Belfast South (UK Parliament constituency)

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For other constituencies of the same name, see Belfast South (disambiguation).

Belfast South
Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
Outline map
Boundary of Belfast South in Northern Ireland
Districts of Northern IrelandBelfast, Castlereagh
Electorate60,914 (March 2011)
BoroughBelfast
Current constituency
Created1922
Member of ParliamentClaire Hanna (SDLP)
Seats1
Created fromBelfast Cromac, Belfast Ormeau
1885–1918
Seats1
Type of constituencyborough constituency
Created fromBelfast
Replaced byBelfast Cromac, Belfast Ormeau

Belfast South is a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons. The current MP is Claire Hanna of the SDLP.

Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat will be subject to boundary changes and will be renamed Belfast South and Mid Down, to be first contested at the next general election.[1][2]

Boundaries[edit]

Map
Map of boundaries 2010-2024

1885–1918: In the Borough of Belfast, that part of Cromac ward not in the constituency of Belfast East, that part of St. George's ward not in the constituency of Belfast West, and the townlands of Malone Lower and that part of Malone Upper within the parliamentary borough in the parish of Shankill.

1922–1974: The County Borough of Belfast wards of Cromac, Ormeau, and Windsor.

1974–1983: The County Borough of Belfast wards of Cromac, Ormeau, and Windsor, the District of Lisburn electoral divisions of Ardmore, Dunmurry, Finaghy, and Upper Malone, and the Rural District of Hillsborough electoral divisions of Breda and Edenderry.

1983–1997: The District of Belfast wards of Ballynafeigh, Cromac, Donegall, Finaghy, Malone, Ormeau, Rosetta, St George's, Stranmillis, University, Upper Malone, Willowfield, and Windsor.

1997–2010: The District of Belfast wards of Ballynafeigh, Blackstaff, Botanic, Finaghy, Malone, Musgrave, Ravenhill, Rosetta, Shaftesbury, Stranmillis, Upper Malone, Windsor, and Woodstock, and the District of Castlereagh wards of Beechill, Cairnshill, Galwally, Knockbracken, Minnowburn, and Newtownbreda.

2010–present: The District of Belfast wards above and the District of Castlereagh wards as above plus Carryduff East, Carryduff West, Hillfoot, and Wynchurch.

The seat was created in 1922 when, as part of the establishment of the devolved Stormont Parliament for Northern Ireland, the number of MPs in the Westminster Parliament was drastically cut. The seat is centred on the Belfast City Council districts of Balmoral, Laganbank and Pottinger and also contains part of the district of Castlereagh.

Prior to the 2010 general election, the Boundary Commission proposed expanding Belfast South further into Castlereagh, taking in areas currently contained in both Strangford and Belfast East. This was strongly opposed by the DUP but supported by the Ulster Unionists. It was also one of the issues that generated the most negative comments in the written submissions with a petition representing half of Cregagh's residents opposing its move.

Following the local enquiries, the Boundary Commission proposed retaining the Cregagh ward in East Belfast while transferring instead the Hillfoot ward. These proposals were submitted as final recommendations and were put into force through the passing of the Northern Ireland Parliamentary Constituencies Order[3] in 2008.

Future boundaries[edit]

Map
Map of boundaries from 2024

In time for the Next United Kingdom general election, the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland has recommended expanding the current seat to become Belfast South and Mid Down covering central Belfast, Finnaghy, Drumbo, and Carryduff. [4]

History[edit]

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Belfast South tended to elect 'rebel unionists' such as William Johnston, who famously defied a ban on Orange marches, and Thomas Sloan, founder of the Independent Orange Order.

Belfast South contains some of Belfast's most expensive residential districts as well as Queen's University Belfast. The overall tenor of the constituency is middle-class – young, trendy and cosmopolitan towards the city centre, with Northern Ireland's biggest concentrations of both students and ethnic minorities, and further out from the city centre it is settled and prosperous. Despite this, significant pockets of inner-city working class areas such as the Markets and a number of isolated suburban estates exist in the constituency.

