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2024 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland

2024 United Kingdom general election
(Northern Ireland)
← 2019 4 July 2024 (2024-07-04)
All 18 Northern Ireland seats to the House of Commons
  First party Second party Third party
 
President Joe Biden greets U.S. Special Envoy to Northern Ireland for Economic Affairs Joseph Kennedy III, Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly on March 17, 2024 (cropped).jpg
Official portrait of Gavin Robinson MP crop 2.jpg
Colum Eastwood SDLP Conference 2023.jpg
Leader Michelle O'Neill[a] Gavin Robinson Colum Eastwood
Party Sinn Féin DUP SDLP
Leader since 23 January 2017[b] 29 March 2024 14 November 2015
Leader's seat MLA for Mid Ulster Belfast East Foyle
Last election 22.8%, 7 MPs 30.6%, 8 MPs 14.9%, 2 MPs
Seats won 7 5 2
Seat change Steady 0 Decrease 3 Steady 0
Popular vote 210,891 172,058 86,861
Percentage 27.0% 22.1% 11.1%
Swing Increase 4.2% Decrease 8.5% Decrease 3.8%
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Naomi_Long_MLA.jpg
Doug Beattie.png
Official portrait of Jim Allister MP crop 2.jpg
Leader Naomi Long Doug Beattie Jim Allister
Party Alliance UUP TUV
Alliance Reform UK–TUV
Leader since 26 October 2016 17 May 2021 7 December 2007
Leader's seat MLA for Belfast East[c] MLA for Upper Bann North Antrim
Last election 16.8%, 1 MP 11.7%, 0 MPs Did not contest
Seats won 1 1 1
Seat change Steady 0 Increase 1 Increase 1
Popular vote 117,191 94,779 48,685
Percentage 15.0% 12.2% 6.2%
Swing Decrease 1.8% Increase 0.5% Increase 6.2%
  Seventh party
 
Leader N/A
Party Independent
Leader since N/A
Leader's seat N/A
Last election 0
Seats won 1
Seat change Increase 1
Results by constituencies

The 2024 general election in Northern Ireland was held on 4 July 2024, with all 18 Northern Irish seats in the House of Commons contested. The general election occurred after the recently completed constituency boundaries review.

Background

[edit]

Electoral system

[edit]

MPs are elected in 18 single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post.

Date of the election

[edit]

On 22 May 2024, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced 4 July 2024 as the election date.[1]

Constituency boundaries

[edit]
Map of the 18 constituencies to be used.

In June 2023, it was published that The Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland had made final recommendations for the new boundaries for Northern Ireland's 18 parliamentary constituencies. The report was submitted to the speaker of the UK House of Commons and the UK Government was required to submit a draft of an Order in Council to activate the new boundaries within four months.[2] Changes include:

Ten wards were moved and as approved by MPs, the new boundaries became effective on 1 November 2023.[3] These changes were approved at a meeting of the Privy Council on 15 November[4] and came into force on 29 November.[5]

Campaign

[edit]

In the run up to the election, there was speculation to the extent at which unionist electoral pacts would be active in some constituencies.[6] In July 2023, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader Doug Beattie clarified that his party intends to stand candidates in 17 constituencies, but there was still speculation about whether the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) would field candidates.[7] The TUV leader Jim Allister said that in seats held by non-unionists where the sitting MP could potentially be ousted, it would support an “agreed single unionist candidate".[8]

In North Down, there were calls for unionist parties to drop their own candidates and unite behind a single contender to defeat incumbent Alliance MP Stephen Farry.[9] Farry was confirmed as Alliance's candidate for North Down at the next election on 26 November 2023.[10] On 24 January 2024, the UUP selected former Iraq War veteran Tim Collins as their candidate for North Down, with the UUP leader Doug Beattie saying his party "does not do pacts".[11] Alex Easton announced his independent Unionist candidacy for the seat.[12]

In October 2023 the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland revealed that they intended to target Lagan Valley, seat of the then-leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Jeffrey Donaldson. They unveiled their candidate as Sorcha Eastwood and required a 7.16% swing to gain the seat from the DUP.[13]

Amongst majority nationalist constituencies, due to their strong performance in the 2022 Assembly election and the 2023 local elections, Sinn Féin look "likely to increase its number of seats at Westminster", with the possibility of gaining Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) leader Colum Eastwood's seat of Foyle.[14]

