Strangford (Irish: Loch Cuan, Ulster Scots: Strangfurd) is a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons.
Strangford | |
---|---|
County constituency for the House of Commons | |
![]() Strangford as of 2024 | |
Major settlements | Newtownards, Comber |
Current constituency | |
Created | 1983 |
Member of Parliament | Jim Shannon (DUP) |
Created from | North Down, Belfast South and Belfast East[1] |
The current MP is Jim Shannon (DUP).
Constituency profile
editStrangford covers the settlements either side of Strangford Lough.
In 2024, for the first time, the town of Strangford is included in the constituency due to boundary changes, after previously being in South Down.
The seat is strongly unionist, and one of 7 areas of Northern Ireland which voted to leave the European Union.[2]
Boundaries
editThe seat was created after boundary changes in 1983, as part of an expansion of Northern Ireland's constituencies from 12 to 17, and was predominantly made up from parts of North Down. At its creation the constituency was formed from the local government district of Ards, and the Castlereagh districts of Beechill, Fourwinds, Hillfoot, Lower Braniel, Minnowburn, Moneyreagh, Newtownbreda, and Upper Braniel.[3]
In 1995, the Commission controversially recommended abolishing the constituency and dividing it between North Down and new constituencies of Mid Down, and Castlereagh and Newtownards. This was successfully opposed in local enquiries and from the 1997 general election it was made up of parts of the districts of Ards, Castlereagh and Down.
For the 2010 general election the electoral wards which make up the constituency are:[4]
- Ballygowan, Ballyrainey, Ballywalter, Ballyhalbert, Bradshaw's Brae, Carrowdore, Central, Comber East, Comber North, Comber West, Glen, Gregstown, Killinchy, Kircubbin, Lisbane, Loughries, Movilla, Portaferry, Portavogie, Scrabo and Whitespots, from the Ards district.
- From the Down district; Ballymaglave, Ballynahinch East, Derryboy, Killyleagh, Kilmore and Saintfield
- The Moneyreagh ward from Castlereagh district
For the 2024 general election, boundaries have changed. The current electoral wards are:[5]
Consituency | Ward |
---|---|
Strangford | Ballynahinch |
Ballyward-Strangford | |
Crossgar and Killyleagh | |
Derryboy | |
Drumaness | |
Kilmore | |
Quoile-Strangford | |
Strangford-Strangford | |
Ballygowan | |
Ballywalter | |
Carrowdore-Strangford | |
Comber North | |
Comber South | |
Comber West | |
Conway Square | |
Cronstown | |
Glen | |
Gregstown | |
Killinchy | |
Kircubbin | |
Loughries-Strangford | |
Movilla | |
Portaferry | |
Portavogie | |
Scrabo | |
West Winds |
History
editFor the history of the equivalent constituencies prior to 1950 please see Down (UK Parliament constituency) and from 1950 until 1983, please see North Down.
The constituency has been represented by Unionist candidates since it was formed. There have not been significant votes for parties outside the traditional unionist block, although the Alliance has saved its deposit in every election.
The main interest in elections has been the contest between the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). Until 2001, the UUP were clearly ahead of the DUP in the Westminster elections, but elections to regional assemblies and local government were much closer. In 2001 the sitting MP John Taylor stood down and the contest to succeed him was fierce. The seat was won by Iris Robinson for the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and the subsequent 2003 assembly election saw the DUP increase their vote further.
Members of Parliament
editThe first Member of Parliament for the seat was John Taylor of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). After the 2001 general election, he was succeeded by Iris Robinson (the wife of Peter Robinson) of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). Robinson resigned in January 2010 after a scandal involving financial dealings.[6] However, no by-election was held, as the next general election was held in May. Jim Shannon (DUP) has held the seat since 2010.
Election | Member[7] | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
1983 | John Taylor | Ulster Unionist | |
2001 | Iris Robinson | Democratic Unionist* | |
2010 | Jim Shannon |
* Note: Iris Robinson left the DUP shortly before taking Chiltern Hundreds to leave the Commons. The seat was vacant from 13 January 2010 until the general election on 6 May 2010.
