Londonderry (UK Parliament constituency)
UK constituency in Ireland and Northern Ireland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Londonderry was a parliamentary constituency in Northern Ireland represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament, as well as a constituency in elections to various regional bodies. It was replaced in boundary changes in 1983. Londonderry returned two MPs (1801–1885) and later one (1922–1983).
| Londonderry | |
|---|---|
| Former county constituency for the House of Commons | |
| County | County Londonderry |
| 1801–1885 | |
| Seats | 2 |
| Created from | County Londonderry (IHC) |
| Replaced by | |
| 1922–1983 | |
| Seats | 1 |
| Created from | |
| Replaced by | |
Politics and history of the constituency
From its inception, Londonderry had a unionist majority, though by the 1970s the nationalist vote was approaching 40% in some elections.
In 1951, it was one of the last four seats to be uncontested in a United Kingdom general election.
In 1974 the Ulster Unionist Party repudiated the Sunningdale Agreement and so did not reselect Robin Chichester-Clark, who had been a Minister in the government of Edward Heath. Instead they ran William Ross, who held the seat until the 1983 general election. He was then elected for the new East Londonderry constituency.
For the history of the area post-1983, see Foyle (UK Parliament constituency) and East Londonderry.
Boundaries
The constituency consisted, in 1801–1885, of the whole of County Londonderry,[a] except for the parliamentary boroughs of Coleraine and Londonderry City.
The seat was re-created in 1922. As part of the consequences of the devolved Stormont Parliament for Northern Ireland, the number of MPs in the Westminster Parliament was reduced from 30 to 13. The seat was focused on County Londonderry. From 1922 to 1950, it comprised the administrative county of Londonderry and the County Borough of Londonderry. From 1950 onwards, the rural district of Magherafelt in the south of the county was removed to form part of the new Mid Ulster constituency.
In 1983 the number of seats for Northern Ireland was increased from 12 to 17 and Londonderry was split in two, forming Foyle and East Londonderry.
Members of Parliament
1801–1885
| Election | First member | First party | Second member | Second party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1801 | Hon. Charles Stewart[1] | Tory | Vacant | |||
| 1801 by-election | Sir George Hill, 2nd Bt | Tory | ||||
| 1802 | Lord George Beresford | |||||
| 1812 | Hon. William Ponsonby | |||||
| 1814 by-election | Alexander Stewart | Tory[2] | ||||
| 1815 by-election | George Robert Dawson | Tory[3] | ||||
| 1818 | Alexander Robert Stewart | Tory | ||||
| 1830 | Theobald Jones | Tory[4][5] | Sir Robert Bateson, 1st Bt | Tory[4][5] | ||
| 1834 | Conservative[4][5] | Conservative[4][5] | ||||
| 1842 by-election | Robert Bateson | Conservative[5] | ||||
| 1844 by-election | Thomas Bateson | |||||
| 1857 by-election | James Johnston Clark | |||||
| 1857 | Samuel MacCurdy Greer | Radical[6][7] | ||||
| 1859 | Robert Peel Dawson | Conservative[5] | Sir Frederick Heygate, 2nd Bt | |||
| 1874 | Richard Smyth | Liberal[5] | Hugh Law | Liberal[5] | ||
| 1878 by-election | Sir Thomas McClure, 1st Bt | |||||
| 1881 by-election | Andrew Porter | |||||
| 1884 by-election | Samuel Walker | |||||
| 1885 | constituency abolished: see North Londonderry & South Londonderry | |||||
1922–1983
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1922 | Sir Malcolm Macnaghten | Ulster Unionist | |
| 1929 by-election | Sir Ronald Ross | ||
| 1951 by-election | William Wellwood | ||
| 1955 | Robin Chichester-Clark | ||
| February 1974 | William Ross | ||
| 1983 | constituency abolished: see Foyle & East Londonderry | ||
Westminster elections
Elections in the 1830s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tory | Robert Bateson, Snr. | Unopposed | |||
| Tory | Theobald Jones | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 866 | ||||
| Tory hold | |||||
| Tory hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tory | Robert Bateson, Snr. | 631 | 38.7 | ||
| Tory | Theobald Jones | 585 | 35.9 | ||
| Whig | John Byng | 382 | 23.4 | ||
| Tory | John Richard James Hart | 33 | 2.0 | ||
| Majority | 203 | 12.5 | |||
| Turnout | c. 816 | c. 92.9 | |||
| Registered electors | 878 | ||||
| Tory hold | |||||
| Tory hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tory | Robert Bateson, Snr. | Unopposed | |||
| Tory | Theobald Jones | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 2,172 | ||||
