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1929 Northern Ireland general election
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| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| election_name | 1929 Northern Ireland general election |
| country | Northern Ireland |
| type | parliamentary |
| ongoing | no |
| previous_election | 1925 Northern Ireland general election |
| previous_year | 1925 |
| previous_mps | List of members of the 2nd House of Commons of Northern Ireland |
| elected_members | MPs elected |
| next_election | 1933 Northern Ireland general election |
| next_year | 1933 |
| seats_for_election | All 52 seats to the House of Commons of Northern Ireland |
| 27 seats were needed for a majority | |
| election_date | 22 May 1929 |
| image1 | James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon.jpg |
| leader1 | Viscount Craigavon |
| leader_since1 | 7 June 1921 |
| party1 | Ulster Unionist Party |
| leaders_seat1 | North Down |
| last_election1 | 32 seat, 55.0% |
| seats1 | **37** |
| seat_change1 | 5 |
| popular_vote1 | **148,579** |
| percentage1 | **50.8%** |
| swing1 | 4.2% |
| image2 | Joe Devlin.JPG |
| leader2 | Joe Devlin |
| leader_since2 | 1918 |
| party2 | Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland) |
| leaders_seat2 | Belfast Central |
| last_election2 | 10 seats, 23.8% |
| seats2 | 11 |
| seat_change2 | 1 |
| popular_vote2 | 34,069 |
| percentage2 | 11.7% |
| swing2 | 9.5% |
| image3 | |
| leader3 | Samuel Kyle |
| leader_since3 | 1925 |
| party3 | Northern Ireland Labour Party |
| leaders_seat3 | Belfast Oldpark |
| *(defeated)* | |
| last_election3 | 3 seats, 4.7% |
| seats3 | 1 |
| seat_change3 | 2 |
| popular_vote3 | 23,334 |
| percentage3 | 8.0% |
| swing3 | 3.3% |
| map_image | 1929UlsterParliament.svg |
| map_size | 400px |
| map_caption | Election results by constituency |
| title | Prime Minister |
| posttitle | Prime Minister after election |
| before_election | James Craig |
| before_party | Ulster Unionist Party |
| after_election | James Craig |
| after_party | Ulster Unionist Party |
27 seats were needed for a majority
(defeated)
The 1929 Northern Ireland general election was held on 22 May 1929. Like all previous elections to the Parliament of Northern Ireland, it produced a large majority for the Ulster Unionist Party. It was the first held after the abolition of proportional representation and the redrawing of electoral boundaries to create single-seat constituencies. Though it had been argued this was done with the intent of gerrymandering, this has been considered unlikely as the Unionists already had a solid majority at the parliamentary level. However, the opposite was more accurate at local level. As with the rest of the United Kingdom, this has made it more difficult for independent and minor party candidates like the Northern Ireland Labour Party to win seats, as was the intent of the abolition of proportional representation was for the UUP to control the Unionist vote.
22 MPs (42%), mostly Ulster Unionists, were elected unopposed without any votes being cast. This began a trend which would continue for decades - until 1969, at least 20 MPs in every Northern Ireland general election would be elected unopposed.
Results
| Ulster Unionist Party}};"**UUP** | Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland)}};"**Nationalist** | Independent Unionist}};"**IU** | Northern Ireland Labour Party}};"NILP |
|---|
|votes % = 50.8 |seats % = 71.2 |plus/minus = -4.2 |votes % = 14.3 |seats % = 5.8 |plus/minus = +5.3 |votes % = 11.7 |seats % = 21.2 |plus/minus = -9.5 |votes % = 8.0 |seats % = 1.9 |plus/minus = +3.3 |votes % = 6.2 |seats % = — |plus/minus = +4.9 |votes % = 3.3 |seats % = — |plus/minus = N/A |votes % = 2.4 |seats % = — |plus/minus = +1.5 |votes % = 1.3 |seats % = — |plus/minus = N/A |votes % = 1.2 |seats % = — |plus/minus = N/A |votes % = 0.8 |seats % = — |plus/minus = N/A |}
Electorate: 775,307 (432,439 in contested seats); Turnout: 67.6% (292,218). Ulster Liberal Party result is compared to Unbought Tenants' Association in 1925.
Votes summary
Seats summary
Contested seats
Only 30 of the 52 seats (58%) were actually contested.
| 1929 Northern Ireland general election (contested seats) | Party | Popular vote | Candidates | Votes | % | Stood | Elected | % | Total | 292,218 | 67.6% | 61 | 30 | — |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ulster Unionist | **148,579** | **50.8** | **27** | **21** | **70.0** | |||||||||
| Ind. Unionist | 41,778 | 14.3 | 10 | 3 | 10.0 | |||||||||
| Nationalist | 34,069 | 11.7 | 5 | 5 | 16.7 | |||||||||
| Labour | 23,334 | 8.0 | 5 | 1 | 3.3 | |||||||||
| Liberal | 18,208 | 6.2 | 5 | 0 | — | |||||||||
| Local Option | 9,776 | 3.3 | 3 | 0 | — | |||||||||
| Town Tenants | 6,901 | 2.4 | 2 | 0 | — | |||||||||
| Ind. Nationalist | 3,694 | 1.3 | 1 | 0 | — | |||||||||
| Independent | 3,437 | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | — | |||||||||
| Ind. Labour | 2,442 | 0.8 | 2 | 0 | — |
Uncontested seats
In 22 of the 52 seats (42%), only one candidate stood and they were elected unopposed without any votes cast. The vast majority of the MPs elected without a contest were Ulster Unionists.
| 1929 Northern Ireland general election (uncontested seats) | Party | Popular vote | Candidates | Votes | % | Stood | Elected | % | Total | 22 | 22 | 100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ulster Unionist | *Unopposed* | **16** | **16** | **72.7** | ||||||||
| Nationalist | *Unopposed* | 6 | 6 | 27.3 |
Old Map
Northern Ireland general election 1929.png
Footnotes
Notes
References
References
- (1980). "Electoral Systems and Political Manipulation: A Case Study of Northern Ireland in the 1920s". Economic and Social Review.
- "Northern Ireland House of Commons, 1921-1972".
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