The campaign got underway in South Belfast and North Down, with both incumbent MPs, Claire Hanna and Stephen Farry seeking re-election. North Down Ulster Unionist candidate Tim Collins said he was "very confident" of unseating Farry.[15]

In January 2024, the Ulster Unionist Party selected their former leader and Minister of Health Robin Swann as their candidate for South Antrim[16] and announced their deputy leader, Robbie Butler, as the party's candidate for Lagan Valley.[17]

On 16 March 2024, the Traditional Unionist Voice formed an electoral pact with Reform UK, in which the two parties would stand mutually agreed candidates within Northern Ireland.[18] On 24 May they announced that they were supporting Alex Easton, the Independent Unionist candidate in North Down, and would not stand a candidate in that constituency.[19]

The leader of the Green Party Northern Ireland, Sen. Mal O'Hara, told Slugger O'Toole on 26 April 2024 that they would stand in every constituency and would not pursue any electoral pacts.[20]

On 7 May 2024, the UUP announced that 19 year-old Jay Basra, who is Punjabi-British, would be their candidate for Mid Ulster.[21] Following the announcement, Basra was the target of racial abuse on social media. The abuse was condemned by UUP leader Doug Beattie and former First Minister Arlene Foster, as well as deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly.[22]

Jeffrey Donaldson, who was the DUP leader until March 2024, appeared in court on 3 July to face additional sex offence charges.[23][24]

Candidates

[edit]

By affiliation

[edit]

2024 United Kingdom general election
(4 July)
Parties
Campaign
Overview by country
Outcome
Related
← 2019 2024 Next →
Affiliation Number of
candidates[25]
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland 18
Social Democratic and Labour Party 18
Ulster Unionist Party 17
Democratic Unionist Party 16
Sinn Féin 14
Traditional Unionist Voice 14
Green Party Northern Ireland 11
Aontú 10
Independents 9 (in 7 constituencies)
Northern Ireland Conservatives 5
People Before Profit 3
Cross-Community Labour Alternative 1
Total 136

By constituency

[edit]
Constituency Sinn Féin DUP Alliance UUP SDLP TUV Green Aontú Others Incumbent
Belfast East Gavin Robinson Naomi Long Ryan Warren Séamas de Faoite John Ross Brian Smyth Ryan North (Independent) DUP Gavin Robinson
Belfast North John Finucane Phillip Brett Nuala McAllister Carl Whyte David Clarke Mal O'Hara Fiona Ferguson (PBP) SF John Finucane
Belfast South and Mid Down Tracy Kelly Kate Nicholl Michael Henderson Claire Hanna Dan Boucher Áine Groogan SDLP Claire Hanna
Belfast West Paul Maskey Frank McCoubrey Eóin Millar Ben Sharkey Paul Doherty Ann McClure Ash Jones Gerard Herdman Gerry Carroll (PBP)
Tony Mallon (Independent) 		SF Paul Maskey
East Antrim Oliver McMullan Sammy Wilson Danny Donnelly John Stewart Margaret Anne McKillop Matthew Warwick Mark Bailey DUP Sammy Wilson
East Londonderry Kathleen McGurk Gregory Campbell Richard Stewart Glenn Miller Cara Hunter Allister Kyle Jen McCahon Gemma Brolly Claire Scull (Conservative) DUP Gregory Campbell
Fermanagh and South Tyrone Pat Cullen Eddie Roofe Diana Armstrong Paul Blake Carl Duffy Gerry Cullen (CCLA) SF Michelle Gildernew
Foyle Sandra Duffy Gary Middleton Rachael Ferguson Janice Montgomery Colum Eastwood John Boyle Shaun Harkin (PBP)
Anne McCloskey (Independent) 		SDLP Colum Eastwood
Lagan Valley Jonathan Buckley Sorcha Eastwood Robbie Butler Simon Lee Lorna Smyth Patricia Denvir Independent (elected as DUP) Jeffrey Donaldson
Mid Ulster Cathal Mallaghan Keith Buchanan Padraic Farrell Jay Basra Denise Johnston Glenn Moore Alixandra Halliday John Kelly (Independent) SF Francie Molloy
Newry and Armagh Dáire Hughes Gareth Wilson Helena Young Sam Nicholson Pete Byrne Keith Ratcliffe Liam Reichenberg Samantha Rayner (Conservative) SF Mickey Brady
North Antrim Philip McGuigan Ian Paisley Jr Sian Mulholland Jackson Minford Helen Maher Jim Allister Ráichéal Mhic Niocaill Tristan Morrow (Independent) DUP Ian Paisley Jr
North Down Stephen Farry Tim Collins Déirdre Vaughan Barry McKee Alex Easton (Independent)
Chris Carter (Independent) 		APNI Stephen Farry
South Antrim Declan Kearney Paul Girvan John Blair Robin Swann Roisin Lynch Mel Lucas Lesley Veronica Siobhan McErlean DUP Paul Girvan
South Down Chris Hazzard Diane Forsythe Andrew McMurray Michael O'Loan Colin McGrath Jim Wells Declan Walsh Rosemary McGlone Hannah Westropp (Conservative) SF Chris Hazzard
Strangford Noel Sands Jim Shannon Michelle Guy Richard Smart Will Polland Ron McDowell Alexandra Braidner Gareth Burns (Independent)
Garreth Falls (Independent)
Barry Hetherington (Conservative) 		DUP Jim Shannon
Upper Bann Catherine Nelson Carla Lockhart Eóin Tennyson Kate Evans Malachy Quinn DUP Carla Lockhart
West Tyrone Órfhlaith Begley Tom Buchanan Stephen Donnelly Matthew Bell Daniel McCrossan Stevan Patterson Leza Houston Stephen Lynch (Conservative) SF Órfhlaith Begley

