1989 Belfast City Council election

← 1985

17 May 1989 (1989-05-17)

1993 →

All 51 seats to Belfast City Council
26 seats needed for a majority

	First party	Second party	Third party

Party	UUP	Sinn Féin	SDLP
Seats won	14	8	8
Seat change	0	1	2

	Fourth party	Fifth party	Sixth party

Party	DUP	Alliance	Ind. Unionist
Seats won	8	6	4
Seat change	3	2	2

	Seventh party	Eighth party	Ninth party

Party	Workers' Party	PUP	Protestant Unionist
Seats won	1	1	1
Seat change	0	0	0

Lord Mayor before election

Nigel Dodds
DUP

Lord Mayor

Reg Empey
UUP

Elections to Belfast City Council were held on 17 May 1989 on the same day as the other Northern Irish local government elections. The election used nine district electoral areas to elect a total of 51 councillors, most representing the more heavily populated north and west.

The UUP remained the largest party, and Reg Empey became the Lord Mayor.

Belfast local election result 1989^[1]
	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
UUP	14	1	1	0	27.5	21.7	22,846	2.7
Sinn Féin	8	1	0	1	15.7	18.7	19,688	3.1
SDLP	8	2	0	2	15.7	16.1	16,937	1.9
DUP	8	0	3	3	15.7	14.8	15,618	5.1
Alliance	6	0	2	2	11.8	10.9	11,479	0.6
Ind. Unionist	4	2	0	2	7.8	6.7	7,013	3.2
Workers' Party	1	0	0	0	2.0	5.3	5,571	1.5
PUP	1	0	0	0	2.0	2.5	2,533	0.3
Protestant Unionist	1	0	0	0	2.0	1.3	1,408	1.3
Ulster Democratic	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.9	908	0.4
Independent	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.7	717	0.7
Labour Party NI	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.2	212	New
Communist	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.2	175	0.0
Green (NI)	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.08	95	New
National Front	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.02	27	New

Note: "Votes" are the first preference votes.

Districts summary

Results of the Belfast City Council election, 1989
by district
Ward	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	Total Cllrs
UUP	Sinn Féin	SDLP	DUP	Alliance	Workers' Party	PUP	Others
Balmoral	34.9	2	0.0	0	14.3	1	19.3	1	19.0	1	2.1	0	0.0	0	10.4	0	5
Castle	24.6	1	3.8	0	19.2	1	16.6	1	8.8	1	4.1	0	0.0	0	22.9	2	6
Court	19.8	1	2.3	0	0.0	0	15.8	1	0.0	0	3.5	0	24.2	1	34.4	2	6
Laganbank	31.6	2	7.7	0	20.8	1	12.0	1	19.0	1	4.9	0	0.0	0	4.0	0	5
Lower Falls	0.0	0	61.0	3	28.5	2	0.0	0	1.2	0	9.3	0	0.0	0	0.0	0	5
Oldpark	22.8	2	37.8	3	8.9	0	15.8	1	3.3	0	11.4	1	0.0	0	0.0	0	6
Pottinger	25.7	2	5.8	0	0.0	0	40.1	2	12.1	1	5.0	0	0.0	0	11.3	1	6
Upper Falls	0.0	0	49.5	2	41.9	2	2.2	0	2.6	0	3.1	0	0.0	0	0.7	0	5
Victoria	39.5	3	0.0	0	0.0	0	23.7	2	31.0	2	2.5	0	0.0	0	3.3	0	7
Total	21.7	14	18.7	8	16.1	8	14.8	8	10.9	6	5.3	1	2.5	1	10.0	5	51

District results

Balmoral

1985: 2 x UUP, 2 x DUP, 1 x Alliance
1989: 2 x UUP, 2 x DUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x SDLP
1985-1989 Change: SDLP gain from DUP

Balmoral - 5 seats^[2]
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	UUP	Mary Crooks*	18.97%	2,163
	UUP	Jim Kirkpatrick*	15.94%	1,818	1,968.72
	DUP	John Parkes*	14.05%	1,602	1,631.76	1,997.76
	Alliance	Mark Long	9.69%	1,105	1,111	1,178.68	1,182.37	1,188.37	2,118.37
	SDLP	Dorita Field	14.35%	1,636	1,637.08	1,708.32	1,708.73	1,708.85	1,778.63	1,888.89
	Ind. Unionist	William Dickson*	10.32%	1,177	1,207.84	1,418.56	1,505.89	1,558.09	1,639.9	1,743.87
	Alliance	John Montgomery*	9.30%	1,061	1,067.24	1,152.32	1,157.65	1,162.09
	DUP	Caroline Bingham	5.25%	599	626
	Workers' Party	Shaun McKeown	2.14%	243	243.72
Electorate: 23,343 Valid: 11,404 (48.85%) Spoilt: 314 Quota: 1,901 Turnout: 11,718 (50.20%)

