Mid Ulster (UK Parliament constituency)

Mid Ulster is a parliamentary constituency in the UK House of Commons. The current MP is Francie Molloy of Sinn Féin.

For other constituencies of the same name, see Mid Ulster (disambiguation).

Mid Ulster
county constituency
for the House of Commons
Outline map
Boundary of Mid Ulster in Northern Ireland
Current constituency
Created1950
Member of ParliamentFrancie Molloy (Sinn Féin)
Seats1
Created from

Constituency profile

The seat covers a rural area to the west of Lough Neagh, including part of the Sperrins. Since 1997, the seat is nationalist-leaning.

Boundaries

1950–1983: The Urban Districts of Cookstown, Omagh, and Strabane, the Rural Districts of Castlederg, Cookstown, Magherafelt, and Strabane, and that part of the Rural District of Omagh not contained within the constituency of Fermanagh and South Tyrone.

1983–1997: the Cookstown District Council; the Omagh District Council; the Magherafelt District Council wards of Ballymaguigan, Draperstown, and Lecumpher; and the Strabane District Council wards of Castlederg, Clare, Finn, Glenderg, Newtownstewart, Plumbridge, Sion Mills, and Victoria Bridge.

1997–present: the District of Cookstown; the District of Magherafelt; and the Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council wards of Altmore, Coalisland North, Coalisland South, Coalisland West and Newmills, Donaghmore, and Washing Bay.

The constituency was created in 1950 when the old two-seat constituency of Fermanagh and Tyrone was abolished as part of the final move to single-member seats. Originally, the seat primarily consisted of the northern, eastern and western parts of County Tyrone, with the south included in Fermanagh and South Tyrone. Of the post-1973 districts, it contained all of Omagh and Cookstown and part of Strabane and Magherafelt.

In boundary changes proposed by a review in 1995, the seat was split in two, with the name retained by the eastern half, even though it contained only 30% of the old seat. The western half became the nucleus of the new West Tyrone constituency. The new Mid Ulster also gained areas from East Londonderry and Fermanagh and South Tyrone, taking it deeper into County Londonderry.

History

For the history of the constituency prior to 1950, see Fermanagh and Tyrone.

In both its incarnations, Mid Ulster has seen a precarious balance between unionist and Irish nationalist voters, although in recent years the nationalists have advanced significantly to be in a clear majority. Many elections have seen a candidate from one side triumph due to candidates from the other side splitting the vote.

The seat was initially won by the Irish Nationalist Party in 1950 and 1951 then by Sinn Féin in 1955. However the Sinn Féin Member of Parliament (MP) was unseated on petition on the basis that his Irish Republican Army (IRA) convictions made him ineligible, and in subsequent by-elections the seat was won by the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP).

In a by-election in 1969, the seat was won by Bernadette Devlin standing as an independent socialist nationalist on the "Unity" ticket, which sought to unite nationalist voters behind a single candidate. At the age of 21, Devlin was the youngest person ever elected to the House of Commons in the era of universal suffrage. The by-election saw a 91.5% turnout, a record for any UK by-election.

Devlin held her seat in the 1970 general election but generated controversy when she had a child while still unmarried as well as for her fierce anti-clericalism. The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) stood a candidate against her in the February 1974 general election and the nationalist vote was strongly divided, allowing John Dunlop of the Vanguard Progressive Unionist Party to win with the support of the UUP and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

Dunlop held his seat for the next nine years, though in 1975 he was part of a large section of Vanguard that broke away to form the short-lived United Ulster Unionist Party. He held his seat in 1979 only owing to a unionist pact. He polled poorly in the 1982 Assembly election, taking 2.8% of the vote. Consequently, he did not stand again in 1983, and the following year the UUUP was wound up.

The 1983 general election saw a fierce contest for the seat, with the UUP, DUP, SDLP and Sinn Féin all polling strongly. The winner was the DUP's William McCrea, by a narrow majority of just 78 over Sinn Féin's Danny Morrison. In general elections from then to 2005 the UUP did not contest the seat.