Opinion polling

[edit]
Date(s)
conducted 		Pollster Client Sample
size 		DUP SF Alliance SDLP UUP TUV Others Lead
7 Jul 2024 2024 general election[26] – 22.1% 27.0% 15.0% 11.1% 12.2% 6.2% 6.4% 4.9
24–25 Jun 2024 LucidTalk[27] Belfast Telegraph 3,859 21% 23% 18% 14% 13% 4%
7%
 2
8–10 Jun 2024 LucidTalk[28] Belfast Telegraph 3,634 21% 24% 17% 13% 12% 5%
8%
 3
10–13 May 2024 LucidTalk[29] Belfast Telegraph 3,316 20% 26% 15% 10% 13% 8%
8%
 6
28 Jan – 11 Feb 2024 Social Market Research[30] Irish News–University of Liverpool 1,206 23.5% 31.1% 15.2% 8.1% 11.1% 4.8% – 6.6
26 Oct – 3 Nov 2023 Social Market Research[31] Institute of Irish Studies 1,074 25% 31% 15% 9% 11% 5% 5% 6
14 Jan – 7 Sep 2023 Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey[d] ARK 1,200 19% 24% 28% 9% 13% –
9%
 4
12 Dec 2019 2019 general election – 30.6% 22.8% 16.8% 14.9% 11.7% N/A 3.2% 7.8

Projections

[edit]
Final projections of number of seats
Source Date DUP SF SDLP APNI UUP TUV Ind. Others
Electoral Calculus[33] 4 July 7 7 2 1 1 0 0 0
Bunker Consulting Group[34] 1 July 6 7 2 2 1 0 0 0
Ireland Votes[35] 25 May 5 7 2 1 1 1 1 0

Leadership approval ratings

[edit]

Michelle O'Neill

[edit]

The following polls asked about voters' opinions on Michelle O'Neill, the First Minister of Northern Ireland since 3 February 2024, Vice President of Sinn Féin since 10 February 2018 and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland from 11 January 2020 to 4 February 2022.

Date(s)
conducted 		Pollster Client Sample size Good/great Bad/awful Don't know Net approval
11–14 Aug 2023 LucidTalk Belfast Telegraph 2,950 43% 37% 20% +6%
21–24 Apr 2023 LucidTalk Belfast Telegraph 3,957 41% 37% 22% +4%
20–23 Jan 2023 LucidTalk Belfast Telegraph 1,449 41% 40% 19% +1%
4–7 Nov 2022 LucidTalk Belfast Telegraph 3,351 46% 37% 17% +9%
12–15 Aug 2022 LucidTalk Belfast Telegraph 3,384 40% 42% 18% –2%

Jeffrey Donaldson

[edit]

The following polls asked about voters' opinions on Jeffrey Donaldson, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 30 June 2021 to 29 March 2024.