| Tory hold | |||||
| Tory hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Robert Bateson, Snr. | Unopposed | |||
| Conservative | Theobald Jones | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 2,658 | ||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Robert Bateson, Snr. | Unopposed | |||
| Conservative | Theobald Jones | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 2,843 | ||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
Elections in the 1840s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Robert Bateson, Snr. | Unopposed | |||
| Conservative | Theobald Jones | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 1,718 | ||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Robert Bateson, Jnr. | Unopposed | |||
| Conservative hold | |||||
- Caused by Bateson's resignation by accepting the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Thomas Bateson | Unopposed | |||
| Conservative hold | |||||
- Caused by Bateson's death
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Thomas Bateson | Unopposed | |||
| Conservative | Theobald Jones | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 4,663 | ||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
Elections in the 1850s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Thomas Bateson | Unopposed | |||
| Conservative hold | |||||
- Caused by Bateson's appointment as a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Thomas Bateson | 2,098 | 38.0 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Theobald Jones | 1,909 | 34.6 | N/A | |
| Radical | Samuel MacCurdy Greer | 1,518 | 27.5 | New | |
| Majority | 391 | 7.1 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 3,522 (est) | 81.8 (est) | N/A | ||
| Registered electors | 4,305 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |||
| Conservative hold | Swing | N/A | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | James Johnston Clark | 2,600 | 64.1 | −8.5 | |
| Radical | Samuel MacCurdy Greer | 1,457 | 35.9 | +8.4 | |
| Majority | 1,143 | 28.2 | +21.1 | ||
| Turnout | 4,057 | 79.8 | −2.0 | ||
| Registered electors | 5,081 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | −8.5 | |||
- Caused by Bateson's resignation.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | James Johnston Clark | 2,404 | 37.5 | −0.5 | |
| Radical | Samuel MacCurdy Greer | 2,339 | 36.4 | +8.9 | |
| Conservative | Henry Bruce | 1,676 | 26.1 | −8.5 | |
| Turnout | 3,210 (est) | 63.2 (est) | −18.6 | ||
| Registered electors | 5,081 | ||||
| Majority | 65 | 1.1 | −6.0 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +2.5 | |||
| Majority | 663 | 10.3 | N/A | ||
| Radical gain from Conservative | Swing | +9.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Robert Peel Dawson | 2,628 | 38.2 | +0.7 | |
| Conservative | Frederick Heygate | 2,468 | 35.8 | +9.7 | |
| Liberal | Samuel MacCurdy Greer | 1,790 | 26.0 | −10.4 | |
| Majority | 678 | 9.8 | +8.7 | ||
| Turnout | 4,338 (est) | 83.8 (est) | +20.6 | ||
| Registered electors | 5,178 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +3.2 | |||
| Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +7.7 | |||
Elections in the 1860s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Robert Peel Dawson | Unopposed | |||
| Conservative | Frederick Heygate | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 5,512 | ||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Robert Peel Dawson | Unopposed | |||
| Conservative | Frederick Heygate | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 5,582 | ||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
Elections in the 1870s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Richard Smyth | 2,988 | 33.8 | New | |
| Liberal | Hugh Law | 2,701 | 30.6 | New | |
| Conservative | Robert Jackson Alexander | 1,747 | 19.8 | N/A | |
| Conservative | John Barré Beresford | 1,402 | 15.9 | N/A | |
| Majority | 954 | 10.8 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 4,419 (est) | 82.4 (est) | N/A | ||
| Registered electors | 5,362 | ||||
| Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | N/A | |||
| Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | N/A | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Thomas McClure | 2,479 | 56.9 | −7.5 | |
| Conservative | Samuel Maxwell Alexander | 1,878 | 43.1 | +7.4 | |
| Majority | 601 | 13.8 | +3.0 | ||
| Turnout | 4,357 | 76.3 | −6.1 | ||
| Registered electors | 5,714 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | −7.5 | |||
- Caused by Smyth's death.
