South Antrim (UK Parliament constituency)







Coordinates: 54°43′16″N 6°14′28″W / 54.721°N 6.241°W / 54.721; -6.241





































South Antrim

County constituency
for the House of Commons

Outline map
Boundary of South Antrim in Northern Ireland.

Districts of Northern Ireland Antrim and Newtownabbey
Current constituency
Created 1885, 1950
Member of parliament
Paul Girvan (DUP)
Created from Antrim

1885–1922
Replaced by Antrim
Created from
Antrim, Lisburn
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency Northern Ireland

South Antrim is a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons represented since 2017 by Paul Girvan of the Democratic Unionist Party.




Contents






  • 1 Boundaries


  • 2 History


  • 3 Members of Parliament


  • 4 Elections


    • 4.1 Elections in the 2010s


    • 4.2 Elections in the 2000s


    • 4.3 Elections in the 1990s


    • 4.4 Elections in the 1980s


    • 4.5 Elections in the 1970s


    • 4.6 Elections in the 1960s


    • 4.7 Elections in the 1950s


    • 4.8 Elections in the 1910s


    • 4.9 Elections in the 1900s


    • 4.10 Elections in the 1890s


    • 4.11 Elections in the 1880s




  • 5 See also


  • 6 External links


  • 7 References





Boundaries


From 1885, this constituency was one of four county divisions of the former Antrim constituency. It comprised the baronies of Massereene Upper, Massereene Lower, that part of the barony Antrim Upper in the parish of Antrim, that part of the barony of Toome Upper not in the constituency of Mid Antrim, that part of the barony of Belfast Upper not in the constituency of East Antrim, and so much of the Parliamentary Borough of Belfast as was in the County of Antrim.


It returned one Member of Parliament. In 1922, it was merged into a new Antrim constituency.


The seat was re-created in 1950 when the old Antrim two MP constituency was abolished as part of the final move to single member seats. The seat was reduced in size for the 1974 general election, with the town of Carrickfergus and the areas between it and Larne town transferred to North Antrim. Additionally some territory was transferred to Belfast West.[1] Despite these changes, the seat had become the largest in the entire United Kingdom by the time of the Northern Ireland Assembly elections of 1982, by which time its electorate had passed the 131,000 mark.[2] For the 1983 general election Northern Ireland received new seats. Consequently, South Antrim was significantly reduced, losing a lot of territory to the new seats of East Antrim and Lagan Valley as well as minor sections to Belfast West, Belfast North and Upper Bann. The new South Antrim which was fought for the 1983 election contained only 43% of the previous seat.[3] In 1995 there were minor changes around the borders with North Belfast and West Belfast. The seat fought at the 2005 election encompassed the entirety of the district of Antrim and part of the district of Newtownabbey.


Following consultation of boundary changes across Northern Ireland, the altered South Antrim constituency fought at the 2010 general election is made up as follows:[4]



  • Glenavy from Lisburn City government area

  • Ballyclare North, Ballyclare South, Ballyduff, Ballynure, Ballyrobert, Burnthill, Carnmoney, Doagh, Hawthorne, Mallusk, and Mossley, from Newtownabbey

  • The district of Antrim



History


South Antrim is an overwhelmingly unionist constituency which once had the strongest vote for the Ulster Unionist Party anywhere in the province. From 1886 to 1974 the Conservative and Unionist members of the United Kingdom House of Commons formed a single Parliamentary party, and they continuously represented South Antrim


In 1951, it was one of the last four seats to be uncontested in a British General Election. In the 1979 general election James Molyneaux had the largest majority of any MP in the entire of the United Kingdom, helped also by having one of the largest electorates.


The boundary changes in 1983 reduced the Ulster Unionist vote somewhat, with a significant portion now contained in the new Lagan Valley (which Molyneaux then contested) but the constituency still gave strong results for the party.