Date(s)
conducted 		Pollster Client Sample size Good/great Bad/awful Don't know Net approval
11–14 Aug 2023 LucidTalk Belfast Telegraph 2,950 24% 66% 10% −42%
21–24 Apr 2023 LucidTalk Belfast Telegraph 3,957 27% 65% 8% −38%
20–23 Jan 2023 LucidTalk Belfast Telegraph 1,449 25% 63% 12% −38%
4–7 Nov 2022 LucidTalk Belfast Telegraph 3,351 29% 65% 6% −36%
12–15 Aug 2022 LucidTalk Belfast Telegraph 3,384 27% 64% 9% −37%

Naomi Long

[edit]

The following polls asked about voters' opinions on Naomi Long, the leader of the Alliance Party since 26 October 2016.

Date(s)
conducted 		Pollster Client Sample size Good/great Bad/awful Don't know Net approval
11–14 Aug 2023 LucidTalk Belfast Telegraph 2,950 38% 39% 23% −1%
21–24 Apr 2023 LucidTalk Belfast Telegraph 3,957 40% 38% 22% +2%
20–23 Jan 2023 LucidTalk Belfast Telegraph 1,449 37% 38% 25% −1%
4–7 Nov 2022 LucidTalk Belfast Telegraph 3,351 45% 37% 18% +8%
12–15 Aug 2022 LucidTalk Belfast Telegraph 3,384 46% 37% 17% +9%

Doug Beattie

[edit]

The following polls asked about voters' opinions on Doug Beattie, the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) since 27 May 2021.

Date(s)
conducted 		Pollster Client Sample size Good/great Bad/awful Don't know Net approval
11–14 Aug 2023 LucidTalk Belfast Telegraph 2,950 34% 38% 28% −4%
21–24 Apr 2023 LucidTalk Belfast Telegraph 3,957 38% 33% 29% +5%
20–23 Jan 2023 LucidTalk Belfast Telegraph 1,449 28% 42% 30% −14%
4–7 Nov 2022 LucidTalk Belfast Telegraph 3,351 37% 32% 31% +5%
12–15 Aug 2022 LucidTalk Belfast Telegraph 3,384 34% 34% 32% 0%

Colum Eastwood

[edit]

The following polls asked about voters' opinions on Colum Eastwood, the leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) since 14 November 2015.

Date(s)
conducted 		Pollster Client Sample size Good/great Bad/awful Don't know Net approval
11–14 Aug 2023 LucidTalk Belfast Telegraph 2,950 26% 43% 31% −17%
21–24 Apr 2023 LucidTalk Belfast Telegraph 3,957 32% 40% 28% −8%
20–23 Jan 2023 LucidTalk Belfast Telegraph 1,449 33% 38% 29% −5%
4–7 Nov 2022 LucidTalk Belfast Telegraph 3,351 31% 39% 30% −8%
12–15 Aug 2022 LucidTalk Belfast Telegraph 3,384 34% 39% 27% –5%

Jim Allister

[edit]

The following polls asked about voters' opinions on Jim Allister, the leader of Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) since 7 December 2007.

Date(s)
conducted 		Pollster Client Sample size Good/great Bad/awful Don't know Net approval
11–14 Aug 2023 LucidTalk Belfast Telegraph 2,950 23% 63% 14% −40%
21–24 Apr 2023 LucidTalk Belfast Telegraph 3,957 27% 61% 12% −34%
20–23 Jan 2023 LucidTalk Belfast Telegraph 1,449 27% 57% 16% −30%
4–7 Nov 2022 LucidTalk Belfast Telegraph 3,351 27% 59% 14% −32%
12–15 Aug 2022 LucidTalk Belfast Telegraph 3,384 31% 54% 15% −23%

Leadership performance ratings

[edit]

The following poll asked respondents to rate the performance of political leaders in the last few months, scoring from 0% to 100% for each leader.