Following the boundary changes, McCrea contested the new Mid Ulster in 1997 but, by then, Sinn Féin had established itself as the most likely party to outpoll a unionist and so drew votes from the SDLP, resulting in Martin McGuinness winning. He held the seat at the general elections of 2001, 2005 and 2010. During the 2001 general election, Mid Ulster had the highest turnout in any constituency in the United Kingdom.

On 11 June 2012, McGuinness announced his intention to resign from the House of Commons to concentrate on his position as Deputy First Minister and avoid so-called 'double jobbing' by which members of the Northern Ireland Assembly also work as councillors or MPs.[1][2] This necessitated a by-election.[3] On 30 December 2012, Martin McGuinness formally announced he would resign his Westminster seat with immediate effect. Sinn Féin's Francie Molloy won the resulting by-election in March 2013.[4]

Members of Parliament
ElectionMemberPartyNotes
1950Anthony MulveyNationalist  
1951Michael O'NeillIndependent Nationalist  
1955Tom MitchellSinn Féin Disqualified by resolution of the House of Commons, 18 July 1955
1955 by-election Election declared undue on petition; return amended, 25 October 1955
1955Charles BeattieUlster Unionist Declared duly elected on petition; disqualified by resolution of the House of Commons, 7 February 1956
1956 by-election George ForrestIndependent Unionist
1957 Ulster Unionist Died, 10 December 1968
1969 by-election Bernadette DevlinUnity
1970 Independent Socialist Became Independent Socialist in October 1970
Feb 1974 John DunlopVanguard Progressive Unionist
1975 United Ulster Unionist Left Vanguard and joined the United Ulster Unionist Party, 11 October 1975
1983William McCreaDemocratic Unionist  
1997Martin McGuinnessSinn Féin
2013 by-electionFrancie Molloy

Elections
Westminster Election Mid Ulster - 1983-2019

Elections in the 2010s
General election 2019: Mid Ulster[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Sinn Féin Francie Molloy 20,473 45.9 ―8.6
DUP Keith Buchanan 10,936 24.5 ―2.4
SDLP Denise Johnston 6,384 14.3 +4.5
Alliance Mel Boyle 3,526 7.9 +5.6
Ulster Unionist Neil Richardson 2,611 5.9 ―0.6
Independent Conor Rafferty[n 1] 690 1.5 New
Majority 9,537 21.4 ―6.2
Turnout 44,620 63.3 ―4.9
Registered electors 70,490
Sinn Féin hold Swing ―3.1
  1. Conor Rafferty was a candidate of the Irish Freedom Party, as the party is not registered in Northern Ireland he appeared on the ballot as an independent
General election 2017: Mid Ulster[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Sinn Féin Francie Molloy 25,455 54.5 +5.8
DUP Keith Buchanan 12,565 26.9 +13.5
SDLP Malachy Quinn 4,563 9.8 ―2.6
Ulster Unionist Mark Glasgow 3,017 6.5 ―8.9
Alliance Fay Watson 1,094 2.3 +0.4
Majority 12,890 27.6 ―7.7
Turnout 46,694 68.2 +7.9
Registered electors 68,485
Sinn Féin hold Swing ―3.9
General election 2015: Mid Ulster[7][8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Sinn Féin Francie Molloy 19,935 48.7 ―3.3
Ulster Unionist Sandra Overend 6,318 15.4 +4.4
DUP Ian McCrea 5,465 13.4 ―1.0
SDLP Malachy Quinn 5,055 12.4 ―1.9
TUV Gareth Ferguson 1,892 4.6 ―2.7
UKIP Alan Day 863 2.1 New
Alliance Eric Bullick 778 1.9 +0.9
Workers' Party Hugh Scullion 496 1.2 New
NI Conservatives Lucille Nicholson 120 0.3 New
Majority 13,617 33.3 ―4.3
Turnout 40,922 60.3 ―2.9
Registered electors 67,832
Sinn Féin hold Swing ―3.8
2013 Mid Ulster by-election[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Sinn Féin Francie Molloy 17,462 46.9 ―5.1
Independent Nigel Lutton 12,781 34.4 New
SDLP Patsy McGlone 6,478 17.4 +3.1
Alliance Eric Bullick 487 1.3 +0.3
Majority 4,681 12.5 ―25.1
Turnout 37,208 55.7 ―7.5
Registered electors 67,192
Sinn Féin hold Swing ―3.4
General election 2010: Mid Ulster[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Sinn Féin Martin McGuinness 21,239 52.0 +2.4
DUP Ian McCrea 5,876 14.4 ―9.1
SDLP Tony Quinn 5,826 14.3 ―3.1
UCU-NF Sandra Overend 4,509 11.0 +0.3
TUV Walter Millar 2,995 7.3 New
Alliance Ian Butler 397 1.0 New
Majority 15,363 37.6 +13.5
Turnout 40,842 63.2 ―10.0
Registered electors 64,594
Sinn Féin hold Swing +5.8