There has been particularly rapid demographic change in Belfast South since around the year 2000. The 2011 census revealed that Belfast South consists of a slightly larger Catholic population than Protestant and while the constituency traditionally has had a unionist majority, the nationalist vote has now surpassed this in more recent elections. There have also been strong votes for other parties such as the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, Green Party, the Conservatives and the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition. The constituency has witnessed a steady series of candidates backed by groups who aspire to support the British Labour Party despite its prior ban on membership and organisation in Northern Ireland, though their results have been minimal. Until the 1990s the main focus of attention had been on contests between unionist candidates.

In the February 1974 general election the seat was won by Robert Bradford of the Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party on a united anti-Sunningdale Agreement slate with the Ulster Unionist Party and the Democratic Unionist Party. He defeated Rafton Pounder, the sitting Unionist MP who defended his seat as a Pro-Assembly Unionist. Bradford held the seat for the next seven years, though in February 1978 he and the rump of Vanguard reunited with the Ulster Unionists. At the end of 1981 Bradford was assassinated by the IRA in a Belfast community centre while hosting a political surgery.

The subsequent by-election garnered much interest as it was expected that the Democratic Unionist Party would take the seat, building on their steady rise which had seen them gain both Belfast North and Belfast East at the previous general election. However, the DUP came third, behind the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, and the UUP's candidate Martin Smyth won the seat, holding it until 2005. The by-election was extremely significant at the time in that it was the first at which the DUP tide ebbed.

In January 2005 Smyth announced that he would be retiring at the 2005 general election, raising speculation both as to whom the Ulster Unionists would field in succession to him and what effect a different candidate would have upon their share of the vote. The UUP selected Assembly member Michael McGimpsey, albeit with a highly controversial and bitter selection. McGimpsey was repudiated by many prominent Unionists, including both Smyth and former UUP leader James Molyneaux. The DUP selected Jimmy Spratt and offered an electoral pact to the UUP that would give each party a free run at one out of South Belfast and Fermanagh and South Tyrone. This offer was rejected by the UUP.

In the event, the DUP and UUP both fielded candidates which split the vote. The nationalist vote mainly went for the SDLP over Sinn Féin, with the result that the SDLP took the seat despite a majority of votes cast for unionist candidates.[5]

In 2010, Sinn Féin opted not to stand against the SDLP to avoid splitting the nationalist vote.[6] The SDLP won the seat with a majority of 6,000. This was the seat in which the Alliance Party had their second-best showing, polling 15% of the votes. Alasdair McDonnell retained the seat in May 2015, with only 24.5% of the vote, as Sinn Féin opted to stand. This is the smallest proportion of the vote a winning candidate has ever achieved in a UK general election.[7]

In 2017 the seat was won by Emma Little-Pengelly of the DUP[8] with Alasdair McDonnell losing his seat along with all other SDLP MPs in Northern Ireland.[9] This was won back for the SDLP by Claire Hanna in 2019, with Sinn Féin again opting not to stand.[10] This was the first time since 1987 that the winning candidate in the constituency had a majority of the vote.

Members of Parliament[edit]

The Member of Parliament since the 2019 general election is Claire Hanna of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, succeeding Emma Little-Pengelly of the Democratic Unionist Party.

Election Member Party
1885 William Johnston Independent Conservative
1886 Irish Unionist
1902 Thomas Sloan Independent Unionist
1910 James Chambers Irish Unionist
1917 William Arthur Lindsay
1918 constituency abolished
1922 constituency recreated
1922 Thomas Moles Ulster Unionist
1929 William Stewart
1938 Progressive Unionist
1945 Conolly Gage Ulster Unionist
1952 David Campbell
1963 Rafton Pounder
February 1974 Robert Bradford Vanguard Unionist
1977 Ulster Unionist
1982 Martin Smyth
2003 Independent Unionist
2004 Ulster Unionist Party
2005 Alasdair McDonnell Social Democratic and Labour
2017 Emma Little-Pengelly Democratic Unionist
2019 Claire Hanna Social Democratic and Labour

