1969 Northern Ireland general election

none September 2017 September 2017 1969 Northern Ireland general election Northern Ireland parliamentary no 1965 Northern Ireland general election 1965 List of members of the 11th House of Commons of Northern Ireland MPs elected 1973 Northern Ireland Assembly election 1973 All 52 seats to the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 27 seats were needed for a majority 24 February 1969 Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. Captain Rt. Hon. Terence O'Neill 1966 (cropped).png 160 120 150 0 35 Terence O'Neill 25 March 1963 Ulster Unionist Party Bannside 36 seats, 59.1% 36UUP Ulster Unionist Party darkgray Pro-O'Neill (23 members)darkblue darkgray Anti-O'Neill (13 members) 269,501 48.2% 10.9% Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland) Eddie McAteer 2 June 1964 Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland) Foyle (Lost) 9 seats, 8.2% 6 3 42,315 7.6% 0.6% Tom Boyd 1958 Northern Ireland Labour Party Belfast Pottinger (Lost) 2 seats, 20.4% 2 45,113 8.1% 12.3% Gerry Fitt 1964 Republican Labour Party Belfast Dock 2 seats, 1.0% 2 13,115 1.4% 0.4% 300px File:Northern Ireland general election 1969.png Election results by constituency Prime Minister Prime Minister after election Terence O'Neill Ulster Unionist Party Terence O'Neill Ulster Unionist Party The 1969 Northern Ireland general election was held on Monday 24 February 1969. It was the last election to the Parliament of Northern Ireland before its abolition by the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973. This was the first (and only) election since the 1929 general election to see changes to the constituencies. The Queen's University of Belfast seat was abolished and four new constituencies were created in the suburbs of Belfast to compensate for population growth there. Overview Unlike previous elections that produced a large unambiguous majority for the Ulster Unionist Party, this one gave more complex results. The Ulster Unionists were divided over a variety of reforms introduced by Prime Minister Terence O'Neill and this division spilled over into the election with official Ulster Unionist candidates standing either in support of or opposition to O'Neill and a number of Unofficial Unionists, who were independent pro O'Neill candidates standing against unsupportive Official Unionist candidates. The results left O'Neill without a clear majority for his reforms and he resigned not long afterwards. Nationalist realignment The Nationalist Party that had for a long time represented the bulk of the Catholic minority faced strong challenges and two of its leading figures were defeated. The leader Eddie McAteer lost Foyle to the independent John HumeMullan Kevin John Hume in February 1969: A 36 year political career is launched Derry Journal 3 August 2020 https://www.derryjournal.com/news/people/john-hume-february-1969-36-year-political-career-launched-2931967 and Paddy Gormley lost Mid Londonderry to the independent Ivan Cooper. Both Hume and Cooper would go on to form the Social Democratic and Labour Party which would take over the Nationalist mantle. Protestant Unionist Party Ian Paisley's Protestant Unionist Party that was broadly opposed to O'Neill's agenda on civil rights, put up a number of candidates. Although none of them were returned O'Neill was almost defeated by Paisley in Bannside a seat that had not been contested since 1949. Paisley gained the seat at a 1970 by-election. Unofficial Unionists Due to the local selection rules a number of anti-O'Neill candidates managed to get reselected or selected for seats. Many of them were opposed by 17 unofficial Unionist candidates supporting O'Neill,History repeating as the Union itself stands at the ‘crossroads’ https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/history-repeating-as-the-union-itself-stands-at-the-crossroads-1.3803845 2024-05-31 The Irish Times en often backed by the New Ulster Movement. They won three seatsCAIN: Politics: Elections: Stormont General Election (NI) Monday 24 February 1969 https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/issues/politics/election/rs1969.htm 2024-05-31 cain.ulster.ac.uk - Belfast Clifton (where the sitting Unionist MP for was forbidden by a court order from referring to himself as the official Unionist candidate because of a violation of the rules at his selection meeting); Bangor and Belfast Willowfield. Results + ↓ 36 6 3 3 2 2 UUP Nationalist UU Ind NILP Rep Northern Ireland General Election 1969 center|360px Ulster Unionist Party 44 36UUP 4 4 0 269,501 48.2 69.2 -10.9 Unofficial Unionist 15 3 3 0 +3 72,120 12.9 5.8 +12.9 Northern Ireland Labour Party 16 2 1 1 0 45,113 8.1 3.8 -12.3 Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland) 9 6 0 3 -3 42,315 7.6 11.5 -0.6 National Democratic Party (Northern Ireland) 7 0 0 1 -1 26,009 4.6 -0.1 People's Democracy (Ireland) 8 0 0 0 0 23,645 4.2 +4.2 Independent (politician) 4 3 3 1 +2 21,977 3.9 5.8 +3.9 Protestant Unionist Party 5 0 0 0 0 20,991 3.8 +3.8 Independent Unionist 3 0 0 0 0 13,932 2.5 +2.5 Republican Labour Party 5 2 1 1 0 13,115 2.4 3.8 +1.4 Ulster Liberal Party 2 0 0 1 -1 7,337 1.3 -2.6 People's Progressive 1 0 0 0 0 2,992 0.5 +0.5 |} Electorate: 912,087 (778,031 in contested seats); Turnout: 71.9% (559,087). Votes summary Popular vote #ddd 500px 290px Ulster Unionist Party #48A5EE 48.2 Unofficial Unionist #AADFFF 12.9 Labour Northern Ireland Labour Party 8.1 Nationalist #32cd32 7.6 National Democratic #DDFFDD 4.7 Independent Independent 3.8 Peoples' Democracy red 4.2 Protestant Unionist #D46A4C 3.8 Independent Unionist #AADFFF 2.5 Republican Labour #85de59 2.4 Ulster Liberal #DAA520 1.3 People's Progressive skyblue 0.5 Seats summary Parliamentary seats #ddd 500px 290px Ulster Unionist Party #48A5EE 69.2 Nationalist #32cd32 11.5 Independent #dddddd 5.8 Unofficial Unionist #AADFFF 5.8 Labour Northern Ireland Labour Party 3.9 Republican Labour #85de59 3.9 See also List of members of the 12th House of Commons of Northern Ireland Notes References Northern Ireland Parliamentary Election Results https://web.archive.org/web/20171116175039/http://www.election.demon.co.uk/stormont/totals.html 16 November 2017 Northern Ireland general election 1969 Northern Ireland general election Category:1969 elections in Northern Ireland