1929 Northern Ireland general election explained

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:James Craig
Leader Since1:7 June 1921
Party1:Ulster Unionist Party
Leaders Seat1:North Down
Last Election1:32 seat, 55.0%
Seats1:37[1]
Seat Change1:5
Popular Vote1:148,579
Percentage1:50.8%
Swing1:4.2%
Leader2:Joe Devlin
Leader Since2:1918
Party2:Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland)
Leaders Seat2:Belfast Central
Last Election2:10 seats, 23.8%
Seats2:11[2]
Seat Change2:1
Popular Vote2:34,069
Percentage2:11.7%
Swing2:9.5%
Leader Since3:1925
Party3:Northern Ireland Labour Party
Leaders Seat3:Belfast North
(abolished)[3]
Last Election3:3 seats, 4.7%
Seats3:1
Seat Change3:2
Popular Vote3:23,334
Percentage3:8.0%
Swing3:3.3%
Map Size:400px
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

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. As with the rest of the United Kingdom, this has made it more difficult for independent and minor party candidates to win seats.

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

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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.

Contested seats

Only 30 of the 52 seats (58%) were actually contested.

1929 Northern Ireland general election (contested seats)
PartyPopular voteCandidates
Votes%StoodElected%
Ulster Unionist148,57950.8272170.0
Ind. Unionist41,77814.310310.0
Nationalist34,06911.75516.7
Labour23,3348.0513.3
Liberal18,2086.250
Local Option9,7763.330
Town Tenants6,9012.420
Ind. Nationalist3,6941.310
Independent3,4371.210
Ind. Labour2,4420.820
Total292,21867.6%6130

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)
PartyPopular voteCandidates
Votes%StoodElected%
Ulster UnionistUnopposed161672.7
NationalistUnopposed6627.3
Total2222100

References

Notes and References

  1. Includes 16 members elected unopposed.
  2. Includes 6 members elected unopposed.
  3. Kyle stood in Belfast Oldpark but was defeated.