1946 Down by-election

Candidates

At the by-election, the Ulster Unionist Party hoped to regain the second seat. They stood C. H. Mullan, a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, who had unsuccessfully contested South Down at the 1945 Northern Ireland general election.

The Northern Ireland Labour Party had generally performed well at the 1945 election, although it did not win any seats. It stood Desmond Donnelly, a British politician with Irish ancestry. At the 1945 election, he had taken third place in Evesham standing for the Common Wealth Party, but had since joined the British Labour Party.

Two independent unionist candidates stood: J. Hastings-Little, son of James Little, and James Brown, the unsuccessful candidate from the previous year, and former Stormont MP for South Down.

Result

The by-election was won by Mullan, who took more than half the votes cast. Donnelly took 29% and a clear second place, while Hastings-Little managed 17%. Brown's share of the vote collapsed to only 2%.

At the 1950 general election, all remaining multi-member constituencies were abolished. Down was divided into North Down and South Down. Mullan chose to stand down and pursued his career as a solicitor. Donnelly was elected MP for Pembrokeshire in 1950 and enjoyed a colourful career, eventually joining the Conservative Party.

References

References

1. Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3rd edition ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. {{ISBN. 0-900178-06-X
2. [http://www.unithistories.com/officers/RNVR_officersM.html Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) Officers 1939-1945]
3. ''The Annual Register of World Events: A Review of the Year'' (1947)
4. "1946 By Election Results".