Castle

1985: 2 x UUP, 1 SDLP, 1 x DUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x Independent Unionist
1989: 2 x Independent Unionist, 1 x UUP, 1 SDLP, 1 x DUP, 1 x Alliance
1985-1989 Change: Independent Unionist gain from UUP

Castle - 6 seats^[2]
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
	SDLP	Alban Maginness*	19.17%	2,301
	UUP	John Carson*	18.26%	2,192
	DUP	Nigel Dodds*	14.82%	1,779
	Alliance	Tom Campbell*	8.77%	1,053	1,384.02	1,405.36	1,405.63	1,488.77	1,493.04	1,591.75	1,855.75
	Ind. Unionist	Frank Millar*	11.54%	1,385	1,386.62	1,455.7	1,460.44	1,475.44	1,559.34	1,561.16	1,618.15
	Ind. Unionist	Nelson McCausland	9.69%	1,163	1,163	1,270.36	1,276.3	1,280.1	1,390.64	1,392.76	1,433.56
	UUP	Alfred Redpath*	6.39%	767	771.05	993.25	996.76	1,003.74	1,053.35	1,061.95	1,118.56
	Workers' Party	Anthony Kerr	4.13%	496	612.37	619.85	620.24	714.69	724.37	864.13
	Sinn Féin	Bobby Lavery*	3.77%	453	510.78	511.22	511.43	527.37	527.37
	DUP	Samuel Lowry	1.80%	216	216.27	254.11	291.13	294.13
	Green (NI)	Maria O'Sullivan	0.79%	95	139.28	140.16	140.19
	Labour '87	Thomas Galloway	0.86%	103	124.87	127.95	128.04
Electorate: 24,488 Valid: 12,003 (49.02%) Spoilt: 323 Quota: 1,715 Turnout: 12,326 (50.33%)

Court

1985: 2 x UUP, 1 x DUP, 1 x PUP, 1 x Protestant Unionist, 1 x Independent Unionist
1989: 2 x UUP, 1 x DUP, 1 x PUP, 1 x Protestant Unionist, 1 x Independent Unionist
1985-1989 Change: No change

Court - 6 seats^[2]
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	PUP	Hugh Smyth*	24.25%	2,533
	Protestant Unionist	Elizabeth Seawright	13.48%	1,408	1,768.36
	UUP	Fred Cobain*	11.20%	1,170	1,253.16	1,289.54	1,294.54	1,334.82	1,468.84	1,669.84
	DUP	Eric Smyth	9.63%	1,006	1,158.04	1,197.48	1,199.48	1,220.08	1,276.5	1,559.5
	Ind. Unionist	Joseph Coggle*	9.12%	953	1,134.02	1,212.9	1,217.9	1,253.74	1,349.08	1,439.04
	UUP	Herbert Ditty*	8.59%	897	962.52	1,002.98	1,005.32	1,030.92	1,208.88	1,309.8
	Independent	William Smith	6.87%	717	809.4	847.82	849.82	932.84	979.16	1,008.36
	DUP	Frederick Ashby*	6.17%	644	673.82	688.1	688.1	703.78	762.72
	Ind. Unionist	Alfie Ferguson	4.87%	509	562.34	583.08	583.08	625.5
	Workers' Party	Peter Cullen	3.51%	367	374.98	379.06	467.06
	Sinn Féin	Joe Austin	2.30%	240	240.42	240.76
Electorate: 21,173 Valid: 10,444 (49.33%) Spoilt: 381 Quota: 1,493 Turnout: 10,825 (51.13%)

Laganbank

1985: 2 x UUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x DUP
1989: 2 x UUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x DUP
1985-1989 Change: No change

Laganbank - 5 seats^[2]
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
	SDLP	Alasdair McDonnell*	14.43%	1,415	1,424	1,440	1,558	2,134
	UUP	Dixie Gilmore*	15.25%	1,496	1,497	1,567	1,579	1,579	1,580	2,080
	Alliance	Steve McBride	11.29%	1,107	1,110	1,147	1,243	1,282	1,490	1,497	1,500.84	1,602.84
	UUP	Jim Clarke	8.71%	854	859	901	903	903	903	1,128	1,445.76	1,448.76
	DUP	Rhonda Paisley*	10.56%	1,036	1,037	1,171	1,179	1,180	1,180	1,278	1,346.16	1,349.16
	Alliance	Mary Thomas	7.70%	755	757	780	898	937	1,126	1,130	1,131.92	1,209.92
	Sinn Féin	James Clinton	7.68%	753	775	776	799	811	836	837	837.96
	UUP	Harry Fletcher	7.68%	753	753	813	816	816	816
	SDLP	Gerard McKettrick	6.41%	629	635	638	700
	Workers' Party	Kevin Smyth	4.88%	479	503	553
	Ind. Unionist	Margaret Dickson	2.02%	198	198
	DUP	Benjamin Horan	1.35%	132	133
	Labour '87	Paul Hainsworth	1.11%	109	123
	Communist	Barry Bruton	0.93%	91
Electorate: 20,689 Valid: 9,807 (47.40%) Spoilt: 372 Quota: 1,635 Turnout: 10,179 (49.20%)