However, in April 2000 the Ulster Unionist incumbent, Clifford Forsythe, died suddenly. The ensuing by-election took place amidst a fierce political struggle between the Ulster Unionist Party and the Democratic Unionist Party over the Good Friday Agreement, an agreement that the UUP were themselves split over. The DUP had not contested the seat at the previous general election but on this occasion stood William McCrea, the former MP for Mid Ulster, who campaigned strongly on the DUP's refusal to co-operate with Sinn Féin in the absence of arms decommissioning by the IRA. The local UUP branch selected David Burnside to contest the seat who declared that he had supported the Good Friday Agreement at the time that it was signed but had since become disillusioned with its implementation. As a result many commentators predicted that whatever the outcome of the election it was a severe blow for the UUP's leader David Trimble. On a low turnout amidst a fierce contest McCrea narrowly won the seat.


Burnside was nominated again to contest the seat in the 2001 general election in which he overturned McCrea's majority, aided by tactical voting by SDLP and Alliance voters. However the DUP were eager to regain the seat and in the 2003 Assembly election they outpolled the UUP by 298 votes. In the 2005 general election McCrea defeated Burnside in their third contest, but with a noticeably lower swing than those garnered by other DUP candidates who ousted UUP MPs. McCrea held the seat in the 2010 general election with a reduced majority. The seat was won by the UUP at the 2015 general election following the defeat of McCrea by Danny Kinahan. The DUP regained the seat following the 2017 general election with the defeat of Kinahan by Paul Girvan.



Members of Parliament






































































































Election Member Party


1885

William Ellison-Macartney

Conservative


1886

Irish Unionist


1903 by-election

Charles Craig

Irish Unionist


1921

Ulster Unionist

1922

constituency abolished

1950

constituency recreated


1950

Douglas Lloyd Savory

Ulster Unionist


1955

Knox Cunningham

Ulster Unionist


1970

James Molyneaux

Ulster Unionist


1983

Clifford Forsythe

Ulster Unionist


2000 by-election

William McCrea

Democratic Unionist


2001

David Burnside

Ulster Unionist


2003

Independent Unionist


2004

Ulster Unionist Party


2005

William McCrea

Democratic Unionist


2015

Danny Kinahan

Ulster Unionist


2017

Paul Girvan

Democratic Unionist


Elections



Elections in the 2010s















































































General Election 2017: South Antrim[5]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±


DUP

Paul Girvan

16,508

38.2

+8.1


UUP

Danny Kinahan
13,300
30.8
−1.9


Sinn Féin

Declan Kearney
7,797
18.1
+5.2


Alliance
Neil Kelly
3,203
7.4
−2.4


SDLP
Roisin Lynch
2,362
5.5
−2.7
Majority
3,208
7.4

N/A

Turnout
43,292
63.3
+9.1

Registered electors
68,244




DUP gain from UUP

Swing
+5.0































































































General Election 2015: South Antrim[6][7]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±


UUP

Danny Kinahan

11,942

32.7

+2.3


DUP

William McCrea
10,993
30.1
−3.8


Sinn Féin

Declan Kearney
4,699
12.9
-1.0


Alliance
Neil Kelly
3,576
9.8
+2.1


SDLP
Roisin Lynch
2,990
8.2
−0.5


TUV
Rick Cairns
1,908
5.2
−0.2


NI Conservatives
Alan Dunlop
415
1.1

N/A
Majority
949
2.6

N/A

Turnout
36,523
54.2
+0.3

Registered electors
67,425




UUP gain from DUP

Swing
+3.1























































































General Election 2010: South Antrim[8]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±


DUP

William McCrea

11,536

33.9

−4.3


UCU-NF

Reg Empey
10,353
30.4
+1.3


Sinn Féin

Mitchel McLaughlin[9]
4,729
13.9
+2.3


SDLP
Michelle Byrne[10]
2,955
8.7
−3.7


Alliance
Alan Lawther
2,607
7.7
−0.9


TUV
Mel Lucas
1,829
5.4

N/A
Majority
1,183
3.5
−5.6

Turnout
34,009
53.9
−3.4

Registered electors
63,054




DUP hold

Swing
−2.8



Elections in the 2000s















































































General Election 2005: South Antrim[11]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±