Election results[edit]

Elections in the 2020s[edit]

Next general election: Belfast South and Mid Down
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SDLP Claire Hanna[11]
Alliance Kate Nicholl[12]
Majority
Turnout
Registered electors
gain from Swing

Elections in the 2010s[edit]

General election 2019: Belfast South[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SDLP Claire Hanna 27,079 57.2 +31.3
DUP Emma Little-Pengelly 11,678 24.7 ―5.7
Alliance Paula Bradshaw 6,786 14.3 ―3.9
Ulster Unionist Michael Henderson 1,259 2.7 ―0.8
Aontú Chris McHugh 550 1.2 New
Majority 15,401 32.5 N/A
Turnout 47,352 67.6 +1.5
Registered electors 70,047
SDLP gain from DUP Swing +18.5

This seat saw the largest SDLP vote share and the largest increase in vote share for the party at the 2019 general election. This came as Sinn Féin did not contest the seat. It also saw the only fall in vote share for Alliance.[14]

General election 2017: Belfast South[15][16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
DUP Emma Little-Pengelly 13,299 30.4 +8.2
SDLP Alasdair McDonnell 11,303 25.9 +1.4
Alliance Paula Bradshaw 7,946 18.2 +1.0
Sinn Féin Máirtín Ó Muilleoir 7,143 16.3 +2.4
Green (NI) Clare Bailey 2,241 5.1 ―0.6
Ulster Unionist Michael Henderson 1,527 3.5 ―5.6
NI Conservatives Clare Salier 246 0.6 ―0.9
Majority 1,996 4.5 N/A
Turnout 43,699 66.1 +6.1
Registered electors 66,105
DUP gain from SDLP Swing +3.5
General election 2015: Belfast South[17][18][19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SDLP Alasdair McDonnell 9,560 24.5 ―16.5
DUP Jonathan Bell 8,654 22.2 ―1.5
Alliance Paula Bradshaw 6,711 17.2 +2.2
Sinn Féin Máirtín Ó Muilleoir 5,402 13.9 New
Ulster Unionist Rodney McCune 3,549 9.1 ―8.2
Green (NI) Clare Bailey 2,238 5.7 +2.7
UKIP Bob Stoker 1,900 4.9 New
NI Conservatives Ben Manton 582 1.5 New
Workers' Party Lily Kerr 361 0.9 New
Majority 906 2.3 ―15.0
Turnout 38,957 60.0 +2.6
Registered electors 64,927
SDLP hold Swing ―7.5
General election 2010: Belfast South[20][21]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SDLP Alasdair McDonnell 14,026 41.0 +8.7
DUP Jimmy Spratt 8,100 23.7 ―5.9
UCU-NF Paula Bradshaw[22] 5,910 17.3 ―4.9
Alliance Anna Lo 5,114 15.0 +7.7
Green (NI) Adam McGibbon 1,036 3.0 New
Majority 5,926 17.3 +13.4
Turnout 34,186 57.4 ―5.1
Registered electors 59,524
SDLP hold Swing +6.7

Elections in the 2000s[edit]

General election 2005: Belfast South[23]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SDLP Alasdair McDonnell 10,339 32.3 +1.7
DUP Jimmy Spratt 9,104 28.4 New
Ulster Unionist Michael McGimpsey 7,263 22.7 ―22.1
Sinn Féin Alex Maskey 2,882 9.0 +1.4
Alliance Geraldine Rice 2,012 6.3 +0.9
Rainbow Dream Ticket Lynda Gilby 235 0.7 +0.4
Workers' Party Paddy Lynn 193 0.6 +0.1
Majority 1,235 3.9 N/A
Turnout 32,028 60.8 ―3.1
Registered electors 52,218
SDLP gain from Ulster Unionist Swing ―13.4
General election 2001: Belfast South[24]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Martin Smyth 17,008 44.8 +8.8
SDLP Alasdair McDonnell 11,609 30.6 +6.3
NI Women's Coalition Monica McWilliams 2,968 7.8 +4.8
Sinn Féin Alex Maskey 2,894 7.6 +2.5
Alliance Geraldine Rice 2,042 5.4 ―7.5
PUP Dawn Purvis 1,112 2.9 ―11.5
Workers' Party Paddy Lynn 204 0.5 ―0.2
Rainbow Dream Ticket Rainbow George Weiss 115 0.3 New
Majority 5,399 14.2 +2.5
Turnout 37,952 63.9 +1.7
Registered electors 59,436
Ulster Unionist hold Swing +1.3

