East Antrim

Details of each count in 1998 election

Map by Conal Kelly

This constituency stretches along the coastal strip on the northern side of Belfast Lough and the western side of the North Channel. It takes in the whole of Larne and Carrickfergus district councils, and part of Newtownabbey district council. The member of parliament has been Roy Beggs (UUP) since East Antrim was created in 1983. The 1995 boundary changes removed only a few Newtownabbey wards from the constituency.

Roy Beggs MLA and Danny O'Connor MLA have their own web-sites.

See also results of all East Antrim elections 1993-2003.

Stage 2: Of Beggs' 5764 votes, 2169 transferred to Robinson and 955 to Steele, thus 3124 (54.20%) to the other UUP candidates; 928 (16.10%) to Brown (Ind U); 386 to Hilditch and 270 to McKee, thus 656 (11.38%) to the DUP candidates; 329 (5.71%) to Hutchinson (UKUP); 214 (3.71%) to Greer (PUP); 207 (3.59%) to Dickson (Alliance); 89 (1.54%) to Kirkham (UDP); 86 (1.49%) to Dick (Conservative); 34 (0.59%) to Mason (Ind); 20 (0.35%) to O'Connor (SDLP); 3 (0.05%) to McKissock (NLP) and 1 (0.02%) to McAuley (SF) with 73 (1.27%) non-transferable.

Stage 3: Of McKissock's 32.33 votes, 21.65% went to Dickson (Alliance), 12.37% to Mason (Ind); also 12.37% to the DUP candidates; 9.96% to the UUP candidates; 9.27% to O'Connor (SDLP); also 9.27% to Greer (PUP); 3.43% to Dick (Conservative); 3.09% to Brown (Ind U); also 3.09% to Hutchinson (UKUP); and none to Kirkham (UDP) or McAuley (SF) with 15.47% non-transferable.

Stage 4: Of Dick's 243.57 votes, 23.62% went to the UUP candidates; 18.24% to Hutchinson (UKUP); 13.72% to Dickson (Alliance); 12.04% to Brown (Ind U); 11.72% to the DUP candidates; 7.75% to Greer (PUP); 3.70% to Mason (Ind); 2.05% to O'Connor (SDLP); also 2.05% to Kirkham (UDP); and none to McAuley (SF) with 5.11% non-transferable.

Stage 5: Of Mason's 440.74 votes, 22.33% went to the UUP candidates; 19.31% to Dickson (Alliance); 16.84% to O'Connor (SDLP); 8.87% to the DUP candidates; 6.18% to Hutchinson (UKUP); 5.95% to Greer (PUP); 4.56% to Brown (Ind U); 3.86% to McAuley (SF); and 3.00% to Kirkham (UDP) with 9.10% non-transferable.

Stage 6: Of Neeson's 5247 votes, 3504 (66.78%) transferred to Dickson (Alliance); 677 (12.90%) to O'Connor (SDLP); 208 to Steele and 194 to Robinson, thus 402 (7.66%) to the UUP; 217 (4.14%) to Brown (Ind U); 128 (2.44%) to Greer; 70 to Hilditch and 27 to McKee, thus 97 (1.85%) to the DUP; 43 (0.82%) to McAuley (SF); 36 (0.69%) to Kirkham (UDP); and 33 (0.63%) to Hutchinson (UKUP) with 110 (2.10%) non-transferable.

Stage 7: Of the 1389.49 votes in total transferred from McAuley (SF) and Kirkham (UDP), 48.12% went to O'Connor (SDLP); 14.08% to Greer (PUP); 11.21% to the DUP candidates; 7.21% to the UUP candidates; 4.21% to Dickson (Alliance); 4.01% to Brown (Ind U); and 2.62% to Hutchinson (UKUP) with 8.54% non-transferable.

Stage 8: Of Greer's 1703.12 votes, 30.90% went to the UUP candidates; 18.40% to the DUP candidates (enough to elect Hilditch); 11.85% to Brown (Ind U); 11.60% to Dickson (Alliance); 7.13% to Hutchinson (UKUP); and 4.08% to O'Connor (SDLP) with 16.10% non-transferable.

Stage 9: Of Brown's 1987.57 votes, 38.62% went to the UUP candidates; 15.83% to Dickson (Alliance); 14.92% to Hutchinson (UKUP); 13.15% to McKee (DUP); and 1.42% to O'Connor (SDLP) with 16.05% non-transferable.

Stage 10: Of Dickson's 2744.26 votes, 41.11% went to the UUP candidates; 24.59% to O'Connor (SDLP); 4.94% to Hutchinson (UKUP); and 2.79% to McKee (DUP) with 26.56% non-transferable.

Stage 11: Of the 178 votes transferred to Hilditch from Greer, 54 (30.34%) went to McKee (DUP); 39 (21.91%) to Hutchinson (UKUP); 17 to Robinson and 14 to Steele, thus 31 (17.42%) to the UUP candidates; and none to O'Connor (SDLP) with 54 (30.34%) non-transferable.

Stage 12: Of Steele's 3561.92 votes, 55.77% went to Robinson (UUP), enough to elect him; 7.03% to Hutchinson (UKUP); 6.87% to O'Connor (SDLP); and 6.28% to McKee (DUP) with 24.07% non-transferable.

Stage 13: Of the 1986 votes transferred from Steele to Robinson, probably 896 transferred farther (though it is mathematically possible that the number was 1792). This would mean that 365 (18.38%) went to Hutchinson (UKUP); 294 (14.80%) to O'Connor (SDLP); and 237 (11.93%) to McKee (DUP) with 54.89% non-transferable.

This was a major shock. On the first count it was clear that the UKUP had probably done well enough to take a seat, which in itself was surprising. But as transfers continued, the SDLP candidate, who had started eighth, overtook candidates from first the UUP and then the DUP to take the final place, in an area where they had only one local councillor, by 49 votes, the closest margin of the election.

Full 1998 results for each seat: East Belfast | North Belfast | South Belfast | West Belfast | East Antrim | North Antrim | South Antrim | North Down | South Down | Fermanagh and South Tyrone | Foyle | Lagan Valley | East Londonderry | Mid Ulster | Newry and Armagh | Strangford | West Tyrone | Upper Bann

Other sites based at ARK: ORB (Online Research Bank) | CAIN (Conflict Archive on the INternet) | Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey

Your comments, please! Send an email to me at nicholas.whyte@gmail.com..

Nicholas Whyte, 15 October 2000; modified 16 February 2002.