Election results in Northern Ireland since 1973

graph
This graph shows the results of all elections held across the whole of Northern Ireland since 1973.

Abbreviations
Local Government Elections
Westminster Elections
Regional Elections
European Elections

Abbreviations

The five main political parties are:

The main political parties in Northern Ireland are:

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)

Now the largest Unionist party, led since its foundation in 1970 by Rev Ian Paisley MLA MP MEP. The largest party opposed to the Agreement. Has always topped the poll at European elections, and gained most votes in 2003 Assembly election. Recent election results range from 21% to 34%. Web-site at http://www.dup.org.uk/.

Sinn Féin (SF)

Since 2001 the larger Nationalist party, led since mid-1980s by Gerry Adams MLA MP. Often linked with IRA. Recent election results range from 21% to 26%. Web-site at http://sinnfein.ie/.

Ulster Unionist Party (UUP)

Until 2003 the largest Unionist party, led since 2005 by Sir Reg Empey MLA. Recent election results range from 17% to 27%. Web-site at http://www.uup.org/.

Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)

Before 2001, the largest Nationalist party, led since November 2001 by Mark Durkan MLA, Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland. Recent election results range from 16% to 21%. Web-site at http://www.sdlp.ie/sdlp/.

Alliance Party of Northern Ireland

Largest "cross-community" party in Northern Ireland. Led since October 2001 by David Ford MLA. Recent election results range from 4% to 5%. Web-site at http://www.allianceparty.org/.

I have had to group other parties and individuals together for reasons of space. Oth U includes Vanguard, various Loyalist groups and the pre-1974 anti-Faulkner Unionists, as well as the post-1974 Faulknerites, the Conservatives, Sir James Kilfedder, Robert McCartney and their followers; and Others includes both Bernadette McAliskey and the Northern Ireland Labour Party, who would have very little time for each other. (It is not always easy to separate Nationalists outside the two main parties from independents and genuine members of the centre ground. Look at, for instance, the careers of Gerry Fitt and the Workers Party.)

This variety among the Others partly explains what looks like a dramatic increase in the Nationalist vote share since 1973 in the above graph - in pre-1982 elections, independent Nationalist and Republican candidates were winning a significant share of the vote, almost all of which was absorbed by SF after 1982. There is also a genuine increase in the Nationalist vote over time, but the overall Nationalist/Unionist balance has moved less than the graph suggests.

It should also be noted that a change in legislation in 2001 made it much more difficult to describe yourself as an "Independent Unionist" for electoral purposes, so a number of Others from then on are actually misdescribed Unionists.

Local Government Elections

Elections to the 26 district councils are held on a four-yearly cycle. At present each council is divided into 3 to 5 District Electoral Areas (Belfast has 9) which return 5 to 7 councillors (until 1985 there was greater variation in the number and size of districts) by proportional representation, using the Single Transferable Vote. (Local elections in the rest of the UK are in single-member constituencies, but in Northern Ireland a proportional system has been used since 1973.) The next local government elections will be held in May 2009, probably simultaneously with the Westminster election.

Other relevant information on this site includes pages on the local government elections of 2005, 2001, 1997, 1993, 1989, 1985, 1981, 1977, and 1973, and three pages for each of the 26 councils presenting results since 1993, 1985-89, and 1973-81.

DUP UUP Oth U | Alliance | Others | SDLP SF ---------------------------+-----------+---------+----------- 2005 30% 18% 2% | 5% | 5% | 17% 23% cllrs: 182 115 3 | 30 | 41 | 101 126 ---------------------------+-----------+---------+----------- 2001 21% 23% 3% | 5% | 7% | 19% 21% cllrs: 131 154 8 | 28 | 36 | 117 108 ---------------------------+-----------+---------+----------- 1997 16% 28% 5% | 7% | 7% | 21% 17% cllrs: 91 185 33 | 41 | 38 | 120 74 ---------------------------+-----------+---------+----------- 1993 17% 29% 4% | 8% | 7% | 22% 12% cllrs: 103 197 32 | 44 | 28 | 127 51 ---------------------------+-----------+---------+----------- 1989 18% 31% 6% | 7% | 6% | 21% 11% cllrs: 110 194 30 | 38 | 28 | 121 43 ---------------------------+-----------+---------+----------- 1985 24% 29% 3% | 7% | 6% | 18% 12% cllrs: 142 190 14 | 34 | 26 | 101 59 ---------------------------+-----------+---------+----------- 1981 27% 27% 5% | 9% | 15% | 18% cllrs: 142 152 22 | 38 | 69 | 103 ---------------------------+-----------+---------+----------- 1977 13% 30% 9% | 14% | 13% | 21% cllrs: 74 178 34 | 70 | 57 | 113 ---------------------------+-----------+---------+----------- 1973 4% 41% 11% | 14% | 16% | 13% cllrs: 21 233 53 | 63 | 73 | 83 ---------------------------+-----------+---------+----------- graph

This graph shows the change in votes cast in local government elections since 1973. Note how after 1981 the vote for 'Others' sharply drops as SF enters the scene.

[contents]

Regional elections

Since the old bicameral Parliament at Stormont was prorogued in 1972, there have been six elections to regional level bodies. The first three of these elections, in 1973, 1975 and 1982, were carried out by proportional representation using the then 12 Westminster constituencies, each electing between 4 and 10 members by the Single Transferable Vote. The 1996 elections used a completely different system - each of the 18 new Westminster constituencies elected five members from party lists by the d'Hondt formula, and the ten largest parties then got a bonus of two seats each, for a total of 110 seats. Finally, the 1998 and 2003 elections used the same 18 Westminster constituencies, but this time each electing six members by the Single Transferable Vote.

Although I have grouped these elections together, the bodies elected had very different powers, as follows:

The 1973 Assembly was intended to produce a power-sharing Executive which took back most of the functions of government from Westminster, and indeed did so between January 1974 and May of that year. It was brought down by a Loyalist-led general strike.
The 1975 election was to a Constitutional Convention, which failed to produce a draft constitution accptable to the British Government.
The 1982 Assembly had scrutinising powers only. It was boycotted from the start by the SDLP and Sinn Féin, and was abolished after Unionists refused to work it in the wake of the 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement.
Those elected in the 1996 elections were simultaneously members of the Northern Ireland Forum for Political Dialogue and also potential delegates to the multi-party negotiations.
Finally, the new Assembly elected in 1998, under the Belfast Agreement, holds accountable an Executive and other executive bodies. The Assembly's term ran until the end of April 2003; new elections were held in November 2003, but it is suspended.

This table does not include by-elections to the 1973-5 and 1982-6 Assemblies (1974: North Antrim; 1983: Armagh; 1984: South Belfast; 1985: South Down).




         DUP   UUP  Oth U  | Alliance  | Others  | SDLP  SF 

---------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------

2003     26%   23%   4%    |    4%     |   3%    |  17%  24%

 seats:  30    27    2     |    6      |   1     |  18   24

---------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------

1998     18%   21%  11%    |    6%     |   3%    |  22%  18%

 seats:  20    28   10     |    6      |   2     |  24   18

---------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------

         DUP   UUP  Oth U  | Alliance  | Others  | SDLP  SF 

---------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------

1996     19%   24%  10%    |    7%     |   3%    |  21%  15%

 seats:  24    30    7     |    7      |   4     |  21   17

---------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------

         DUP   UUP  Oth U  | Alliance  | Others  | SDLP  SF 

---------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------

1982     23%   30%   6%    |    9%     |   3%    |  19%  10%

 seats:  21    26    2     |   10      |   0     |  14    5

---------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------

1975     15%   26%  22%    |   10%     |   4%    |  24%

 seats:  12    19   21     |    8      |   1     |  17

---------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------

1973     11%   29%  22%    |    9%     |   7%    |  22%

 seats:   8    24   18     |    8      |   1     |  19

---------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------

This graph shows the change in votes at regional-level elections in Northern Ireland since 1973.

[contents]

Westminster Elections

Northern Ireland had had twelve MPs at Westminster since the Queen's University seat was abolished in 1948. In 1983 Northern Ireland's representation was increased to 17, and in 1997 to 18 MPs. (See the history of Westminster elections in Northern Ireland elsewhere on this site, and individual constituency sites listed below.) Elections are by the single-member constituency method.
The last Westminster elections took place on 5 May 2005; previous ones covered on this site took place in 2001, 1997, 1992, 1987, 1983, 1979, October 1974 and February 1974. The next Westminster elections are due before June 2010.

This table does not include by-elections (1981: Fermanagh and South Tyrone, twice; 1982: South Belfast; 1986: 15 constituencies; 1990: Upper Bann; 1995: North Down; 2000: South Antrim).




         DUP   UUP  Oth U  | Alliance  | Others  | SDLP  SF 

---------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------

2005     34%   18%    0%   |    4%     |    2%   |  18%  24%

 MP's     9     1     0    |    0      |    0    |   3    5

---------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------

2001     22%   27%    4%   |    4%     |    1%   |  21%  22%

 MP's     5     6     0    |    0      |    0    |   3    4

---------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------

1997     14%   33%    4%   |    8%     |    1%   |  24%  16%

 MP's     2    10     1    |    0      |    0    |   3    2

---------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------

1992     13%   35%    8%   |    9%     |    2%   |  23%  10%

 MP's:    3     9     1    |    0      |    0    |   4    0

---------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------

1987     12%   38%    5%   |   10%     |    3%   |  21%  11%

 MP's:    3     9     1    |    0      |    0    |   3    1

---------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------

1983     20%   34%    3%   |    8%     |    4%   |  18%  13%

 MP's:    3    11     1    |    0      |    0    |   1    1

---------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------

1979     10%   37%   11%   |   12%     |   12%   |  18%

 MP's:    3     5     2    |    0      |    1    |   1

---------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------

1974o     8%   36%   17%   |    6%     |   10%   |  22%

 MP's:    1     6     3    |    0      |    1    |   1

---------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------

1974f     8%   32%   24%   |    3%     |   10%   |  22%

 MP's:    1     7     3    |    0      |    0    |   1

---------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------

graph
This graph shows the change in votes at Westminster elections in Northern Ireland since 1974.

[contents]

European Elections

Members of the European Parliament have been directly elected since 1979. The whole of Northern Ireland forms a three-member constituency, and elections take place every five years by proportional representation (using the Single Transferable Vote) as for local councils and regional elections.
The first five elections produced similar results, with the DUP (Ian Paisley), SDLP (John Hume) and UUP (John Taylor, now Lord Kilclooney, in 1979 and 1984, Jim Nicholson in 1989, 1994, and 1999) taking one seat each at every election. In 2004 Paisley was replaced by Jim Allister for the DUP, and Hume also retired; his seat was lost to Barbara de Brun of Sinn Fein See the details for 2004, 1999, 1994, 1989, 1984, and 1979.

The next European elections are due to take place in June 2009.

DUP UUP Oth U | Alliance | Others | SDLP SF ---------------------------+-----------+---------+----------- 2004 32% 17% 0% | 0% | 9% | 16% 26% ---------------------------+-----------+---------+----------- 1999 28% 18% 5% | 2% | 0% | 28% 17% ---------------------------+-----------+---------+----------- 1994 29% 24% 2% | 4% | 3% | 29% 9% ---------------------------+-----------+---------+----------- 1989 30% 22% 5% | 5% | 3% | 25% 9% ---------------------------+-----------+---------+----------- 1984 34% 21% 3% | 5% | 2% | 22% 13% ---------------------------+-----------+---------+----------- 1979 30% 22% 7% | 7% | 9% | 25% ---------------------------+-----------+---------+----------- graph

This graph shows the change in votes in European elections since 1979. Note that the yellow result bar for 2004 is that of independent candidate John Gilliland, not the Alliance Party.

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

Front page | Site Map | Notes and Queries | Updates Mailing List | About this site

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

Nicholas Whyte, 16 August 1995; last modified Sunday, July 03, 2005.

The Author | What's New | Your Comments