Election results
editElections in the 2020s
editParty | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
DUP | Jim Shannon | 15,559 | 40.0 | −0.5 | |
Alliance | Michelle Guy | 10,428 | 26.8 | −1.6 | |
UUP | Richard Smart | 3,941 | 10.1 | +0.9 | |
TUV | Ron McDowell | 3,143 | 8.1 | +8.1 | |
Sinn Féin | Noel Sands | 2,793 | 7.2 | −0.4 | |
SDLP | Will Polland | 1,783 | 4.6 | −5.4 | |
Green (NI) | Alexandra Braidner | 703 | 1.8 | 0.0 | |
Independent | Garreth Falls | 256 | 0.7 | +0.7 | |
Independent | Gareth Burns | 157 | 0.4 | +0.4 | |
NI Conservatives | Barry Hetherington | 146 | 0.4 | −3.0 | |
Majority | 5,131 | 13.2 | −5.6 | ||
Turnout | 38,909 | 52.2 | −4.6 | ||
Registered electors | 74,525 | ||||
DUP hold | Swing | -0.55 |
Elections in the 2010s
editParty | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
DUP | Jim Shannon | 17,705 | 47.2 | ―14.8 | |
Alliance | Kellie Armstrong | 10,634 | 28.4 | +13.7 | |
UUP | Phillip Smith | 4,023 | 10.7 | ―0.7 | |
SDLP | Joe Boyle | 1,994 | 5.3 | ―0.9 | |
NI Conservatives | Grant Abraham | 1,476 | 3.9 | +2.6 | |
Green (NI) | Maurice Macartney | 790 | 2.1 | +0.5 | |
Sinn Féin | Ryan Carlin | 555 | 1.5 | ―1.3 | |
UKIP | Robert Stephenson | 308 | 0.8 | New | |
Majority | 7,071 | 18.8 | ―28.5 | ||
Turnout | 37,485 | 56.0 | ―4.4 | ||
Registered electors | 66,938 | ||||
DUP hold | Swing | ―14.3 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
DUP | Jim Shannon | 24,036 | 62.0 | +17.6 | |
Alliance | Kellie Armstrong | 5,693 | 14.7 | +0.9 | |
UUP | Mike Nesbitt | 4,419 | 11.4 | ―2.9 | |
SDLP | Joe Boyle | 2,404 | 6.2 | ―0.7 | |
Sinn Féin | Carole Murphy | 1,083 | 2.8 | +0.2 | |
Green (NI) | Ricky Bamford | 607 | 1.6 | New | |
NI Conservatives | Claire Hiscott | 507 | 1.3 | ―5.1 | |
Majority | 18,343 | 47.3 | +17.2 | ||
Turnout | 38,749 | 60.4 | +7.6 | ||
Registered electors | 64,327 | ||||
DUP hold | Swing | +8.4 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
DUP | Jim Shannon | 15,053 | 44.4 | ―1.5 | |
UUP | Robert Burgess | 4,868 | 14.3 | ―13.5 | |
Alliance | Kellie Armstrong | 4,687 | 13.8 | +5.1 | |
SDLP | Joe Boyle | 2,335 | 6.9 | +0.2 | |
UKIP | Joe Jordan[13] | 2,237 | 6.6 | New | |
NI Conservatives | Johnny Andrews[14] | 2,167 | 6.4 | New | |
TUV | Stephen Cooper | 1,701 | 5.0 | ―0.6 | |
Sinn Féin | Sheila Bailie | 876 | 2.6 | ―1.0 | |
Majority | 10,185 | 30.1 | +12.0 | ||
Turnout | 33,924 | 52.8 | ―0.9 | ||
Registered electors | 64,289 | ||||
DUP hold | Swing | +6.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
DUP | Jim Shannon | 14,926 | 45.9 | ―8.8 | |
UCU-NF | Mike Nesbitt | 9,050 | 27.8 | +2.6 | |
Alliance | Deborah Girvan | 2,828 | 8.7 | +0.5 | |
SDLP | Claire Hanna | 2,164 | 6.7 | ±0.0 | |
TUV | Terry Williams | 1,814 | 5.6 | New | |
Sinn Féin | Michael Coogan | 1,161 | 3.6 | ―0.1 | |
Green (NI) | Barbara Haig | 562 | 1.7 | New | |
Majority | 5,876 | 18.1 | ―17.4 | ||
Turnout | 32.505 | 53.7 | ―3.4 | ||
Registered electors | 60,539 | ||||
DUP hold | Swing | ―7.6 |
Elections in the 2000s
editParty | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
DUP | Iris Robinson | 20,921 | 56.5 | +13.7 | |
UUP | Gareth McGimpsey | 7,872 | 21.3 | ―19.0 | |
Alliance | Kieran McCarthy | 3,332 | 9.0 | +2.3 | |
SDLP | Joe Boyle | 2,496 | 6.7 | +0.6 | |
NI Conservatives | Terry Dick | 1,462 | 3.9 | New | |
Sinn Féin | Dermot Kennedy | 949 | 2.6 | +0.4 | |
Majority | 13,049 | 35.2 | +32.7 | ||
Turnout | 37,032 | 53.6 | ―6.3 | ||
Registered electors | 68,570 | ||||
DUP hold | Swing | +16.4 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
DUP | Iris Robinson | 18,532 | 42.8 | +12.6 | |
UUP | David McNarry | 17,422 | 40.3 | ―4.0 | |
Alliance | Kieran McCarthy | 2,902 | 6.7 | ―6.4 | |
SDLP | Danny McCarthy | 2,646 | 6.1 | ―0.6 | |
Sinn Féin | Liam Johnston | 930 | 2.2 | +1.0 | |
NI Unionist | Cedric Wilson | 822 | 1.9 | New | |
Majority | 1,110 | 2.5 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 43,254 | 59.9 | +0.4 | ||
Registered electors | 72,192 | ||||
DUP gain from UUP | Swing | ―8.3 |
Elections in the 1990s
editParty | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | John David Taylor | 18,431 | 44.3 | ―4.7 | |
DUP | Iris Robinson | 12,579 | 30.2 | +10.3 | |
Alliance | Kieran McCarthy | 5,467 | 13.1 | ―3.0 | |
SDLP | Peter O'Reilly | 2,775 | 6.7 | New | |
