Elections in the 1880s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Samuel Walker | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 5,798 | ||||
Liberal hold |
- Caused by Porter's appointment as Master of the Rolls
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 | N/A | |
Majority | 647 | 13.4 | +3.4 | ||
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 | Hugh Law | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 5,853 | ||||
Liberal hold |
- Caused by Law's appointment as Attorney-General for Ireland
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 | 10.0 | −0.8 | ||
Turnout | 5,069 (est) | 86.6 (est) | +4.2 | ||
Registered electors | 5,853 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | +5.8 | |||
Liberal hold | Swing | +3.6 |
Elections in the 1870s
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.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Richard Smyth | 2,988 | 33.8 | N/A | |
Liberal | Hugh Law | 2,701 | 30.6 | N/A | |
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 | |||
Elections in the 1860s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Peel Dawson | Unopposed | |||
Conservative | Frederick Heygate | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 5,582 | ||||
Conservative hold | |||||
Conservative hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Peel Dawson | Unopposed | |||
Conservative | Frederick Heygate | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 5,512 | ||||
Conservative hold | |||||
Conservative hold |
Elections in the 1850s
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 | +8.8 | ||
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 | |||
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 | 1.0 | −6.1 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | +2.5 | |||
Majority | 663 | 10.3 | N/A | ||
Radical gain from Conservative | Swing | +9.0 | |||
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 | 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 | N/A | |
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 | Thomas Bateson | Unopposed | |||
Conservative hold |
- Caused by Bateson's appointment as a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
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.