| Election Name: | 1949 Northern Ireland general election |
| Country: | Northern Ireland |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1945 Northern Ireland general election |
| Previous Year: | 1945 |
| Previous Mps: | List of members of the 6th House of Commons of Northern Ireland |
| Elected Mps: | MPs elected |
| Next Election: | 1953 Northern Ireland general election |
| Next Year: | 1953 |
| Seats For Election: | All 52 seats to the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 27 seats were needed for a majority |
| Election Date: | 19 February 1949 |
| Image1: | Sir Basil Brooke, 10 February 1941.png |
| Leader1: | Basil Brooke |
| Leader Since1: | 1 May 1943 |
| Party1: | Ulster Unionist Party |
| Leaders Seat1: | Lisnaskea |
| Last Election1: | 33 seats, 50.4% |
| Seats1: | 37[1] |
| Seat Change1: | 4 |
| Popular Vote1: | 237,411 |
| Percentage1: | 62.7% |
| Swing1: | 12.3% |
| Leader2: | James McSparran |
| Leader Since2: | 15 November 1945 |
| Party2: | Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland) |
| Leaders Seat2: | Mourne |
| Last Election2: | 9 seats, 9.1% |
| Seats2: | 9[2] |
| Seat Change2: | 1 |
| Popular Vote2: | 101,445 |
| Percentage2: | 26.8% |
| Swing2: | 17.6% |
| Leader3: | Hugh Downey |
| Leader Since3: | 15 November 1945 |
| Party3: | Northern Ireland Labour Party |
| Leaders Seat3: | Belfast Dock (defeated) |
| Last Election3: | 2 seats, 18.5% |
| Seats3: | 0 |
| Seat Change3: | 2 |
| Popular Vote3: | 26,831 |
| Percentage3: | 7.1% |
| Swing3: | 11.4% |
| Map Size: | 440px |
| Prime Minister | |
| Posttitle: | Prime Minister after election |
| Before Election: | Basil Brooke |
| Before Party: | Ulster Unionist Party |
| After Election: | Basil Brooke |
| After Party: | Ulster Unionist Party |
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.[3] [4]
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.
| 37 | 9 | 2 | 4 | |
| UUP | Nationalist | IU | Oth |
|}
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).
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 | — | ||||||||||
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 | ||||||||||||