Elections in the 1990s[edit]

General election 1997: Belfast South[25]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Martin Smyth 14,201 36.0 ―18.7
SDLP Alasdair McDonnell 9,601 24.3 +10.1
PUP David Ervine 5,687 14.4 New
Alliance Steve McBride 5,112 12.9 ―2.8
Sinn Féin Seán Hayes 2,019 5.1 +2.6
NI Women's Coalition Annie Campbell 1,204 3.0 New
NI Conservatives Myrtle Boal 962 2.4 ―9.3
Independent Labour Niall Cusack 292 0.7 New
Workers' Party Paddy Lynn 286 0.7 New
Natural Law James Anderson 120 0.3 New
Majority 4,600 11.7 ―19.3
Turnout 39,484 62.2 ―2.3
Registered electors 63,633
Ulster Unionist hold Swing ―13.4

1997 Changes are compared to the 1992 notional results shown below.

Notional 1992 UK General Election Result : Belfast South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist N/A 23,258 52.7 N/A
Alliance N/A 6,921 15.7 N/A
SDLP N/A 6,266 14.2 N/A
NI Conservatives N/A 5,154 11.7 N/A
Others N/A 1,437 3.3 N/A
Sinn Féin N/A 1,116 2.5 N/A
Majority 16,337 37.0 N/A
General election 1992: Belfast South[26]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Martin Smyth 16,336 48.6 ―9.2
SDLP Alasdair McDonnell 6,266 18.7 +5.6
Alliance John Montgomery 5,054 15.0 ―6.3
NI Conservatives Andrew Fee 3,356 10.0 New
Sinn Féin Seán Hayes 1,123 3.3 +0.1
Labour and Trade Union Peter Hadden 875 2.6 New
Workers' Party Paddy Lynn 362 1.1 ―3.6
Natural Law Teresa Mullen 212 0.6 New
Majority 10,070 29.9 ―6.6
Turnout 33,584 64.5 +4.2
Registered electors 52,050
Ulster Unionist hold Swing

Elections in the 1980s[edit]

General election 1987: Belfast South[27]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Martin Smyth 18,917 57.8 +7.8
Alliance David Cook 6,963 21.3 ―2.6
SDLP Alasdair McDonnell 4,268 13.1 +4.5
Workers' Party Gerard Carr 1,528 4.7 +2.4
Sinn Féin Seán McKnight 1,030 3.2 +0.2
Majority 11,954 36.5 +10.5
Turnout 32,706 60.3 ―9.3
Registered electors 54,208
Ulster Unionist hold Swing
By-election 1986: Belfast South[28]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Martin Smyth 21,771 71.3 +21.3
Alliance David Cook 7,635 25.0 +1.1
Workers' Party Gerry Carr 1,109 3.6 +1.3
Majority 14,136 46.3 +20.3
Turnout 30,515 56.9 ―12.7
Registered electors 53,944
Ulster Unionist hold Swing

Note: The by-election was caused by the decision of all Unionist MPs to resign their seats and seek re-election on a platform of opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement.

