Queen's University of Belfast (UK Parliament constituency)

Queen's University of Belfast was a university constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Parliament from 1918 until 1950.

Not to be confused with Queen's University of Belfast (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency).

Queen's University, Belfast
Former university constituency
for the House of Commons
1918–1950
Seats1

It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) elected by the first-past-the-post voting system.

Franchise

The MP was rather elected by the graduates of Queen's University Belfast.

First Dáil

After the 1918 election, Sinn Féin invited all those elected for constituencies in Ireland to sit as TDs in Dáil Éireann rather than in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.[1] All those elected for Irish constituencies were included in the roll of the Dáil but only those elected for Sinn Féin sat in the First Dáil.[2] In May 1921, the Dáil passed a resolution declaring that elections to the House of Commons of Northern Ireland and the House of Commons of Southern Ireland would be used as the election for the Second Dáil and that the First Dáil would be dissolved on the assembly of the new body.[3] The graduates of Queen's would then have been represented in the Dáil by the four-seat constituency of Queen's University of Belfast, which also returned no representatives for Sinn Féin.

Members of Parliament
ElectionMember [4] Party
1918 William Whitla Ulster Unionist
1923 Thomas Sinclair
1940 by-election Douglas Lloyd Savory
1950 constituency abolished

Politics and History of the constituency

University constituencies had existed in the United Kingdom Parliament and its predecessors since 1603 and in 1918 Queen's was enfranchised as such. When the Parliament of Northern Ireland was established, the same franchise was preserved - see Queen's University of Belfast (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency).

As with most other Northern Ireland seats in this period, the electorate was heavily inclined towards the Ulster Unionists, with no contests for the Westminster seat taking place at all in the interwar years.

Under the Representation of the People Act 1948, university constituencies at Westminster were abolished with effect at the 1950 United Kingdom general election.

Election results
1918 general election: Queen's University of Belfast
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist William Whitla 1,487 92.65
Sinn Féin Sean B. Dolan 118 7.35
Majority 1,369 85.30
Turnout 1,605 78.72
Ulster Unionist win (new seat)

[5]

General election 1922: Queen's University of Belfast
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist William Whitla Unopposed
Ulster Unionist hold

[6] [7]

General election 1923: Queen's University of Belfast
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Thomas Sinclair Unopposed
Ulster Unionist hold

[6][8]

General election 1924: Queen's University of Belfast
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Thomas Sinclair Unopposed
Ulster Unionist hold

[6][8]

General election 1929: Queen's University of Belfast
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Thomas Sinclair Unopposed
Ulster Unionist hold

[6][9]

General election 1931: Queen's University of Belfast
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Thomas Sinclair Unopposed
Ulster Unionist hold

[6][10]

General election 1935: Queen's University of Belfast
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Thomas Sinclair Unopposed
Ulster Unionist hold

[6][11]

Resignation of Sinclair

Queen's University of Belfast by-election, 2 November 1940
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Douglas Savory Unopposed
Ulster Unionist hold

[6][11]

1945 general election: Queen's University of Belfast
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist Douglas Savory 1,923 72.5 N/A
Independent Thomas Cusack 728 27.5 New
Majority 1,195 45.0 N/A
Turnout 2,651 51.6 N/A
Ulster Unionist hold

[6][12]

References
  1. "The inaugural public meeting of Dáil Éireann". Dáil 100. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  2. "3. AN ROLLA". Houses of the Oireachtas. 21 January 1919. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  3. "Dáil Éireann debate - Tuesday, 10 May 1921 - PRESIDENT'S STATEMENT. - ELECTIONS". Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  4. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "Q"
  5. Walker, Brian M., ed. (1978). Parliamentary election results in Ireland, 1801–1922. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. ISBN 0-901714-12-7.
  6. Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 675. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
  7. Walker, Brian M., ed. (1992). Parliamentary election results in Ireland, 1918–1992. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. p. 15. ISBN 0-901714-96-8.
  8. Walker, Parliamentary election results in Ireland, 1918–1992, page 16
  9. Walker, Parliamentary election results in Ireland, 1918–1992, page 17
  10. Walker, Parliamentary election results in Ireland, 1918–1992, page 18
  11. Walker, Parliamentary election results in Ireland, 1918–1992, page 19
  12. Walker, Parliamentary election results in Ireland, 1918–1992, page 20
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