Belfast Shankill (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)

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Belfast Shankill Parliament of Northern Ireland Borough constituency
Belfast Shankill shown within Belfast and Belfast shown within Northern Ireland
Created:	1929
Abolished:	1972
Election Method:	First past the post

Belfast Shankill was a constituency of the Northern Ireland Parliament.

Contents 1 Boundaries 2 Politics 3 Members of Parliament 4 Election results 5 References

[edit] Boundaries

Belfast Shankill 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 Shankill was created by the division of Belfast North into four new constituencies. It survived unchanged, returning one member of Parliament, until the Northern Ireland Parliament was prorogued in 1972 and formally abolished in 1973.^[1]

[edit] Politics

In common with other seats in North Belfast, the seat had little nationalist presence. The seat was strongly Unionist, but there was some labour movement strength. For the first twenty-four years of its existence, the seat was held by an independent Unionist.^[1]

[edit] Members of Parliament

• 1929 - 1953: Tommy Henderson, Independent Unionist (1929 - 30s); Independent Unionist Association (1930s - 40s); Independent Unionist (1940s - 1955)
• 1955 - 1960: Henry Holmes, Ulster Unionist Party
• 1960 - 1972: Desmond Boal, Ulster Unionist Party (1960 - 61); Independent Unionist (1961); Ulster Unionist Party (1961 - 70); Independent Unionist (1970 - 71); Democratic Unionist Party (1971 - 72)

[edit] Election results

General Election 1929: Belfast Shankill[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Unionist	Tommy Henderson	6,525	51.1	N/A
	Ulster Unionist	Samuel McGuffin	6,244	48.9	N/A
Majority			281	2.2	N/A
Turnout				74.8	N/A
	Independent Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 1933: Belfast Shankill[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Unionist	Tommy Henderson	6,451	50.5	-0.6
	Ulster Unionist	J. N. Fulton	6,335	49.5	+0.6
Majority			116	1.0	-1.2
Turnout				76.4	+1.6
	Independent Unionist hold		Swing

General Election 1938: Belfast Shankill[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ind. Unionist Association	Tommy Henderson	7,518	51.4	+0.9
	Ulster Unionist	J. N. Fulton	7,095	48.6	-0.9
Majority			423	2.8	+1.8
Turnout				83.6	+7.2
	Ind. Unionist Association gain from Independent Unionist		Swing

At the 1945 and 1949 general elections, Tommy Henderson was elected unopposed.^[2]

General Election 1953: Belfast Shankill[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ulster Unionist	Henry Holmes	5,485	47.3	N/A
	Independent Unionist	Tommy Henderson	3,215	27.7	N/A
	Labour (NI)	N. B. Fullerton	2,897	25.0	N/A
Majority			2,270	19.6	N/A
Turnout				65.6	N/A
	Ulster Unionist gain from Independent Unionist		Swing	N/A

General Election 1958: Belfast Shankill[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ulster Unionist	Henry Holmes	6,411	56.2	+8.9
	Labour (NI)	Samuel Cree	4,995	43.8	+18.0
Majority			1,416	12.4	-7.2
Turnout				61.5	-4.1
	Ulster Unionist hold		Swing

Belfast Shankill by-election, 1960[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ulster Unionist	Desmond Boal	4,320	64.2	+8.0
	Labour (NI)	Samuel Cree	2,414	35.8	-8.0
Majority			1,906	28.4	+16.0
Turnout				28.4	-33.1
	Ulster Unionist hold		Swing

At the Northern Ireland general election, 1962, Desmond Boal was elected unopposed.^[2]

General Election 1965: Belfast Shankill[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ulster Unionist	Desmond Boal	6,289	67.4	N/A
	Labour (NI)	D. A. Overend	3,035	32.6	N/A
Majority			3,254	34.8	N/A
Turnout				50.5	N/A
	Ulster Unionist hold		Swing

General Election 1969: Belfast Shankill[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ulster Unionist	Desmond Boal	6,384	49.4	-18.0
	Independent Unionist	S. H. Walsh	4,545	35.2	N/A
	Labour (NI)	D. A. Overend	1,997	15.4	-17.2
Majority			1,839	14.2	-20.6
Turnout				71.1	+20.6
	Ulster Unionist hold		Swing

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b} The Northern Ireland House of Commons, 1921-1972, Northern Ireland Elections
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Northern Ireland Parliamentary Elections Results: Boroughs: Belfast

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