Elections in the 1880s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Hugh Law | 3,012 | 37.5 | +6.9 | |
| Liberal | Thomas McClure | 2,912 | 36.3 | +2.5 | |
| Conservative | Samuel Maxwell Alexander | 2,107 | 26.2 | −9.5 | |
| Majority | 805 | 10.1 | −0.7 | ||
| Turnout | 5,069 (est) | 86.6 (est) | +4.2 | ||
| Registered electors | 5,853 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +5.8 | |||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +3.6 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Hugh Law | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 5,853 | ||||
| Liberal hold | |||||
- Caused by Law's appointment as Attorney-General for Ireland
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Andrew Porter | 2,701 | 56.1 | −17.7 | |
| Conservative | Samuel Wilson | 2,054 | 42.7 | +16.5 | |
| Home Rule | Charles John Dempsey | 56 | 1.2 | New | |
| Majority | 647 | 13.4 | +3.3 | ||
| Turnout | 4,811 | 81.6 | −5.0 (est) | ||
| Registered electors | 5,896 | ||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | −17.1 | |||
- Caused by Law's appointment as Lord Chancellor of Ireland
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Samuel Walker | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 5,798 | ||||
| Liberal hold | |||||
- Caused by Porter's appointment as Master of the Rolls
Elections in the 1920s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UUP | Malcolm Macnaghten | 30,743 | 75.7 | ||
| Ind. Nationalist |
|
9,861 | 24.3 | ||
| Majority | 20,882 | 51.4 | |||
| Turnout | 40,604 | 63.9 | |||
| UUP win (new seat) | |||||
- anti-partition
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UUP | Malcolm Macnaghten | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | |||||
| UUP hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UUP | Malcolm Macnaghten | 30,875 | 82.9 | N/A | |
| Sinn Féin | Charles MacWhinney | 5,869 | 15.8 | New | |
| Ind. Unionist | William Galt | 517 | 1.4 | New | |
| Majority | 25,006 | 67.1 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 37,261 | 59.1 | N/A | ||
| UUP hold | Swing | N/A | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UUP | Ronald Deane Ross | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | |||||
| UUP hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UUP | Ronald Deane Ross | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | |||||
| UUP hold | |||||
Elections in the 1930s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UUP | Ronald Deane Ross | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | |||||
| UUP hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UUP | Ronald Deane Ross | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | |||||
| UUP hold | |||||
Elections in the 1940s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UUP | Ronald Ross | 40,214 | 50.8 | N/A | |
| Nationalist | Denis Cavanagh | 37,561 | 47.4 | New | |
| NI Labour | Milton Gordon | 1,471 | 1.9 | New | |
| Majority | 2,653 | 3.4 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 79,246 | 88.1 | N/A | ||
| UUP hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Elections in the 1950s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UUP | Ronald Ross | 36,602 | 62.6 | +11.8 | |
| Ind. Republican | Hugh McAteer | 21,880 | 37.4 | New | |
| Majority | 14,722 | 25.2 | +21.8 | ||
| Turnout | 58,482 | 80.7 | −7.4 | ||