NI political leaders

[edit]
Date(s)
conducted 		Pollster Client Sample size Gavin Robinson
DUP leader 		Michelle O'Neill
Sinn Féin VP
- NI First Minister 		Naomi Long
Alliance leader 		Colum Eastwood
SDLP leader 		Doug Beattie
UUP leader 		Jim Allister
TUV leader 		Emma Little-Pengelly
(DUP)
NI deputy First Minister 		NI Executive
10–13 May 2024 LucidTalk Belfast Telegraph 3,316 46% 53% 46% 39% 44% 29% 52% 39%

UK and Ireland political leaders

[edit]
Date(s)
conducted 		Pollster Client Sample Size Simon Harris
Taoiseach Ireland 		Mary Lou McDonald
Sinn Féin President 		Chris Heaton-Harris
NI Secretary of State 		Rishi Sunak
UK Prime Minister
10–13 May 2024 LucidTalk Belfast Telegraph 3,316 36% 39% 20% 16%

MPs not seeking re-election

[edit]
MP Consti­tuency First elected Party Date announced
Francie Molloy Mid Ulster 2013 Sinn Féin 13 February 2024[36]
Mickey Brady Newry and Armagh 2015 Sinn Féin 19 February 2024[37]
Jeffrey Donaldson Lagan Valley 1997 DUP[e] 22 May 2024[38]
Michelle Gildernew Fermanagh and South Tyrone 2001 Sinn Féin 23 May 2024[39]

Results

[edit]

By affiliation

[edit]
Affiliate[40] Seats Aggregate votes
Total Gains Losses Net Of all (%) Total Of all (%) Differ­ence
Sinn Féin 7 0 0 Steady 39% 210,891 27.0% Increase4.2%
DUP 5 0 −3 Decrease3 28% 172,058 22.1% Decrease8.5%
SDLP 2 0 0 Steady 11% 86,861 11.1% Decrease3.8%
Alliance 1 +1 −1 Steady 5.6% 117,191 15.0% Decrease1.8%
UUP 1 +1 0 Increase1 5.6% 94,779 12.2% Increase0.5%
TUV 1 New 5.6% 48,685 6.2% New
Independent 1 +1 0 Increase1 5.6% 24,223[41] 3.1% Increase2.8%
Green (NI) 0 0 0 Steady 0.0% 8,692 1.1% Increase0.9%
People Before Profit 0 0 0 Steady 0.0% 8,438 1.1% Increase0.2%
Aontú 0 0 0 Steady 0.0% 7,466 1.0% Decrease0.2%
Labour Alternative 0 Did not stand in 2019 0.0% 624 0.1% —
NI Conservatives 0 0 0 Steady 0.0% 553 0.1% Decrease0.6%
Total 18 — Steady 100% 779,847 57% Decrease4.5%

By constituency

[edit]
This section is transcluded from Results of the 2024 United Kingdom general election. (edit | history)
Main article: 2024 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland
Constituency 2019
seat 		2024 seat Votes Turnout
Affiliate Candidate Votes Share Margin SF DUP APNI UUP SDLP TUV Ind. Other Total