DUP

William McCrea

14,507

38.2

+3.4


UUP

David Burnside
11,059
29.1
-8.0


SDLP

Noreen McClelland
4,706
12.4
+0.3


Sinn Féin
Henry Cushinan
4,407
11.6
+2.2


Alliance

David Ford
3,278
8.6
+4.1
Majority
3,448
9.1

N/A

Turnout
37,957
56.7
-5.8

Registered electors
66,580




DUP gain from UUP

Swing
+5.7























































































General Election 2001: South Antrim[12]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±


UUP

David Burnside

16,366

37.1

−20.4


DUP

William McCrea
15,355
34.8

N/A


SDLP
Sean A. McKee
5,336
12.1
−4.1


Sinn Féin

Martin Meehan
4,160
9.4
+3.9


Alliance

David Ford
1,969
4.5
−7.2


NI Unionist

Norman Boyd
972
2.2

N/A
Majority
1,011
2.3
-39.0

Turnout
44,158
62.5
+4.6

Registered electors
70,651




UUP hold

Swing
-10.2























































































South Antrim by-election, 2000[13]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±


DUP

William McCrea

11,601

38.0

N/A


UUP

David Burnside
10,779
35.3
−22.2


SDLP

Donovan McClelland
3,496
11.4
−4.7


Sinn Féin

Martin Meehan
2,611
8.5
+3.0


Alliance

David Ford
2,031
6.6
−5.0


Natural Law
David H. Collins
49
0.2
−0.3
Majority
822
2.7

N/A

Turnout
30,567
43.0
+1.7

Registered electors
71,047




DUP gain from UUP

Swing
-5.7



Elections in the 1990s























































































General Election 1997: South Antrim[14]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±


UUP

Clifford Forsythe

23,108

57.5

−13.9


SDLP

Donovan McClelland
6,497
16.2
+3.4


Alliance

David Ford
4,668
11.6
+0.7


PUP

Hugh Smyth
3,490
9.0

N/A


Sinn Féin
Henry Cushinan
2,229
5.5
+2.5


Natural Law
Barbara A. Briggs
203
0.5

N/A
Majority
16,611
41.3
-16.8

Turnout
40,195
57.8
-5.1

Registered electors
69,512




UUP hold

Swing
−8.2















































































General Election 1992: South Antrim[15]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±


UUP

Clifford Forsythe

29,956

70.9

+1.1


SDLP

Donovan McClelland
5,397
12.8
+2.9


Alliance
John K. Blair
5,244
12.4
−3.6


Sinn Féin
Henry Cushinan
1,220
2.9
−1.5


Independent
Denis Martin
442
1.1

N/A
Majority
24,559
58.1
+4.3

Turnout
42,259
62.9
+0.0

Registered electors
67,192




UUP hold

Swing




Elections in the 1980s







































































General Election 1987: South Antrim[16]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±


UUP

Clifford Forsythe

25,395

69.8

+24.1


Alliance

Gordon Mawhinney
5,808
16.0
+4.1


SDLP

Donovan McClelland
3,611
9.9
+1.2


Sinn Féin
Henry Cushinan
1,592
4.4
+0.2
Majority
19,587
53.8
+36.3

Turnout
36,406
62.9
−2.6

Registered electors
61,649




UUP hold

Swing
























































South Antrim by-election, 1986[17]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±


UUP

Clifford Forsythe

30,087

94.1

+48.4

"For the Anglo-Irish Agreement"
"Peter Barry" (Wesley Robert Williamson)[18]
1,870
5.9

N/A
Majority
28,217
88.3
+70.8

Turnout
31,957
53.5
−12.0

Registered electors
60,780




UUP hold

Swing
























































































General Election 1983: South Antrim[19]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±


UUP

Clifford Forsythe

17,727

45.7

−23.3


DUP

Roy Thompson
10,935
28.2

N/A


Alliance

Gordon Mawhinney
4,612
11.9
−4.3


SDLP

Alban Maginness
3,377
8.7
−1.4


Sinn Féin
Sean H. Laverty
1,629
4.2

N/A


Workers' Party
Kevin Smyth
549
1.4

N/A
Majority
6,792
17.5
−35.3

Turnout
38,829
65.5
+7.3

Registered electors
59,233




UUP hold

Swing




Elections in the 1970s















































































General Election 1979: South Antrim
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±


