1969 Mid Ulster by-election

UK parliamentary by-election 1969 Mid Ulster by-election parliamentary United Kingdom Constituency of Mid Ulster no 1966 United Kingdom general election 1966 1970 United Kingdom general election 1970 17 April 1969 Bernadette McAliskey x160px Unity (Northern Ireland) 33,648 53.3% black New Anna Forrest UUP Ulster Unionist Party 29,437 46.7% 5.6% 200px MP George Forrest Ulster Unionist Party Bernadette McAliskey Unity (Northern Ireland) 91.5% ( 7.6%)September 2020 June 2013 The 1969 Mid Ulster by-election was held on 17 April 1969 following the death of George Forrest, the Ulster Unionist Party Member of Parliament for Mid Ulster. The two-way contest was unusual in featuring two female candidates. Forrest had held the seat since 1956, initially winning it as an Independent Unionist, but joining the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) immediately on his election. The seat had been created six years earlier, and during that period had been held by two Nationalist Party members, one Sinn Féin member, and an Ulster Unionist. At the 1966 general election, Forrest had achieved only a slim majority over former Sinn Féin MP Tom Mitchell, standing as an Independent Republican. It was clear that the balance between nationalist and unionist voters in the constituency was very close. Since 1966, the political situation in Northern Ireland had changed. The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association had been formed to campaign for civil rights for nationalists. After its marches were disrupted, leading to the start of The Troubles, more radical groups such as People's Democracy organised. Among its leaders was radical student Bernadette Devlin, who stood against prominent unionist James Chichester-Clark for the South Londonderry seat at the 1969 Northern Ireland general election in February. Two prominent members of NICRA, Dr Conn McCluskey and his wife Patricia McCluskey, organised a Unity Convention in order to select a single anti-Unionist candidate.Devlin Bernadette Bernadette Devlin: The Price of my Soul Pan Books Ltd, London 1969 164 Chapter 11 0233961968 After six public meetings between the candidates there were three contenders: Kevin Agnew, a Maghera-based solicitor and member of Sinn Féin, Austin Currie of the Nationalist Party, and Bernadette Devlin of People's Democracy. On 2 April 1969, both Agnew and Currie agreed to withdraw in favour of Devlin. In contrast to Mitchell's abstentionist stance, she committed to attending the British House of Commons to fight her cause.Devlin Bernadette Bernadette Devlin: The Price of my Soul Pan Books Ltd, London 1969 168 Chapter 12 0233961968 Her uncle, Daniel Devlin, was treasurer of her campaign, Loudon Seth, a Protestant, was her election agent and Eamonn McCann served as press agent. The Ulster Unionist Party stood Anna Forrest, George Forrest's widow. She did not hold any public meetings or do any electioneering work. In a brief address to electors, she stated "if elected, I will endeavour, with God's help, to strive for a more peaceful and prosperous society where all people can live in harmony and work together for the common good of all." Result Devlin achieved a narrow victory, becoming at twenty-one years of age the youngest ever female MP. The election also saw the highest turnout in any Westminster by-election since universal suffrage, with 91.5% of the electorate voting. Devlin held the seat at the 1970 general election, at which time the Unity movement acquired another MP, Frank McManus, in Fermanagh and South Tyrone. However they both lost their seats at the February 1974 UK general election. 1969 Mid Ulster by-electionF. W. S. Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results: 1950–1970, p.686http://by-elections.co.uk/69.html https://web.archive.org/web/20120314034618/http://by-elections.co.uk/69.html 1969 By Election Results 2012-03-14 dead British Elections Ephemera Archive 2015-08-26 Unity (Northern Ireland) Bernadette Devlin 33,648 53.3 New Ulster Unionist Party Anna Forrest 29,437 46.7 – 5.6 4,211 6.6 N/A 63,085 91.5 + 7.6 68,973 Unity (Northern Ireland) Ulster Unionist Party Previous election General election 1966: Mid Ulster Ulster Unionist Party George Forrest 29,728 52.3 +0.7 Independent Republican (Ireland) Tom Mitchell 27,168 47.8 +8.2 2,560 4.5 -7.5 56,896 83.9 -1.2 67,796 Ulster Unionist Party References External links A Vision Of Britain Through Time (Constituency elector numbers) "Gospel of Devlin", TIME Magazine 1969 British Parliamentary By Elections: Result & campaign literature Mid Ulster by-election Mid Ulster by-election Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in County Londonderry constituencies Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in County Tyrone constituencies Category:20th century in County Londonderry Category:20th century in County Tyrone Category:1969 elections in Northern Ireland