General election 1983: Belfast South[29]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Martin Smyth 18,669 50.0 ―11.7
Alliance David Cook 8,945 23.9 ―1.2
DUP Raymond McCrea 4,565 12.2 N/A
SDLP Alasdair McDonnell 3,216 8.6 ―0.7
Sinn Féin Sean McKnight 1,107 3.0 New
Workers' Party Gerry Carr 856 2.3 New
Majority 9,724 26.0 ―10.6
Turnout 37,358 69.6 +1.7
Registered electors 53,674
Ulster Unionist hold Swing
1982 Belfast South by-election[30]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Martin Smyth 17,123 39.3 −22.4
Alliance David Cook 11,726 26.9 +1.8
DUP William McCrea 9,818 22.6 New
SDLP Alasdair McDonnell 3,839 8.8 +0.9
Ulster Loyalist Democratic Party John McMichael 576 1.3 New
United Labour Party Brian Caul 303 0.7 New
One Human Family Jagat Narain 137 0.3 New
Peace State Simon Hall-Raleigh 12 0.03 New
Majority 5,397 12.4 −24.2
Turnout 43,534 66.2 −1.7
Registered electors 66,219
Ulster Unionist hold Swing

Elections in the 1970s[edit]

General election 1979: Belfast South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Robert Bradford 28,875 61.7 +2.5
Alliance Basil Glass 11,745 25.1 +2.1
SDLP Alasdair McDonnell 3,694 7.9 +3.2
Unionist Party NI Victor Brennan 1,784 3.8 New
Labour Integrationist Jeffrey Dudgeon 692 1.5 New
Majority 17,130 36.6 +0.4
Turnout 46,790 67.9 +0.2
Registered electors 68,920
Ulster Unionist hold Swing
General election October 1974: Belfast South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Vanguard Robert Bradford 30,116 59.2 +16.6
Alliance John Glass 11,715 23.0 +13.1
Ind. Unionist Stanley McMaster 4,982 9.8 New
SDLP Ben Caraher 2,390 4.7 −3.3
NI Labour Erskine Holmes 1,643 3.2 −1.5
Majority 18,401 36.2 +28.5
Turnout 50,846 67.7 −1.9
Registered electors 75,112
Vanguard hold Swing
General election February 1974: Belfast South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Vanguard Robert Bradford 22,083 42.6 New
Pro-Assembly Unionist Rafton Pounder 18,085 34.9 New
Alliance David Cook 5,118 9.9 New
SDLP Ben Caraher 4,149 8.0 New
NI Labour Erskine Holmes 2,455 4.7 −24.9
Majority 3,998 7.7 N/A
Turnout 51,890 69.6 +1.2
Registered electors 75,443
Vanguard gain from Ulster Unionist Swing
General election 1970: Belfast South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Rafton Pounder 27,523 70.4 +5.0
NI Labour John Coulthard 11,567 29.6 −5.0
Majority 15,956 40.8 +10.0
Turnout 39,090 68.4 +5.1
Registered electors 57,112
Ulster Unionist hold Swing

Elections in the 1960s[edit]

General election 1966: Belfast South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Rafton Pounder 23,329 65.4 −4.4
NI Labour Erskine Holmes 12,364 34.6 +12.2
Majority 10,965 30.8 −16.6
Turnout 35,693 63.3 −5.0
Registered electors 56,390
Ulster Unionist hold Swing
General election 1964: Belfast South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Rafton Pounder 27,422 69.8 −0.1
NI Labour John Barkley 8,792 22.4 +0.8
Ulster Liberal Judith Rosenfield 1,941 4.9 −2.6
Independent Republican Robert McKnight 1,159 3.0 New
Majority 18,630 47.4 −0.9
Turnout 39,314 68.3 −3.8
Registered electors 57,558
Ulster Unionist hold Swing
By-election 1963: Belfast South[31]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Rafton Pounder 17,989 64.3 −5.6
NI Labour Norman Searight 7,209 25.8 +4.2
Ulster Liberal Albert Hamilton 2,774 9.9 +2.4
Majority 10,780 38.5 −9.8
Turnout 27,972 48.3 −23.8
Registered electors 57,864
Ulster Unionist hold Swing

Elections in the 1950s[edit]