Lower Falls

1985: 3 x Sinn Féin, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Alliance
1989: 3 x Sinn Féin, 2 x SDLP
1985-1989 Change: SDLP gain from Alliance

Lower Falls - 5 seats^[2]
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5
	SDLP	Joe Hendron*	23.51%	2,748
	Sinn Féin	Fra McCann	19.73%	2,307
	Sinn Féin	Elizabeth Fitzsimons*	15.10%	1,765	1,786.7	1,816.25	1,849.69	1,885.5
	Sinn Féin	Sean McKnight*	12.22%	1,428	1,461.48	1,466.72	1,750.56	1,774.62
	SDLP	Mary Muldoon	5.03%	588	1,196.84	1,257.51	1,261.19	1,738.98
	Sinn Féin	Richard May	13.91%	1,626	1,634.68	1,637.68	1,651.92	1,679.45
	Workers' Party	Mary McMahon	9.35%	1,093	1,186	1,218.75	1,224.19
	Alliance	Derrick Crothers	1.15%	135	164.45
Electorate: 20,095 Valid: 11,690 (58.17%) Spoilt: 570 Quota: 1,949 Turnout: 12,260 (61.01%)

Oldpark

1985: 2 x Sinn Féin, 1 x UUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x DUP, 1 x Workers' Party
1989: 2 x Sinn Féin, 2 x UUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x Workers' Party
1985-1989 Change: UUP gain from DUP

Oldpark - 6 seats^[2]
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6
	SDLP	Brian Feeney*	18.38%	2,426
	Workers' Party	Seamus Lynch*	12.42%	1,639	1,912.6
	UUP	Fred Proctor*	14.02%	1,850	1,850.96	1,976.96
	UUP	William Gault	9.05%	780	782.64	886.56	951.36	1,491.96	2,050.96
	Sinn Féin	Gerard McGuigan*	12.75%	1,682	1,706.96	1,723.84	1,723.84	1,723.84	1,725.84
	Sinn Féin	Paddy McManus	11.73%	1,548	1,572.24	1,585.2	1,586.1	1,588.1	1,592.82
	Sinn Féin	William McGarry	8.45%	1,115	1,153.16	1,187.2	1,187.2	1,188.44	1,206
	Ulster Democratic	Patrick Bird	6.34%	837	837.72	883.36	896.86	1,117.84
	DUP	Stanley Mulholland	6.10%	805	805.24	839.4	851.1
	Alliance	George Jones	3.36%	443	610.52
	Ulster Democratic	William Clark	0.54%	71	71.24
Electorate: 25,895 Valid: 13,196 (50.96%) Spoilt: 548 Quota: 1,886 Turnout: 13,744 (53.08%)

Pottinger

1985: 3 x DUP, 2 x UUP, 1 x Alliance
1989: 2 x DUP, 2 x UUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 Independent Unionist
1985-1989 Change: Independent Unionist gain from DUP

Pottinger - 6 seats^[2]
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6
	DUP	Sammy Wilson*	25.88%	2,780
	UUP	Margaret Clarke*	13.78%	1,480	1,524.55	1,537.55
	Alliance	Mervyn Jones*	12.07%	1,296	1,309.05	1,314.3	1,326.75	1,599.75
	DUP	Jim Walker*	4.59%	493	1,268.35	1,479.35	1,531.7	1,546.7
	Ind. Unionist	Dorothy Dunlop	10.98%	1,179	1,225.8	1,245.75	1,313.9	1,344.35	1,357.35
	UUP	Reg Empey*	8.04%	864	921.15	942.1	1,210.2	1,220.2	1,226.2
	DUP	Frank Leslie*	7.15%	768	900.3	1,015	1,044.05	1,056.5	1,064.4
	Sinn Féin	Joseph O'Donnell	5.86%	629	629.45	631.9	631.9	677.9
	Workers' Party	Sean Flanagan	5.04%	541	543.7	546.7	548.7
	UUP	David McNutt	3.91%	420	447	457.15
	DUP	John Norris	2.45%	263	381.8
	National Front	Stuart McCullough	0.25%	27	29.7
Electorate: 24,265 Valid: 10,740 (44.26%) Spoilt: 508 Quota: 1,535 Turnout: 11,248 (46.35%)

