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1949 Northern Ireland general election

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1949 Northern Ireland general election

← 1945 19 February 1949 1953 →

All 52 seats to the House of Commons of Northern Ireland
27 seats were needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
  Blank Blank
Leader Basil Brooke James McSparran Hugh Downey
Party UUP Nationalist NI Labour
Leader since 1 May 1943 15 November 1945 15 November 1945
Leader's seat Lisnaskea Mourne Belfast Dock (defeated)
Last election 33 seats, 50.4% 9 seats, 9.1% 2 seats, 18.5%
Seats won 37[u 1] 9[n 1] 0
Seat change Increase4 Decrease1 Decrease2
Popular vote 237,411 101,445 26,831
Percentage 62.7% 26.8% 7.1%
Swing Increase12.3% Increase17.6% Decrease11.4%

Election results by constituency

Prime Minister before election

Basil Brooke
UUP

Prime Minister after election

Basil Brooke
UUP

The 1949 Northern Ireland general election was held on 19 February 1949. The election became known as the Chapel-gate election because collections were held at churches in the Republic of Ireland to support the Nationalist Party campaign.[1][2]

The election was held just after the Republic of Ireland's declaration of a republic. The Unionists were able to use their majority in the Parliament of Northern Ireland to schedule the election at a time when many Protestants felt uneasy about events taking place south of the border, and as a result might be more likely to vote Unionist than for Labour candidates. This appears to have been borne out in the collapse of the Labour vote; the party lost both of its 2 seats in the Commons, and would not return to the Parliament until 1958.

20 MPs were elected unopposed, most of them Ulster Unionists.

Results

[edit]
37 9 2 4
UUP Nationalist IU Oth
1949 Northern Ireland general election
Party Candidates Votes
Stood Elected Gained Unseated Net % of total % No. Net %
  UUP 46 37 4 0 +4 71.2 62.7 237,411 +12.3
  Nationalist 17 9 0 1 -1 17.3 26.8 101,445 +17.6
  NI Labour 9 0 0 2 -2 7.1 26,831 -11.4
  Independent Labour 4 1 1 1 0 1.9 2.1 7,970 -0.7
  Ind. Unionist 3 2 0 0 0 3.8 0.6 2,150 -4.4
  Independent 2 2 0 0 0 3.8 0.5 2,028 +0.2
  Communist (NI) 1 0 0 0 0 0.2 623 -2.6
  Socialist Republican 1 1 0 0 0 1.9 0.0 0 -1.5

All parties shown. The only Socialist Republican Party candidate was elected unopposed. Electorate 846,719 (477,354 in contested seats); Turnout 79.3% (378,458).

Votes summary

[edit]
Popular vote
Ulster Unionist
62.73%
Nationalist Party
26.80%
Labour
7.10%
Independent Labour
2.11%
Independent Unionist
0.57%
Communist
0.16%
Independent
0.54%

Seats summary

[edit]
Parliamentary seats
Ulster Unionist
71.15%
Nationalist Party
17.31%
Independent Unionist
3.85%
Independent Labour
1.92%
Socialist Republican
1.92%
Independent
3.85%

Contested seats

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Only 32 of the 52 seats (62%) were actually contested.

1949 Northern Ireland general election (contested seats)
Party Popular vote Candidates
Votes % Stood Elected %
Ulster Unionist 237,411 62.7 32 23 71.9
Nationalist 101,445 26.8 15 7 21.9
Labour 26,831 7.1 9 0
Ind. Labour 7,970 2.1 3 0
Ind. Unionist 2,150 0.6 1 0
Independent 2,028 0.5 2 2 6.3
Communist 623 0.2 1 0
Total 378,458 79.3 63 32

Uncontested seats

[edit]

In 20 of the 52 seats (38%), 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.

1949 Northern Ireland general election (uncontested seats)
Party Popular vote Candidates
Votes % Stood Elected %
Ulster Unionist Unopposed 14 14 70.0
Nationalist Unopposed 2 2 10.0
Ind. Unionist Unopposed 2 2 10.0
Ind. Labour Unopposed 1 1 5.0
Socialist Republican Unopposed 1 1 5.0
Total 20 20 100

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Armitage, Darryl (24 May 2021). "THROUGH THE ARCHIVES: Duty of every loyalist to vote warns Ulster's Minister of Labour". News Letter. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  2. ^ "The Anti-Partition League and 'The Chapel Gate Election' 1949". BBC. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  1. ^ Includes 14 members elected unopposed.
  1. ^ Includes 2 members elected unopposed.