Belfast East DUP DUP Gavin Robinson 19,894 46.6% 2,676 — 19,894 17,218 1,818 619 1,918 162 1,077 42,706 58.6%
Belfast North SF SF John Finucane 17,674 43.7% 5,612 17,674 12,062 4,274 — 1,413 2,877 — 2,152 40,452 54.5%
Belfast South and Mid Down SDLP SDLP Claire Hanna 21,345 49.1% 12,506 — 6,859 8,839 2,653 21,345 2,218 — 1,577 43,355 58.0%
Belfast West SF SF Paul Maskey 21,009 52.9% 15,961 21,009 4,304 1,077 461 4,318 2,010 161 6,564 39,743 53.0%
East Antrim DUP DUP Sammy Wilson 11,462 28.9% 1,306 2,986 11,462 10,156 9,476 892 4,135 — 568 39,675 54.1%
East Londonderry DUP DUP Gregory Campbell 11,506 27.9% 179 11,327 11,506 3,734 3,412 5,260 4,363 — 1,675 41,639 55.0%
Fermanagh and South Tyrone SF SF Pat Cullen 24,844 48.6% 4,571 24,844 — 2,420 20,273 2,386 — — 1,153 51,076 65.6%
Foyle SDLP SDLP Colum Eastwood 15,647 40.8% 4,166 11,481 3,915 1,268 1,422 15,647 — 1,519 3,106 38,218 52.0%
Lagan Valley DUP APNI Sorcha Eastwood 18,618 37.9% 2,959 — 15,659 18,618 11,157 1,028 2,186 — 433 49,081 59.7%
Mid Ulster SF SF Cathal Mallaghan 24,085 53.0% 14,923 24,085 9,162 2,001 2,269 3,722 2,978 181 1,047 45,445 61.4%
Newry and Armagh SF SF Dáire Hughes 22,299 48.5% 15,493 22,299 5,900 2,692 3,175 6,806 4,099 — 971 46,236 59.1%
North Antrim DUP TUV Jim Allister 11,642 28.3% 450 7,714 11,192 4,488 3,901 1,661 11,642 136 451 41,084 55.0%
North Down APNI Ind. Alex Easton 20,913 48.3% 7,305 — — 13,608 6,754 657 — 20,913 1,364 43,593 59.0%
South Antrim DUP UUP Robin Swann 16,311 38.0% 7,512 8,034 8,799 4,574 16,311 1,589 2,693 — 908 43,153 56.0%
South Down SF SF Chris Hazzard 19,698 43.5% 9,280 19,698 7,349 3,187 1,411 10,418 1,893 — 1,287 45,243 59.0%
Strangford DUP DUP Jim Shannon 15,559 40.0% 5,131 2,793 15,559 10,428 3,941 1,783 3,143 413 849 38,060 52.2%
Upper Bann DUP DUP Carla Lockhart 21,642 45.7% 7,406 14,236 21,642 6,322 3,662 1,496 — — — 47,125 58.0%
West Tyrone SF SF Órfhlaith Begley 22,711 52.0% 15,917 22,711 6,794 2,287 2,683 5,821 2,530 — 869 42,826 59.0%
All constituencies 210,891 172,058 117,191 94,779 86,861 48,685 23,485 26,051 778,710 57.1%
27.1% 22.1% 15.0% 12.2% 11.1% 6.3% 3.0% 3.3% 100.0%
Seats
7 5 1 1 2 1 1 0 18
39% 28% 5.6% 5.6% 11% 5.6% 5.6% 0.0% 100.0%

Seats by affiliate share

[edit]
Seats
Sinn Féin
 
 38.9%
DUP
 
 27.8%
SDLP
 
 11.1%
Alliance
 
 5.6%
UUP
 
 5.6%
TUV
 
 5.6%
Independent unionists
 
 5.6%

Analysis

[edit]

Sinn Féin became the largest Northern Ireland party in the House of Commons for the first time, following similar success in the 2022 Assembly election and 2023 local election. Sinn Féin defended their seven seats with an increased majority in each, South Down, Belfast North and especially Fermanagh and South Tyrone are less marginal than they were in 2019. Sinn Féin also came very close to gaining East Londonderry, Kathleen McGurk was the runner-up just 179 votes behind the DUP. Sinn Féin also narrowed the SDLP's majority in Foyle.

The DUP won five seats, three less than in 2019, this was the lowest number of DUP MPs since 2001 and since the DUP became the largest unionist party. The DUP lost Lagan Valley to Alliance, South Antrim to the UUP and North Antrim to the TUV. The loss of North Antrim by just 450 votes is particularly notable, the DUP had held this seat for its entire existence, and between them Ian Paisley and Ian Paisley Jr had represented this constituency for 54 years since 1970. The majorities of Sammy Wilson in East Antrim and especially Gregory Campbell in East Londonderry, were significantly reduced, both were narrowly held against challenges from Alliance by 1,306 votes and Sinn Féin by 179 votes respectively. A more positive result for the DUP was the re-election of new leader Gavin Robinson in Belfast East with a slightly increased majority, the DUP also held Strangford and Upper Bann.

The SDLP held their two seats. In Foyle SDLP leader Colum Eastwood's majority was reduced from 17,110 to 4,166, mainly due to lower turnout although there was a swing to Sinn Féin. Claire Hanna was also re-elected to the new Belfast South and Mid Down constituency with a slightly reduced majority of 12,506, this is now the fifth safest seat in Northern Ireland after Sinn Féin's four safest seats. Outside of these two constituencies the SDLP vote mainly decreased, with Belfast West a notable exception. The SDLP was the runner-up in South Down and Newry and Armagh, both were previously SDLP held seats but are increasingly safe for Sinn Féin.

