1986 North Antrim by-election
UK Parliamentary by-election
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The 1986 North Antrim by-election was one of the fifteen 1986 Northern Ireland by-elections held on 23 January 1986, to fill vacancies in the Parliament of the United Kingdom caused by the resignation in December 1985 of all sitting Unionist Members of Parliament (MPs). The MPs, from the Ulster Unionist Party, Democratic Unionist Party and Ulster Popular Unionist Party, did this to highlight their opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement. Each of their parties agreed not to contest seats previously held by the others, and each outgoing MP stood for re-election.
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23 Jan 1986
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Constituency of North Antrim | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 53.5% ( 16.3%) | |||||||||||||||||||||
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All but one of the Unionists were re-elected, many with extremely large majorities. The largest of all went to Ian Paisley in North Antrim. He won 97.4% of the vote, the highest percentage polled by any candidate in a UK by-election since the 1940 Middleton and Prestwich by-election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DUP | Ian Paisley | 33,937 | 97.4 | +43.2 | |
| "For the Anglo-Irish Agreement" | "Peter Barry" (Wesley Williamson)[2] | 515 | 2.6 | N/A | |
| Majority | 33,024 | 94.8 | +65.0 | ||
| Turnout | 34,452 | 53.5 | −16.3 | ||
| Registered electors | 65,157 | ||||
| DUP hold | Swing | ||||
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