NI Conservatives | Gilbert Chalk | 1,743 | 4.2 | ―10.0 | |
Sinn Féin | Garret O'Fachtna | 503 | 1.2 | New | |
Natural Law | Sarah Mullins | 121 | 0.3 | ―0.4 | |
Majority | 5,852 | 14.1 | ―15.0 | ||
Turnout | 41,619 | 59.5 | ―5.5 | ||
Registered electors | 70,073 | ||||
UUP hold | Swing | ―7.6 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | N/A | 20,473 | 49.0 | N/A | |
DUP | N/A | 8,295 | 19.9 | N/A | |
Alliance | N/A | 6,736 | 16.1 | N/A | |
NI Conservatives | N/A | 5,945 | 14.2 | N/A | |
Others | N/A | 295 | 0.7 | N/A | |
Majority | 12,178 | 29.1 | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | John David Taylor | 19,517 | 43.6 | ―32.3 | |
DUP | Sammy Wilson | 10,606 | 23.7 | New | |
Alliance | Kieran McCarthy | 7,585 | 16.9 | ―3.4 | |
NI Conservatives | Stephen John Arthur Eyre | 6,782 | 15.1 | New | |
Natural Law | David Shaw | 295 | 0.7 | New | |
Majority | 8,911 | 19.9 | ―35.7 | ||
Turnout | 44,785 | 65.0 | +7.4 | ||
Registered electors | 68,901 | ||||
UUP hold | Swing |
Elections in the 1980s
editParty | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | John David Taylor | 28,199 | 75.9 | +27.1 | |
Alliance | Addie Morrow | 7,553 | 20.3 | +4.5 | |
Workers' Party | Imelda Elizabeth Hynds | 1,385 | 3.7 | New | |
Majority | 20,646 | 55.6 | +36.8 | ||
Turnout | 37,137 | 57.6 | ―7.3 | ||
Registered electors | 64,429 | ||||
UUP hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | John David Taylor | 32,627 | 94.2 | +45.4 | |
"For the Anglo-Irish Agreement" | "Peter Barry" (Wesley Robert Williamson)[22] | 1,993 | 5.8 | New | |
Majority | 30,634 | 88.4 | +69.6 | ||
Turnout | 34,620 | 55.0 | ―9.9 | ||
Registered electors | 62,854 | ||||
UUP hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UUP | John David Taylor | 19,086 | 48.8 | ||
DUP | Simpson Gibson | 11,716 | 30.0 | ||
Alliance | Addie Morrow | 6,171 | 15.8 | ||
SDLP | James Curry | 1,713 | 4.4 | ||
Independent Labour | Samuel Raymond Heath | 430 | 1.1 | ||
Majority | 7,370 | 18.8 | |||
Turnout | 39,116 | 64.9 | |||
Registered electors | 60,179 | ||||
UUP win (new seat) |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "'Strangford', June 1983 up to May 1997". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
- ^ Electoral Calculus https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/fcgi-bin/seatdetails.py?seat=Strangford
- ^ Crewe, Ivor (1983). British Parliamentary Constituencies – A Statistical Companion. faber and faber. ISBN 0-571-13236-7.
- ^ The Parliamentary Constituencies (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 National Archives
- ^ "The Electoral Office of Northern Ireland - EONI". www.eoni.org.uk. 3 June 2024 Total Electorate (XLS). Retrieved 17 June 2024.
- ^ Iris Robinson 'to step down as MP and MLA next week' BBC News, 9 January 2010
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 5)
- ^ "Strangford Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
- ^ "Election of a Member of Parliament for the STRANGFORD Constituency - Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll". Electoral Office of Northern Ireland. 11 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
- ^ "Election 2017 Results - Election Polling". www.electionpolling.co.uk.
- ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "The Electoral Office of Northern Ireland - EONI". www.eoni.org.uk.
- ^ "Joe Jordan and Robert Hill join Ukip in Northern Ireland". BBC News. 18 November 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- ^ "Tories pick Andrews as Westminster candidate for Strangford". NI Conservatives. 21 October 2014.
- ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "By-election Result". United Kingdom Election Results.
- ^ Nicholas Whyte (13 May 2003). "Westminster by-elections, 23 January 1986". Northern Ireland Social and Political Archive. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
- ^ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
External links
edit- Politics Resources (Election results from 1922 onwards)
- Electoral Calculus (Election results from 1955 onwards)
- 2017 Election House Of Commons Library 2017 Election report
- A Vision Of Britain Through Time (Constituency elector numbers)
- Politics Resources
- Strangford UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
- Strangford UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK