1966 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland

The 1966 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland was held on 31 March with 12 MPs elected in single-seat constituencies using first-past-the-post as part of the wider general election in the United Kingdom.

1966 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland

31 March 1966
12 seats in Northern Ireland of the 630 seats in the House of Commons
Leader Terence O'Neill Gerry Fitt Party UUP Republican Labour Leader since 1963 1964 Leader's seat Did not stand[fn 1] Belfast West Seats won 11 1 Seat change 1 1

Results

The Ulster Unionists lost one seat to Gerry Fitt, leader of the new Republican Labour Party.

In the election as a whole, the Labour Party increased their majority and Harold Wilson continued as Prime Minister. The Conservative Party, which included the Ulster Unionists, were now led by Edward Heath.

Results[1][2]

Party		MPs		Votes
		No.	Change	No.	%	Change
	UUP	11	1	368,629	61.8%	1.4
	Republican Labour	1	1	26,292	4.4%	2.1
	NI Labour	0		72,613	12.2%	3.9
	Independent Republican	0		62,782	10.5%	5.4
	Ulster Liberal	0		29,109	4.9%	2.2
	Unity	0		14,645	2.5%	2.5
Total		12		596,237	100

MPs elected

Constituency	Party		MP
Antrim North		UUP	Henry Clark
Antrim South		UUP	Knox Cunningham
Armagh		UUP	John Maginnis
Belfast East		UUP	Stanley McMaster
Belfast North		UUP	Stratton Mills
Belfast South		UUP	Rafton Pounder
Belfast West		Republican Labour	Gerry Fitt
Down North		UUP	George Currie
Down South		UUP	Lawrence Orr
Fermanagh and South Tyrone		UUP	Marquess of Abercorn
Londonderry		UUP	Robin Chichester-Clark
Mid Ulster		UUP	George Forrest

By-elections

By-election	Date	Incumbent	Party		Winner	Party		Cause
Mid Ulster	17 April 1969	George Forrest		UUP	Bernadette Devlin		Unity	Death

Footnotes

1. O'Neill sat as the MP for Bannside in the Northern Ireland Parliament.

References

1. "Elections to the United Kingdom Parliament held in Northern Ireland: General Election 1966". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
2. "The 1966 Westminster Elections in Northern Ireland". ARK: Northern Ireland Elections. Retrieved 19 January 2019.