UUP

James Molyneaux

50,782

69.0

−2.5


Alliance

Charles Kinahan
11,914
16.2
+0.9


SDLP
Patrick Rowan
7,432
10.1
−3.1


United Labour Party
Bob Kidd
1,895
2.6

N/A


Republican Clubs
Kevin Smyth
1,615
2.2

N/A
Majority
38,868
52.8
−3.4

Turnout
73,638
58.2
+0.1

Registered electors
126,444




UUP hold

Swing
































































General Election October 1974: South Antrim
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±


UUP

James Molyneaux

48,892

71.5

+3.9


Alliance

Charles Kinahan
10,460
15.3
−2.3


SDLP
Patrick Rowan
9,061
13.2
+0.9
Majority
38,432
56.2
+6.2

Turnout
68,413
58.1
−3.0

Registered electors
117,834




UUP hold

Swing








































































General Election February 1974: South Antrim
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±


UUP

James Molyneaux

48,203

67.6

+6.4


Alliance

Charles Kinahan
12,559
17.6

N/A


SDLP
Patrick John Rowan
8,769
12.3

N/A


Independent
Bob Kidd
1,801
2.5

N/A
Majority
35,644
50.0
+9.3

Turnout
71,332
61.1
−6.9

Registered electors
118,483




UUP hold

Swing
















































































General Election 1970: South Antrim
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±


UUP

James Molyneaux

59,589

61.2

−3.1


NI Labour
Robert Johnston
19,971
20.5
−15.2


Independent Unionist

Tom Caldwell
10,938
11.2

N/A


National Democratic
Daniel MacAllister
6,037
6.2

N/A


Ulster Liberal
Rodney Smith
913
0.9

N/A
Majority
39,618
40.7
+12.1

Turnout
97,448
68.0
+12.1

Registered electors
143,274




UUP hold

Swing




Elections in the 1960s























































General Election 1966: South Antrim
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±


UUP

Knox Cunningham

40,840

64.3

−5.6


NI Labour
Sydney Stewart
22,672
35.7
+11.3
Majority
18,168
28.6
−16.9

Turnout
63,512
55.9
−8.4

Registered electors
113,645




UUP hold

Swing
































































General Election 1964: South Antrim
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±


UUP

Knox Cunningham

47,325

69.9

−25.2


NI Labour
Sydney Stewart
16,531
24.4

N/A


Independent Republican
Leo Wilson
3,830
5.7

N/A
Majority
30,794
45.5
−13.8

Turnout
67,686
64.3
+5.0

Registered electors
105,304




UUP hold

Swing




Elections in the 1950s























































General Election 1959: South Antrim
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±


UUP

Knox Cunningham

52,786

95.1

+4.4


Sinn Féin

Michael Traynor
2,745
4.9
−4.4
Majority
50,041
90.1
+8.7

Turnout
55,531
59.3
−6.0

Registered electors
93,634




UUP hold

Swing
























































General Election 1955: South Antrim
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±


UUP

Knox Cunningham

50,347

90.7

N/A


Sinn Féin

Michael Traynor
5,155
9.3

N/A
Majority
45,192
81.4

N/A

Turnout
55,502
65.3

N/A

Registered electors
84,939




UUP hold

Swing































General Election 1951: South Antrim
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±


UUP

Douglas Savory

Unopposed

Registered electors
79,533




UUP hold



















































General Election 1950: South Antrim
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±


UUP

Douglas Savory

41,023

83.6

N/A


NI Labour
Edward Brown
8,068
16.4

N/A
Majority
32,955
67.1

N/A

Turnout
49,091
63.3

N/A

Registered electors
77,499




UUP win (new seat)


Elections in the 1910s























































General Election 1918: South Antrim
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±


