Belfast City Council

Parties' election performances have changed substantially since the council election in 1973. The Ulster Unionist Party made a strong initial showing and remained the largest unionist party until 2005, when the Democratic Unionist Party became the dominant unionist party, while Sinn Féin has become the largest party overall. Nationalist representation showed a steady increase until recently, however still managed to become the largest grouping in the 2011 election. The number of unionist councillors has fallen almost every election. Cross-community representation has increased somewhat rapidly over the last few elections, almost overtaking the unionist representation in the 2019 election.

Shows the percentage of seats given to unionist, nationalist and other candidates in elections to Belfast City Council. The Alliance Party has been included as "other" in all years.

[13][14][15]

For further details see 2023 Belfast City Council election.

The council area is subdivided into 60 electoral wards, nominally one for each elected councillor. However, as the PR-STV voting system requires multi-seat constituencies, the 60 wards are grouped into ten district electoral areas (DEA) which elect between five and seven councillors each:

The current members are:

Lord Mayor of Belfast
Belfast City Coat of Arms
Incumbent Ryan Murphy, Sinn Féin since 5 June 2023
Style	The Right Honourable[16]
Appointer	Belfast City Council
Term length	One year
Inaugural holder	Sir Daniel Dixon
Formation	1892
Deputy	Deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast

The Lord Mayor of Belfast is the leader and chairman of Belfast City Council and is elected annually by the council to serve a one-year term. A Deputy Lord Mayor is normally elected at the same council meeting as the Lord Mayor.

The Lord Mayor's role is largely ceremonial, but does include the following powers and duties:[17]

• In times of natural disaster the Lord Mayor may direct resources such as Police, Fire and Ambulance as they see fit
• Presiding over meetings of the council and, in the case of equality of votes, the Lord Mayor has a second or casting vote
• Promoting and raising awareness of the council's main objectives and priority issues
• Encouraging and supporting all aspects of life in Belfast by attending civic and public events
• Receiving distinguished visitors to the city
• Acting as host on behalf of the council and the citizens of Belfast at civic functions
• Acting as a spokesperson to the local, national and international media
• Providing an appropriate response on behalf of Belfast at times of local, national and international catastrophe
• Supporting and encouraging charitable and other appeals as appropriate
• Promoting Belfast's business, commercial, cultural and social life
• Promoting Belfast as a place of excellence in which to do business and as a tourist destination.

The position that is now the Lord Mayor originated in 1613 in the town's Royal Charter as the 'Sovereign of Belfast'. In 1842, this position was restyled the 'Mayor of Belfast'. When Belfast was granted city status in 1892, the position was given Lord Mayor status, making it one of only three cities on the island of Ireland having a Lord Mayor, the other two being Cork and Dublin. In 1929, it became one of only six cities in the United Kingdom to have a Lord Mayor styled "the Right Honourable". Until 1973 the position was held for three years, when it was reduced to its current term of one year. From its formation in 1921 until its abolition in 1972, the Lord Mayor was automatically entitled to a seat in the Senate of Northern Ireland.

For most of the city's modern history, the position has been held by unionists, with members of the Ulster Unionist Party holding the post for a total of 61 of the 67 years between 1921 and 1997. The first non-unionist Lord Mayor since the partition of Ireland in 1921 was David Cook from the Alliance Party, who was elected in 1978. The first Irish nationalist Lord Mayor was not appointed until the election of Alban Maginness from the SDLP in 1997, while a Sinn Féin Lord Mayor was first elected in 2002. The end of the unionist majority on the council in 1997 has resulted in a greater rotation of the position amongst the parties, which, like other elected positions within the Council such as Committee chairs, is now filled using the D'Hondt system. This system awards positions to parties based on their number of councillors.

The Local Government (Modification of Borough Charters) Order (Northern Ireland) 1973 entitles the council to appoint up to twelve of its members to the honorary position of alderman. The role of alderman is appointed at the first annual meeting following the election of the council and does not carry any extra responsibilities other than the right to be referred to as an alderman rather than councillor. Following the local elections in 1997[18] and 2005[19] the Council voted not to appoint any of its members to the positions, however all twelve places were filled after the May 2011 election.[20]

The present Alderman are:[21]

The High Sheriff of Belfast is a largely ceremonial position currently held by John Hussey who took office on 2 February 2022. The High Sheriff is theoretically the King's judicial representative in the city, while the Lord Lieutenant is the Sovereign's personal representative, however the office is now largely symbolic with few formal duties other than deputising for the Lord Mayor at official events. The position was created in 1900 under the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898, with Sir James Henderson the first holder. Appointments are made on annual basis by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, who asks the outgoing High Sheriff and the council to suggest the names of three people who are deemed suitable to hold the position. In recent years the council has suggested only one candidate, who is normally a member of the council.[23] The High Sheriff's term of office runs from January to December, which is distinct from the term of office for the Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor who take up office in May or June each year.

The Lord Lieutenant of Belfast is the official representative of the King for the 'County Borough of Belfast'. The Lord Lieutenant is Dame Finnouala Jay-O'Boyle, DBE who was appointed in July 2014. The position was first created in 1900 and was held by the Marquess of Londonderry. The role is largely honorary with the few formal duties relating to liaising with the King's Private Office in the lead up to visits to the City regarding issues of local concern and the presentation of awards on behalf of the King.[24]

On Census Day (27 March 2011) the usually resident population of Belfast Local Government District was 333,871 accounting for 18.44% of the NI total.[27] This represents a 1.60% increase since the 2001 Census.

On Census Day 27 March 2011, in Belfast Local Government District (2014), considering the resident population:

• 96.77% were white (including Irish Traveller) while 3.23% were from an ethnic minority population;
• 48.82% belong to or were brought up in the Catholic faith and 42.47% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' denomination; and
• 43.32% indicated that they had a British national identity, 35.10% had an Irish national identity and 26.92% had a Northern Irish national identity.

Respondents could indicate more than one national identity

On Census Day 27 March 2011, in Belfast Local Government District (2014), considering the population aged 3 years old and over:

• 13.45% had some knowledge of Irish;
• 5.23% had some knowledge of Ulster-Scots; and
• 4.34% did not have English as their first language.

On Census Day 27 March 2011, considering the population aged 16 years old and over:

• 25.56% had a degree or higher qualification; while
• 41.21% had no or low (Level 1*) qualifications.

Level 1 is 1–4 O Levels/CSE/GCSE (any grades) or equivalent

On Census Day 27 March 2011, considering the population aged 16 to 74 years old:

• 63.84% were economically active, 36.16% were economically inactive;
• 52.90% were in paid employment; and
• 5.59% were unemployed, of these 43.56% were long-term unemployed.

Long-term unemployed are those who stated that they have not worked since 2009 or earlier