General election 1959: Belfast South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist David Campbell 30,164 69.9 −8.5
NI Labour Norman Searight 9,318 21.6 +4.0
Ulster Liberal Sheelagh Murnaghan 3,253 7.5 New
Sinn Féin Brendan O'Reilly 434 1.0 −2.9
Majority 20,846 48.3 −12.5
Turnout 43,169 72.1 +6.4
Registered electors 59,864
Ulster Unionist hold Swing
General election 1955: Belfast South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist David Campbell 33,392 78.4 +2.6
NI Labour Edward Brown 7,508 17.6 −3.6
Sinn Féin Patrick Kearney 1,679 3.9 New
Majority 25,884 60.8 +9.2
Turnout 42,579 65.7 −8.1
Registered electors 64,844
Ulster Unionist hold Swing
By-election 1952: Belfast South[32]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist David Campbell 23,067 75.1 −0.7
NI Labour Samuel Napier 7,655 24.9 +0.7
Majority 15,412 50.2 −1.4
Turnout 30,722 46.4 −27.4
Registered electors 65,196
Ulster Unionist hold Swing
General election 1951: Belfast South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Hugh Gage 37,046 75.8 +0.6
NI Labour Robert McBrinn 11,815 24.2 −0.6
Majority 25,231 51.6 +1.2
Turnout 48,861 73.8 +4.5
Registered electors 66,212
Ulster Unionist hold Swing
General election 1950: Belfast South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Hugh Gage 34,620 75.2 +23.0
NI Labour James McKernan 11,428 24.8 +7.3
Majority 23,192 50.4 +28.5
Turnout 46,048 69.3 +2.9
Registered electors 66,486
Ulster Unionist hold Swing

Elections in the 1940s[edit]

General election 1945: Belfast South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Conolly Gage 24,282 52.2 N/A
Commonwealth Labour Harry Midgley 14,096 30.3 New
NI Labour James Morrow 8,166 17.5 New
Majority 10,186 21.9 N/A
Turnout 46,544 66.4 N/A
Registered electors 70,140
Ulster Unionist hold Swing N/A

Elections in the 1930s[edit]

General election 1935: Belfast South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist William Stewart Unopposed
Registered electors 63,004
Ulster Unionist hold
General election 1931: Belfast South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist William Stewart Unopposed
Registered electors 59,394
Ulster Unionist hold

Elections in the 1920s[edit]

General election 1929: Belfast South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist William Stewart 24,019 62.9 N/A
Ind. Unionist Philip James Woods 14,148 37.1 New
Majority 9,871 25.8 N/A
Turnout 38,167 64.7 N/A
Registered electors 59,025
Ulster Unionist hold Swing N/A
General election 1924: Belfast South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Thomas Moles Unopposed
Registered electors
Ulster Unionist hold
General election 1923: Belfast South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Thomas Moles Unopposed
Registered electors
Ulster Unionist hold
General election 1922: Belfast South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Thomas Moles Unopposed
Registered electors
Ulster Unionist win (new seat)

Elections in the 1910s[edit]

July 1917 Belfast South by-election[33]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Irish Unionist William Arthur Lindsay Unopposed
Registered electors
Irish Unionist hold
April 1917 Belfast South by-election[33]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Irish Unionist James Chambers Unopposed
Registered electors
Irish Unionist hold
December 1910 general election: Belfast South[33]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Irish Unionist James Chambers 5,585 67.2 +5.3
Ind. Unionist Thomas Sloan 2,722 32.8 -5.3
Majority 2,863 34.4 +10.6
Turnout 8,307 78.2 -9.6
Registered electors 10,622
Irish Unionist hold Swing +5.3
January 1910 general election: Belfast South[33]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Irish Unionist James Chambers 5,772 61.9 +16.9
Ind. Unionist Thomas Sloan 3,553 38.1 -16.9
Majority 2,219 23.8 N/A
Turnout 9,325 87.8 +3.0
Registered electors 10,622
Irish Unionist gain from Ind. Unionist Swing +16.9

Elections in the 1900s[edit]