Irish Unionist

Charles Craig

13,270

85.1

N/A


Sinn Féin

Kevin O'Shiel
2,318
14.9

N/A
Majority
10,952
70.3

N/A

Turnout
15,558
67.1

N/A

Registered electors





Irish Unionist hold

Swing

N/A






























General Election Dec 1910: South Antrim
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±


Irish Unionist

Charles Craig

Unopposed

Registered electors





Irish Unionist hold






















































General Election January 1910: South Antrim
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±


Irish Unionist

Charles Craig

5,310

69.41

N/A


Liberal
William Moffat Clow
2,340
30.59

N/A
Majority
2,970
38.82

N/A

Turnout
9,900
77.27

N/A

Registered electors





Irish Unionist hold

Swing

N/A



Elections in the 1900s






























General Election 1906: South Antrim[20]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±


Irish Unionist

Charles Craig

Unopposed

Registered electors





Irish Unionist hold






















































South Antrim by-election, 1903[20]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±


Irish Unionist

Charles Craig

4,464

55.25

+0.86


Russellite Unionist
Samuel Robert Keightley
3,615
44.75
+44.75
Majority
849
10.51
+1.73

Turnout
8,079
78.93
+13.86

Registered electors
10,236




Irish Unionist hold

Swing

N/A























































General Election 1900: South Antrim[20]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±


Irish Unionist

William Ellison-Macartney

3,674

54.39

N/A


Independent Unionist
Samuel Lawther
3,081
45.61

N/A
Majority
593
8.78

N/A

Turnout
6,755
65.07

N/A

Registered electors
10,381




Irish Unionist hold

Swing

N/A



Elections in the 1890s






























General Election 1895: South Antrim[20]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±


Irish Unionist

William Ellison-Macartney

Unopposed

Registered electors





Irish Unionist hold





























General Election 1892: South Antrim[20]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±


Irish Unionist

William Ellison-Macartney

Unopposed

Registered electors





Irish Unionist hold


Elections in the 1880s






























General Election 1886: South Antrim[20]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±


Irish Unionist

William Ellison-Macartney

Unopposed

Registered electors
10,824




Irish Unionist hold



















































General Election 1885: South Antrim[20]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±


Irish Conservative

William Ellison-Macartney

5,047

57.8

N/A


Liberal

John Dougherty Barbour
3,680
42.2

N/A
Majority
1,367
15.7

N/A

Turnout
8,727
80.6

N/A

Registered electors
10,824




Irish Conservative win (new seat)


See also


  • List of Parliamentary constituencies in Northern Ireland


External links




  • 2017 Election House Of Commons Library 2017 Election report


  • A Vision Of Britain Through Time (Constituency elector numbers)



References





  1. ^ Whyte, Dr Nicholas. "Westminster elections in NI since 1920". www.ark.ac.uk..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}


  2. ^ Whyte, Nicholas. "South Antrim 1973-82". www.ark.ac.uk.


  3. ^ Almanac of British Politics, 3rd ed, Robert Waller


  4. ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (Northern Ireland) Order 2008". www.opsi.gov.uk.


  5. ^ "Election of a Member of Parliament for the SOUTH ANTRIM Constituency - Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll". Electoral Office of Northern Ireland. 11 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.


  6. ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.


  7. ^ "The Electoral Office of Northern Ireland - EONI". www.eoni.org.uk.


  8. ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.


  9. ^ Candidates Archived 18 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine., Sinn Féin


  10. ^ Byrne: It's time for real change in South Antrim, SDLP


  11. ^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.


  12. ^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.


  13. ^ Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 1997-2002 Parliament". United Kingdom Election Results. Retrieved 2015-10-05.


  14. ^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.


  15. ^ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.


  16. ^ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.


  17. ^ Results of Byelections in the 1983-87 Parliament in the United Kingdom Election Results website maintained by David Boothroyd


  18. ^ Nicholas Whyte (13 May 2003). "Westminster by-elections, 23 January 1986". Northern Ireland Social and Political Archive. Retrieved 2016-12-31.


  19. ^ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.


  20. ^ abcdefg Walker, B.M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. ISBN 0901714127.



  • Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "A" (part 2)









Popular posts from this blog

Westermarck effect

Orthodox Church in America

Italian cuisine