Alliance remains the third largest party in Northern Ireland in terms of vote share, as it was in the 2022 Assembly election and 2023 local election. Alliance gained Lagan Valley from the DUP, with Sorcha Eastwood becoming the third directly elected Alliance MP. Alliance also lost North Down, with independent unionist Alex Easton gaining from Alliance deputy leader Stephen Farry, the party leader Naomi Long also lost in Belfast East, Long was the previous MP for Belfast East from 2010 to 2015. Alliance came a particularly close second in East Antrim, and was also runner-up in Strangford and in Belfast South and Mid Down for the first time since 1987. In other constituencies the Alliance vote was generally down slightly from their peak in 2019, but higher than any previous elections.

The UUP gained a seat in the House of Commons for the first time since 2015, with the election of Robin Swann in South Antrim, Swann achieved the highest majority in South Antrim since 1997 (7,512). The UUP was runner-up in one other constituency, Fermanagh and South Tyrone, which the party had last won in 2015, although Diana Armstrong was the sole unionist candidate the increase in the Sinn Féin vote ensured the seat remained a Sinn Féin hold. As with Alliance, the UUP's second best prospect in this election was East Antrim, fewer than 2,000 votes separated the top three candidates.

The TUV gained a seat in the House of Commons for the first time, with Jim Allister gaining North Antrim from the DUP by 450 votes. Beyond North Antrim the TUV's strongest constituencies were East Londonderry, East Antrim and Strangford. The other MP elected in Northern Ireland was independent unionist Alex Easton in North Down who gained the seat from Alliance, Easton left the DUP in 2021 and he is the fourth North Down MP to have been elected either as an independent or with a smaller unionist party after leaving the DUP or UUP.

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ "Party leader in the North" and vice president of Sinn Féin. Mary Lou McDonald is the party president and leader of the opposition in the Dáil of the Republic of Ireland.
  2. ^ As "Party leader in the North"
  3. ^ She previously represented the area at Westminster from 2010-2015.
  4. ^ The question asked was "If there were a general election tomorrow, which political party do you think you would be most likely to support?".[32]
  5. ^ Suspended in March 2024.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Rishi Sunak announces 4 July general election". BBC News. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b Hughes, Brendan (28 June 2023). "Belfast constituency to be renamed under election boundary changes". Belfast Live. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  3. ^ "Boundaries of five Northern Ireland constituencies to change". BBC News. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  4. ^ "List of Business - 15th November 2023" (PDF). Privy Council Office. 23 November 2023.
  5. ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 15 November 2023, SI 2023/1230
  6. ^ Michael Palmer (24 November 2023). "Unionist Pacts: Deal or No Deal?". Slugger O'Toole. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  7. ^ David McCann (24 November 2023). "Slugger TV talks with Doug Beatte". Slugger O'Toole. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  8. ^ "TUV says unionists must have anti-protocol candidates to vote for in next Westminster election". The Irish News. 12 January 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  9. ^ "North Down Orangemen call for rival unionist parties to drop their own candidates and agree on a single contender in a bid to oust Stephen Farry as MP". Newsletter. 6 October 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  10. ^ "Alliance select Stephen Farry to stand for re-election in North Down". Northern Ireland Elects. 26 November 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  11. ^ "UUP: Iraq veteran Col Tim Collins to run in North Down". BBC News. 24 January 2024. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  12. ^ "Easton to Stand". County Down Spectator. 25 April 2024. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  13. ^ "Alliance: We can take Jeffrey Donaldson's Lagan Valley seat". Belfast Telegraph. 21 October 2023. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  14. ^ "Sinn Fein 'on course to hit new general election high': new poll". Belfast Telegraph. 13 November 2023. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  15. ^ "Iraq War veteran standing for UUP as he sets sights on Stephen Farry's Westminster seat". Belfast Telegraph. 24 January 2024. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  16. ^ "Robin Swann lined up for South Antrim election bid". 26 January 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  17. ^ "NI relations with Westminster have never been worse, claims UUP deputy as he confirms election bid". Belfast Telegraph. 27 January 2024. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  18. ^ "TUV conference: Jim Allister announces partnership with Reform UK". BBC News. 16 March 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  19. ^ "TUV and Reform UK to support Alex Easton in North Down". Belfast Telegraph. 24 May 2024.
  20. ^ NVTV, Northern Visions (25 April 2024). Slugger TV - 26th April 2024. Retrieved 26 April 2024 – via Vimeo.
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