Upper Falls

1985: 2 x Sinn Féin, 2 x SDLP, 1 x Alliance
1989: 3 x Sinn Féin, 2 x SDLP
1985-1989 Change: Sinn Féin gain from Alliance

Upper Falls - 5 seats^[2]
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	SDLP	Alex Attwood*	26.53%	3,292
	Sinn Féin	Alex Maskey*	19.26%	2,378
	Sinn Féin	Teresa Holland*	18.77%	2,329
	SDLP	Cormac Boomer*	9.58%	1,189	2,202.46
	Sinn Féin	Mairtin O'Muilleoir	15.74%	1,435	1,462.74	1,739.64	1,976.47	2,000.75	2,004.3	2,004.67
	SDLP	Peter Prendiville	5.75%	713	815.98	819.1	820.97	834.35	935.6	962.75
	Alliance	Dan McGuinness	2.63%	326	363.24	365.71	368.35	374.73	384.88	505.88
	Workers' Party	Jean Craig	3.06%	380	409.64	411.72	413.48	432.48	443.83	488.83
	DUP	Robert Morrow	2.28%	283	283	283.39	283.72	283.72	283.97
	Communist	Kevin O'Donnell	0.68%	84	87.04	89.77	90.54
Electorate: 22,975 Valid: 12,409 (54.01%) Spoilt: 426 Quota: 2,069 Turnout: 12,835 (55.87%)

Victoria

1985: 3 x UUP, 2 x Alliance, 2 x DUP
1989: 3 x UUP, 2 x Alliance, 2 x DUP
1985-1989 Change: No change

Victoria - 7 seats^[2]
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6
	Alliance	John Alderdice	21.67%	2,933
	UUP	Thomas Patton*	21.02%	2,845
	UUP	Ian Adamson	12.78%	1,730
	DUP	Wallace Browne*	10.15%	1,374	1,407.97	1,512.97	1,523.34	1,585.51	1,890.51
	DUP	Robin Newton*	8.65%	1,171	1,177.88	1,274.06	1,287.33	1,346.33	1,644.33
	Alliance	Danny Dow	5.41%	732	1,405.38	1,475.94	1,617.36	1,685.17	1,696.17
	UUP	Alan Montgomery	5.67%	767	821.61	1,496.55	1,521.91	1,641.98	1,692.98
	Alliance	George Thompson*	3.94%	533	937.2	963.66	1,041.39	1,110.23	1,117.23
	DUP	Irene Lewis	4.93%	667	685.49	776.63	786.05	846.22
	Ind. Unionist	Samuel Walker	3.32%	449	469.64	520.46	555.74
	Workers' Party	Hugh Jordan	2.46%	333	359.23	378.97
Electorate: 30,508 Valid: 13,534 (44.36%) Spoilt: 367 Quota: 1,692 Turnout: 13,901 (45.57%)

v t e Council elections in County Antrim
Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council	2014 2019 2023
Belfast City Council	1887 1897 1899 1902 1905 1908 1911 1914 1920 1924 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961 1964 1967 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2011 2014 2019 2023
Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council	2014 2019 2023
Lisburn and Castlereagh District Council	2014 2019 2023
Mid and East Antrim District Council	2014 2019 2023
Antrim Borough Council	1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2011 Abolished
Ballymena Borough Council	1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2011 Abolished
Ballymoney Borough Council	1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2011 Abolished
Carrickfergus Borough Council	1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2011 Abolished
Larne Borough Council	1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2011 Abolished
Lisburn City Council	1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2011 Abolished
Moyle District Council	1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2011 Abolished
Newtownabbey Borough Council	1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2011 Abolished
Antrim County Council	1899 1902 1905 1908 1911 1914 1920 1924 1927 1930 1933 1937 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961 1964 1967 Abolished

v t e Council elections in County Down
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council	2014 2019 2023
Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council	2014 2019 2023
Newry, Mourne and Down District Council	2014 2019 2023
Ards and North Down Borough Council	2014 2019 2023
Ards Borough Council	1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2011 Abolished
Banbridge District Council	1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2011 Abolished
Castlereagh Borough Council	1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2011 Abolished
Craigavon Borough Council	1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2011 Abolished
Down District Council	1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2011 Abolished
Lisburn City Council	1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2011 Abolished
Newry and Mourne District Council	1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2011 Abolished
North Down Borough Council	1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2011 Abolished

v t e (1988 ←) 1989 United Kingdom local elections (→ 1990)
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Sui generis	Isles of Scilly
See also: European Parliament election