1906 general election: Belfast South[33]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ind. Unionist Thomas Sloan 4,450 55.0 N/A
Irish Unionist Arthur Hill 3,634 45.0 N/A
Majority 816 10.0 N/A
Turnout 8,084 84.8 N/A
Registered electors 9,538
Ind. Unionist hold Swing N/A
1902 Belfast South by-election[34][33]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ind. Unionist Thomas Sloan 3,795 56.1 New
Irish Unionist Charles William Dunbar Buller 2,969 43.9 N/A
Majority 826 12.2 N/A
Turnout 6,764 66.0 N/A
Registered electors 10,246
Ind. Unionist gain from Irish Unionist Swing N/A
1900 general election: Belfast South[33]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Irish Unionist William Johnston Unopposed
Registered electors
Irish Unionist hold

Elections in the 1890s[edit]

1895 general election: Belfast South[33]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Irish Unionist William Johnston Unopposed
Registered electors 8,192
Irish Unionist hold
1892 general election: Belfast South[33]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Irish Unionist William Johnston Unopposed
Registered electors 7,563
Irish Unionist hold

Elections in the 1880s[edit]

1886 general election: Belfast South[33]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Irish Unionist William Johnston 4,542 87.4 +21.4
Irish Parliamentary Andrew McErlean 657 12.6 New
Majority 3,885 74.8 N/A
Turnout 5,199 77.1 -4.1
Registered electors 6,740
Irish Unionist gain from Ind. Conservative Swing
1885 general election: Belfast South[33]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ind. Conservative William Johnston 3,610 66.0
Liberal John Workman 990 18.1
Ind. Conservative Robert Seeds 871 15.9
Majority 2,620 47.9
Turnout 5,471 81.2
Registered electors 6,740
Ind. Conservative win (new seat)

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Specific
  1. ^ "Sinn Fein defend proposals to redraw Belfast's electoral boundaries". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  2. ^ "Final Recommendations Report of the 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituencies - PDF". Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  3. ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (Northern Ireland) Order 2008". www.opsi.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 19 December 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  4. ^ Final Recommendations Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland
  5. ^ "SDLP victorious in South Belfast". 6 May 2005. Archived from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  6. ^ "Sinn Féin pulls candidate from South Belfast seat in attempt to form pact with SDLP". the Guardian. 20 April 2010. Archived from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  7. ^ "A close-run thing as Alasdair McDonnell turns up late for his own party". belfasttelegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  8. ^ "Belfast South parliamentary constituency - Election 2017". BBC News. Archived from the original on 27 August 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  9. ^ "Results of the 2017 general election". BBC News. Archived from the original on 10 June 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  10. ^ "Belfast South parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". BBC News. Archived from the original on 7 October 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  11. ^ "Claire Hanna to contest new South Belfast and Mid Down seat in general election". Belfast Telegraph. 24 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  12. ^ "Nicholl honoured and privileged to be Alliance's South Belfast and Mid Down Westminster candidate". Alliance Party. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  13. ^ "Belfast South Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Archived from the original on 13 November 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  14. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 January 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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  16. ^ "UK Parliamentary Election Result 2017 - Belfast South". Archived from the original on 28 June 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  17. ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  18. ^ "The Electoral Office of Northern Ireland - EONI". www.eoni.org.uk. Archived from the original on 25 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
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  20. ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
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  25. ^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
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  27. ^ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  28. ^ Results of Byelections in the 1983-87 Parliament Archived 5 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine in the United Kingdom Election Results website Archived 7 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine maintained by David Boothroyd
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  30. ^ Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 1979-83 Parliament". United Kingdom Election Results. Archived from the original on 9 June 2000. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  31. ^ "1963 By Election Results". Archived from the original on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  32. ^ "1952 By Election Results". Archived from the original on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  33. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. pp. 329–330. ISBN 0901714127.
  34. ^ "Election intelligence". The Times. No. 36850. London. 19 August 1902. p. 3.
General

4. Correction: Clare Bailey, Green Party in Northern Ireland (not Green Party of England and Wales)

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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