Ards (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)
Coordinates: 54°31′16″N 5°44′49″W / 54.521°N 5.747°W
Ards | |
---|---|
Former County Constituency for the Parliament of Northern Ireland | |
Former constituency | |
Created | 1929 |
Abolished | 1972 |
Election method | First past the post |
Ards was a constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland.
Boundaries
Ards was a county constituency comprising the town of Newtownards, the Ards peninsula and the town of Donaghadee. 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. Ards was created by the division of Down into eight new constituencies. The constituency survived unchanged, returning one member of Parliament until the Parliament of Northern Ireland was temporarily suspended in 1972, and then formally abolished in 1973.[1]
Politics
Ards had a unionist majority, and consistently elected Ulster Unionist Party members. It was sometimes contested by members of the Ulster Liberal Party, Northern Ireland Labour Party or Commonwealth Labour Party, who received between 19% and 42% of the votes cast.[2]
Members of Parliament
Elected | Party | Name[2] | |
---|---|---|---|
1929 | UUP | Henry Mulholland | |
1945 | UUP | Robert Perceval-Maxwell | |
1949 | UUP | William May | |
1962 | UUP | William Long |
- May died during his time in office and his seat was vacant at dissolution.
Elections
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Northern Ireland 1921–72 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | Henry Mulholland | 8,556 | 67.2 | N/A | |
NI Labour | A. Adams | 2,818 | 22.2 | N/A | |
Liberal | J. Boyd | 1,349 | 10.6 | N/A | |
Majority | 5,738 | 45.0 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 74.7 | N/A | |||
UUP hold | Swing | N/A | |||
At the 1933 and 1938 general elections, Henry Mulholland was elected unopposed.[2]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | Robert Perceval-Maxwell | 7,976 | 58.7 | N/A | |
Commonwealth Labour | Albert McElroy | 5,615 | 41.3 | N/A | |
Majority | 2,361 | 17.4 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 70.8 | N/A | |||
UUP hold | Swing | N/A | |||
At the Northern Ireland general election, 1949, William May was elected unopposed.[2]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | William May | 9,562 | 70.4 | N/A | |
NI Labour | Jack McDowell | 4,022 | 29.6 | N/A | |
Majority | 5,540 | 40.8 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 60.0 | N/A | |||
UUP hold | Swing | N/A | |||
At the Northern Ireland general election, 1958, William May was elected unopposed.[2]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | William Long | 7,501 | 71.4 | N/A | |
Liberal | Albert McElroy | 3,008 | 28.6 | N/A | |
Majority | 4,493 | 42.8 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 48.6 | N/A | |||
UUP hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | William Long | 7,442 | 81.0 | +9.6 | |
NI Labour | E. Bell | 1,740 | 19.0 | N/A | |
Majority | 5,720 | 62.0 | +19.2 | ||
Turnout | 45.1 | -3.5 | |||
UUP hold | Swing | N/A | |||
At the Northern Ireland general election, 1969, William Long was elected unopposed.[2]
- Parliament prorogued 30 March 1972 and abolished 18 July 1973
References
- ↑ The Northern Ireland House of Commons, 1921-1972, Northern Ireland Elections
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Northern Ireland Parliamentary Elections Results: Counties: Down