| UUP hold | Swing | ||||
- In the 1951 Londonderry by-election[9] and the 1951 United Kingdom general election, William Wellwood was elected unopposed.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UUP | William Wellwood | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | |||||
| UUP hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UUP | William Wellwood | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | |||||
| UUP hold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UUP | Robin Chichester-Clark | 35,673 | 64.5 | N/A | |
| Sinn Féin | Manus Canning | 19,640 | 35.5 | New | |
| Majority | 16,033 | 29.0 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 55,313 | 77.6 | N/A | ||
| UUP hold | Swing | N/A | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UUP | Robin Chichester-Clark | 37,529 | 73.0 | +8.5 | |
| Sinn Féin | Manus Canning | 13,872 | 27.0 | −8.5 | |
| Majority | 23,657 | 46.0 | +17.0 | ||
| Turnout | 51,401 | 70.2 | −7.4 | ||
| UUP hold | Swing | +8.5 | |||
Elections in the 1960s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UUP | Robin Chichester-Clark | 37,700 | 64.1 | −8.9 | |
| Ind. Republican | Hugh McAteer | 21,123 | 35.9 | New | |
| Majority | 16,577 | 28.2 | −17.8 | ||
| Turnout | 58,823 | 76.5 | +6.3 | ||
| UUP hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UUP | Robin Chichester-Clark | 34,729 | 58.1 | −6.0 | |
| Nationalist | Paddy Gormley | 22,167 | 37.1 | New | |
| Ind. Republican | Neil Gillespie | 2,860 | 4.8 | −31.1 | |
| Majority | 12,562 | 21.0 | −7.2 | ||
| Turnout | 59,756 | 76.4 | −0.1 | ||
| UUP hold | Swing | ||||
Elections in the 1970s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UUP | Robin Chichester-Clark | 39,141 | 53.1 | −5.0 | |
| Unity | Eddie McAteer | 27,006 | 36.6 | New | |
| Derry Labour | Eamonn McCann | 7,565 | 10.3 | New | |
| Majority | 12,135 | 16.5 | −4.5 | ||
| Turnout | 73,712 | 81.6 | +5.2 | ||
| UUP hold | Swing | N/A | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UUP | William Ross | 33,060 | 52.7 | −0.4 | |
| SDLP | Hugh Logue | 23,670 | 37.7 | New | |
| Republican Clubs | Michael Montgomery | 4,889 | 7.8 | New | |
| Independent | Richard Foster | 1,162 | 1.9 | New | |
| Majority | 9,390 | 15.0 | −1.5 | ||
| Turnout | 62,781 | 68.1 | −13.5 | ||
| UUP hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UUP | William Ross | 35,138 | 54.4 | +1.7 | |
| SDLP | John Hume | 26,118 | 40.4 | +2.7 | |
| Republican Clubs | Michael Montgomery | 2,530 | 3.9 | −3.9 | |
| Independent | Richard Foster | 846 | 1.3 | −0.6 | |
| Majority | 9,020 | 14.0 | −1.0 | ||
| Turnout | 64,632 | 69.3 | +1.2 | ||
| UUP hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UUP | William Ross | 31,592 | 49.7 | −4.7 | |
| SDLP | Hugh Logue | 19,185 | 30.2 | −10.2 | |
| Alliance | Arthur Barr | 5,830 | 9.2 | New | |
| Irish Independence | Fergus McAteer | 5,489 | 8.6 | New | |
| Republican Clubs | Eamonn Melaugh | 888 | 1.4 | −2.5 | |
| Independent Labour | William Webster | 639 | 1.0 | New | |
| Majority | 12,407 | 19.5 | +5.5 | ||
| Turnout | 63,623 | 67.1 | −2.2 | ||
| UUP hold | Swing | ||||
Notes
- There is a longstanding Derry/Londonderry name dispute. This article follows the approach that Derry refers to the city and County Londonderry refers to the county (outside of organisations' names, which may follow their own approaches).