Elections in the 2000s
General election 2005: Mid Ulster[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Sinn Féin Martin McGuinness 21,641 47.6 ―3.5
DUP Ian McCrea 10,665 23.5 ―7.6
SDLP Patsy McGlone 7,922 17.4 +0.6
Ulster Unionist Billy Armstrong 4,853 10.7 New
Workers' Party Francis Donnelly 345 0.8 ―0.2
Majority 10,976 24.1 +4.1
Turnout 45,426 73.2 ―8.1
Registered electors 62,088
Sinn Féin hold Swing +2.1
General election 2001: Mid Ulster[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Sinn Féin Martin McGuinness 25,502 51.1 +11.0
DUP Ian McCrea 15,549 31.1 ―5.2
SDLP Eilish Haughey 8,376 16.8 ―5.3
Workers' Party Francie Donnelly 509 1.0 +0.5
Majority 9,953 20.0 +16.2
Turnout 49,936 81.3 ―4.5
Registered electors 61,390
Sinn Féin hold Swing ―8.1

Elections in the 1990s
General election 1997: Mid Ulster[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Sinn Féin Martin McGuinness 20,294 40.1 +21.4
DUP William McCrea 18,411 36.3 ―6.0
SDLP Denis Haughey 11,205 22.1 ―8.9
Alliance Ephrem Bogues 460 0.9 ―1.9
Workers' Party Marian Donnelly 238 0.5 ±0.0
Natural Law Maureen Murray 61 0.1 ―0.2
Majority 1,883 3.8 N/A
Turnout 50,669 85.8 +6.5
Registered electors 59,086
Sinn Féin gain from DUP Swing ―10.3
1992 Notional Results: Mid Ulster
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
DUP William McCrea 19,274 41.0
SDLP Denis Haughey 14,360 30.6
Sinn Féin Barry McElduff 11,340 24.4
Alliance Ann Gormley 1,229 2.6
Others 779 1.7
Majority 4,914 10.4
Turnout 46,982
DUP hold Swing

Between 1992 and 1996 there were significant boundary changes, creating the new seat of West Tyrone. This had a huge knock on effect on Mid Ulster, which lost all its areas in Omagh and Strabane district councils, and gained the Torrent LGD in Dungannon from Fermanagh and South Tyrone, and the parts of Magherafelt District Council previously in East Londonderry. Therefore, the implied 1992 election results are very different from the actual ones and are displayed above.

General election 1992: Mid Ulster[14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
DUP William McCrea 23,181 42.3 -1.9
SDLP Denis Haughey 16,994 31.0 +4.8
Sinn Féin Barry McElduff 10,248 18.7 -5.2
Independent Johnny McLaughlin[15] 1,996 3.6 New
Alliance Ann Gormley 1,506 2.8 -0.7
Labour and Trade Union Harry Hutchinson 389 0.7 New
Workers' Party Tommy Owens 285 0.5 -1.7
Natural Law James Anderson 164 0.3 New
Majority 6,187 11.3 -6.7
Turnout 54,763 79.2 +1.8
Registered electors 69,138
DUP hold Swing

