West Down (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)

54°20′38″N 6°02′28″W / 54.344°N 6.041°W / 54.344; -6.041

West Down
Former County constituency for the Parliament of Northern Ireland
Former constituency
Created	1929
Abolished	1972
Election method	First past the post

West Down was a constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland.

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Boundaries

West Down was a county constituency comprising part of western County Down. It was created when the House of Commons (Method of Voting and Redistribution of Seats) Act (Northern Ireland) 1929 introduced first-past-the-post elections throughout Northern Ireland. West Down was created by the division of Down into eight new constituencies. It survived unchanged, returning one Member of Parliament, until the Parliament of Northern Ireland was temporarily suspended in 1972, and then formally abolished in 1973.

The seat included the town of Banbridge, and also certain district electoral divisions of the rural districts of Banbridge and Newry No.1.^[1]^[2]

Politics

The seat had a substantial unionist majority and was always won by Ulster Unionist Party candidates. It was contested on three occasions by independent unionists, each of whom won over 40% of the votes cast, and once by a communist candidate.^[3]

Members of Parliament

Elected		Name^[3]
1929	Ulster Unionist	Robert McBride
1933	Ulster Unionist	Samuel Fryar
1938	Ulster Unionist	John Edgar Bailey
1959	Ulster Unionist	David John Little
1965	Ulster Unionist	John Dobson

Election results

Politics of Northern Ireland
(1921–72)


Government Governor Privy Council Ministries Prime Minister Craigavon ministry Andrews ministry Brookeborough ministry O'Neill ministry Chichester-Clark ministry Faulkner ministry Northern Ireland Civil Service Departments
Parliament Acts Statutory rules and orders Senate Speaker of the Senate Leader of the Senate House of Commons Speaker Leader of the Opposition Members 1921, 1925, 1929, 1933 1938, 1945, 1949, 1953 1958, 1962, 1965, 1969 Senate
Elections Elections in Northern Ireland 1921, 1925, 1929, 1933 1938, 1945, 1949, 1953 1958, 1962, 1965, 1969 By-elections Constituencies Political parties
See also Fourth Home Rule Bill Constitution Act 1973
Other countries
v t e

At the 1929 Northern Ireland general election, Robert McBride was elected unopposed.^[3]

General Election 1933: West Down^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ulster Unionist	Samuel Fryar	6,168	55.9	*N/A*
	Ind. Unionist	J. U. Finnery	4,863	44.1	New
Majority			1,305	11.8	N/A
Turnout			11,031	70.8	N/A
	Ulster Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 1938: West Down^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ulster Unionist	John Edgar Bailey	7,178	59.8	+3.9
	Ind. Unionist Party	R. J. Hale	4,833	40.2	New
Majority			2,345	19.6	+7.8
Turnout			12,011	73.4	+2.6
	Ulster Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 1945: West Down^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ulster Unionist	John Edgar Bailey	8,197	76.5	+16.7
	Communist (NI)	S. E. Maitland	2,524	23.5	New
Majority			5,673	53.0	+33.4
Turnout			10,721	66.3	-7.1
	Ulster Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

At the 1949, 1953 and 1958 Northern Ireland general elections, John Edgar Bailey was elected unopposed.^[3]

At the 1959 by-election and the 1962 Northern Ireland general election, David John Little was elected unopposed.^[3]

At the 1965 by-election and the 1965 Northern Ireland general election, John Dobson was elected unopposed.^[3]

General Election 1969: West Down^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ulster Unionist	John Dobson	7,608	59.3	*N/A*
	Ind. Unionist	A. W. Buller	5,219	40.7	New
Majority			2,389	18.6	N/A
Turnout			12,827	77.5	N/A
	Ulster Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

References

^ Northern Ireland Parliamentary Election results: Constituency Boundaries
^ A list of the townlands comprising each of those divisions is in the Belfast Gazette Publication date:22 June 1923 Issue:104 Page:241 (Banbridge RD) and the Belfast Gazette Publication date:22 June 1923 Issue:104 Page:260 (Newry RD)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Northern Ireland Parliamentary Election Results: Counties: Down

v t e Parliament of Northern Ireland constituencies
1921–1929	1929–1973
Antrim	Antrim Borough Bannside Carrick Larkfield (from 1969) Larne Mid Antrim Newtownabbey (from 1969) North Antrim South Antrim
Armagh	Central Armagh Mid Armagh North Armagh South Armagh
Belfast East	Belfast Bloomfield Belfast Dock Belfast Pottinger Belfast Victoria
Belfast North	Belfast Clifton Belfast Duncairn Belfast Oldpark Belfast Shankill
Belfast South	Belfast Ballynafeigh Belfast Cromac Belfast Willowfield Belfast Windsor
Belfast West	Belfast Central Belfast Falls Belfast St Anne's Belfast Woodvale
Down	Ards Bangor (from 1969) East Down Iveagh Lagan Valley (from 1969) Mid Down Mourne North Down South Down West Down
Fermanagh and Tyrone	East Tyrone Enniskillen Lisnaskea Mid Tyrone North Tyrone South Fermanagh South Tyrone West Tyrone
Londonderry	City of Londonderry Foyle Mid Londonderry North Londonderry South Londonderry
Queen's University	Queen's University (to 1969)

Parliamentary constituencies in County Down

Parliament of Ireland
to 1800

County Down (????–1800)
Bangor (1613–1800)
Downpatrick (1586–1800)
Hillsborough (1662–1800)
Killyleagh (1613–1800)
Newry (????–1800)
Newtownards (????–1800)

Westminster
1801–present

Historic	Down (1801–85, 1922–50) East Down (1885–1922) Mid Down (1918–22) North Down (1885–1922, 1950–) South Down (1885–1922, 1950–) West Down (1885–1922) Downpatrick (1801–85) Newry (1801–1918)
Current	Lagan Valley (1983–) Newry & Armagh (1983–) Strangford (1983–)

Dáil Éireann
Revolutionary era 1919–1922

First Dáil
1919–21

Seats taken	(none)
Seats not taken	East Down Mid Down North Down South Down West Down

Second Dáil
1921–22

One or more seats taken	Down
No seats taken	(none)

Parliament of Northern Ireland
1921–72

Ards (1929–72)
Bangor (1969–72)
Down (1921–29)
East Down (1929–72)
Iveagh (1929–72)
Lagan Valley (1969–72)
Larkfield (1969–72)
Mid Down (1929–72)
Mourne (1929–72)
North Down (1929–72)
South Down (1929–72)
West Down (1929–72)

Northern Ireland Assemblies

Assembly 1973–74 Constitutional Convention 1975–76 Assembly 1982–86	North Down South Down
Northern Ireland Forum 1996–98 Assembly (1998–present)	North Down South Down Lagan Valley Newry & Armagh Strangford Upper Bann

European Parliament
1979–2020

Northern Ireland

Constituencies in Ireland by county
Republic of Ireland	Carlow Cavan Clare Cork Donegal Dublin Galway Kerry Kildare Kilkenny Laois Leitrim Limerick Longford Louth Mayo Meath Monaghan Offaly Roscommon Sligo Tipperary Waterford Westmeath Wexford Wicklow
Northern Ireland	Antrim Armagh Down Fermanagh Londonderry Tyrone

This page was last edited on 23 July 2023, at 13:44