1970 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland

Main article: 1970 United Kingdom general election

1970 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland
18 June 1970
12 seats in Northern Ireland of the
630 seats in the House of Commons
  First party Second party
 
Leader James Chichester-Clark Bernadette Devlin[a]
(De facto)
Party UUP Unity
Alliance Conservative
Leader since 1969 1969
Leader's seat Sat in Stormont Mid Ulster
Seats won 8 2
Seat change 3 2
Popular vote 422,041 140,930
Percentage 54.2% 18.1%
Swing 7.6% 15.6%
  Third party Fourth party
 
Rep
Leader Ian Paisley Gerry Fitt
Party Protestant Unionist Republican Labour
Leader since 1966 1964
Leader's seat Antrim North Belfast West
Seats won 1 1
Seat change 1
Popular vote 35,303 30,649
Percentage 4.5% 3.9%
Swing New party 0.5%

The 1970 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland was held on 31 March with 12 MPs elected in single-seat constituencies using first-past-the-post as part of the wider general election in the United Kingdom. It was the first general election held after the Representation of the People Act 1969 which reduced the voting age from 21 to 18.

Results

The Ulster Unionists lost seats to the Protestant Unionist Party led by Ian Paisley, moderator of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, and to Unity, a nationalist organisation which had won a by-election in 1969.

In the election as a whole, the Labour Party failed to return to government and the Conservative Party, which included the Ulster Unionists, formed a government led by Edward Heath as Prime Minister. This was the last parliament where the UUP took the Conservative whip in the House of Commons, breaking with them after the Parliament of Northern Ireland was suspended by the Northern Ireland (Temporary Provisions) Act 1972.

1970 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland[1][2][3]
Party Candidates Votes
Stood Elected Gained Unseated Net % of total % No. Net %
  UUP 12 8 0 3 3 66.7 54.2 422,041 7.6
  Unity 5 2 2 0 2 16.7 18.1 140,930 15.6
  NI Labour 6 0 0 0 0 0.0 12.6 98,194 0.4
  Protestant Unionist 2 1 1 0 1 8.3 4.5 35,303 4.5
  Republican Labour 1 1 0 0 0 8.3 3.9 30,649 0.5
  Ind. Unionist 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 2.3 17,787 2.3
  Ulster Liberal 4 0 0 0 0 0.0 1.4 10,929 3.5
  National Democratic 2 0 0 0 0 0.0 1.3 10,349 1.3
  Independent Labour 3 0 0 0 0 0.0 1.0 7,565 1.0
  Independent 3 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.4 4,290 0.4
All parties shown.

MPs elected

Constituency Party MP
Antrim North Protestant Unionist Ian Paisley
Antrim South UUP James Molyneaux
Armagh UUP John Maginnis
Belfast East UUP Stanley McMaster
Belfast North UUP Stratton Mills
Belfast South UUP Rafton Pounder
Belfast West Republican Labour Gerry Fitt
Down North UUP Jim Kilfedder
Down South UUP Lawrence Orr
Fermanagh and South Tyrone Unity Francis McManus
Londonderry UUP Robin Chichester-Clark
Mid Ulster Unity Bernadette Devlin

Notes

  1. ^ Unity was the label for a series of electoral pacts by nationalist, republican and socialist candidates. Devlin was the organisation's only MP prior to the 1970 election, having been elected in a 1969 by-election.

Footnotes

References

  1. ^ Walker, Brian Mercer (1992). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1918–1992 (New History of Ireland). Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. p. 28. ISBN 0901714968.
  2. ^ "Elections to the United Kingdom Parliament held in Northern Ireland: General Election 1970". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  3. ^ "The 1970 Westminster Elections in Northern Ireland". ARK: Northern Ireland Elections. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2019.


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