Elections in the 1980s
General election 1987: Mid Ulster[16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
DUP William McCrea 23,004 44.2 +14.2
SDLP Denis Haughey 13,644 26.2 +3.8
Sinn Féin Sean Begley 12,449 23.9 -6.0
Alliance Patrick Bogan 1,846 3.5 +0.3
Workers' Party Paddy McLean 1,133 2.2 +0.8
Majority 9,360 18.0 +17.9
Turnout 52,076 77.4 -6.9
Registered electors 67,256
DUP hold Swing
1986 Mid Ulster by-election[17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
DUP William McCrea 23,695 46.4 +16.4
Sinn Féin Danny Morrison 13,998 27.1 −2.8
SDLP Adrian Colton 13,021 25.2 +2.8
Workers' Party Tommy Owens 691 1.4 0.0
Majority 9,697 19.3 +19.2
Turnout 51,405 77.6 -6.7
Registered electors 66,757
DUP hold Swing
General election 1983: Mid Ulster[18]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
DUP William McCrea 16,174 30.0 New
Sinn Féin Danny Morrison 16,096 29.9 New
SDLP Denis Haughey 12,044 22.4 -7.0
Ulster Unionist William Thompson 7,066 13.1 New
Alliance Aidan Logan 1,735 3.2 -2.1
Workers' Party Tommy Owens 766 1.4 New
Majority 78 0.1 N/A
Turnout 53,881 84.3 +3.9
Registered electors 63,831
DUP gain from UUUP Swing

Elections in the 1970s
General election 1979: Mid Ulster
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
UUUP John Dunlop 29,249 44.7 −2.7
SDLP Paddy Duffy 19,266 29.4 −10.7
Irish Independence Patrick Fahy 12,055 19.9 New
Alliance Aidan Lagan 3,481 5.3 New
Republican Clubs Francie Donnelly 1,414 2.2 −10.3
Majority 9,983 15.3 N/A
Turnout 65,465 80.4 +1.4
Registered electors 81,457
UUUP gain from Vanguard Swing
General election October 1974: Mid Ulster
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Vanguard John Dunlop 30,552 47.4 +8.4
SDLP Ivan Cooper 25,885 40.1 +11.0
Republican Clubs Francie Donnelly 8,091 12.5 New
Majority 4,667 7.3 −2.6
Turnout 64,528 79.0 −0.3
Registered electors 81,869
Vanguard hold Swing
General election February 1974: Mid Ulster
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Vanguard John Dunlop 26,044 39.0 New
SDLP Ivan Cooper 19,372 29.1 New
Independent Socialist Bernadette McAliskey 16,672 25.0 –28.5
Pro-Assembly Unionist Neville Thornton 4,633 7.0 N/A
Majority 6,632 9.9 N/A
Turnout 66,681 79.3 -11.6
Registered electors 84,106
Vanguard gain from Unity Swing
General election 1970: Mid Ulster[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unity Bernadette Devlin 37,739 53.5 N/A
Ulster Unionist Neville Thornton 31,810 45.1 −7.2
Independent Michael Cunningham 771 1.1 New
National Socialist Phelim O'Neill 198 0.3 New
Majority 5,929 8.4 N/A
Turnout 70,518 90.9 +7.0
Registered electors 77,143
Unity hold Swing

Elections in the 1960s
1969 Mid Ulster by-election[19][20]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unity Bernadette Devlin 33,648 53.3 New
Ulster Unionist Anna Forrest 29,437 46.7 –5.6
Majority 4,211 6.6 N/A
Turnout 63,085 91.5 +7.6
Registered electors 68,973
Unity gain from Ulster Unionist Swing
General election 1966: Mid Ulster[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist George Forrest 29,728 52.3 +0.7
Independent Republican Tom Mitchell 27,168 47.8 +8.2
Majority 2,560 4.5 -7.5
Turnout 56,896 83.9 -1.2
Registered electors 67,796
Ulster Unionist hold Swing
General election 1964: Mid Ulster[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist George Forrest 29,715 51.6 −18.4
Independent Republican Tom Mitchell 22,810 39.6 N/A
NI Labour Patrick McGarvey 5,053 8.8 New
Majority 6,905 12.0 −28.0
Turnout 57,578 85.1 +14.1
Registered electors 66,607
Ulster Unionist hold Swing

Elections in the 1950s
General election 1959: Mid Ulster[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist George Forrest 33,093 70.0 +20.2
Sinn Féin Tom Mitchell 14,170 30.0 -20.2
Majority 18,923 40.0 N/A
Turnout 47,263 71.0 -17.6
Registered electors 67,647
Ulster Unionist gain from Ind. Unionist Swing
1956 Mid Ulster by-election[21]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ind. Unionist George Forrest 28,605 48.36 New
Sinn Féin Tom Mitchell 24,124 40.78 -9.92
Anti-Partition Michael O'Neill 6,421 10.86 New
Majority 4,481 7.58 N/A
Turnout 59,150 88.43 -0.17
Registered electors 66,891
Ind. Unionist gain from Sinn Féin Swing
1955 Mid Ulster by-election[22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Sinn Féin Tom Mitchell 30,392 50.7 +0.5
Ulster Unionist Charles Beattie 29,586 49.3 -0.5
Majority 806 1.4 +1.0
Turnout 66,852 89.7 +1.1
Registered electors 66,847
Sinn Féin hold Swing

The seat was awarded to Beattie on petition on the grounds that Mitchell's conviction as a felon made him ineligible to sit in Parliament. However, Beattie in turn was also found ineligible to sit due to holding an office of profit under the crown, triggering a further by-election.

General election 1955: Mid Ulster[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Sinn Féin Tom Mitchell 29,737 50.2 New
Ulster Unionist Charles Beattie 29,477 49.8 +2.5
Majority 260 0.4 N/A
Turnout 59,214 88.6 -3.2
Registered electors 66,847
Sinn Féin gain from Independent Nationalist Swing

Mitchell was subsequently unseated by a resolution of the House of Commons, on the grounds that his terrorist convictions made him ineligible to sit in Parliament.[23]

General election 1951: Mid Ulster[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Nationalist Michael O'Neill 33,097 52.7 New
Ulster Unionist John Shearer 29,701 47.3 -0.1
Majority 3,396 5.4 +0.2
Turnout 62,798 91.8 +0.2
Registered electors 68,412
Independent Nationalist gain from Nationalist Swing
General election 1950: Mid Ulster[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Nationalist Anthony Mulvey 33,023 52.6
Ulster Unionist John Shearer 29,721 47.4
Majority 3,302 5.2
Turnout 62,744 91.6
Registered electors 68,535
Nationalist win (new seat)

See also

References
  1. Reilly, Gavan (11 June 2012). "McGuinness to inherit Adams' old British title under SF reorganisation". thejournal.ie.
  2. "McGuinness quits Westminster seat". 11 June 2012 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  3. MPs cannot technically resign. Rather, they can request to be formally appointed to an office of profit, thereby vacating the seat. Sinn Féin, however, rejects elements of this process. The previous case of a Sinn Féin MP resigning was that of Gerry Adams, who simply resigned and Parliament operationalised his resignation by appointing him to an office of profit.
  4. 2013 By-election Politics Resources
  5. "Mid Ulster Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  6. "Election of a Member of Parliament for the MID ULSTER Constituency - Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll". Electoral Office of Northern Ireland. 11 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  7. "The Electoral Office of Northern Ireland - EONI". www.eoni.org.uk.
  8. "Parliamentary By-election - Mid Ulster". 7 March 2013.
  9. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  10. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  11. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  12. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  13. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  14. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  15. Mid Ulster Election results, 1983-1992, ARK (Ulster University and Queen's University Belfast). Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  16. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  17. Results of Byelections in the 1983-87 Parliament in the United Kingdom Election Results website maintained by David Boothroyd
  18. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  19. F. W. S. Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results: 1950-1970, p.686
  20. "1969 By Election Results". British Elections Ephemera Archive. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  21. "1956 By Election Results". Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  22. "1955 By Election Results". Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  23. Hansard, HC 5ser vol 544 cols 33-84.

Further reading

54.722°N 6.941°W / 54.722; -6.941

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