1970 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland

The 1970 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. It was the first general election held after the Representation of the People Act 1969 which reduced the voting age from 21 to 18.

1970 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland

18 June 1970
12 seats in Northern Ireland of the 630 seats in the House of Commons
Leader James Chichester-Clark Party UUP Unity Leader since 1969 Leader's seat Did not stand[fn 1] Seats won 8 2 Seat change 3 2 Popular vote 422,041 140,930 Percentage 54.2% 18.1%   Leader Ian Paisley Gerry Fitt Party Protestant Unionist Republican Labour Leader since 1966 1964 Leader's seat Antrim North Belfast West Seats won 1 1 Seat change New Popular vote 35,303 30,649 Percentage 4.5% 3.9%

Results

The Ulster Unionists lost seats to the Protestant Unionist Party led by Ian Paisley, moderator of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, and to Unity, a nationalist organisation which had won a by-election in 1969.

In the election as a whole, the Labour Party failed to return to government and the Conservative Party, which included the Ulster Unionists, formed a government led by Edward Heath as Prime Minister. This was the last parliament where the UUP took the Conservative whip in the House of Commons, breaking with them after the Parliament of Northern Ireland was suspended by the Northern Ireland (Temporary Provisions) Act 1972.

Results[1][2][3]

Party		MPs		Votes
		No.	Change	No.	%	Change
	UUP	8	3	422,041	54.2%	7.6
	Unity	2	2	140,930	18.1%	15.6
	Protestant Unionist	1	1	35,303	3.5%	3.5
	Republican Labour	1		30,649	3.9%	0.5
	NI Labour	0		98,194	12.6%	0.4
	Independent Republican	0		62,782	10.5%	5.4
	Ulster Liberal	0		10,929	1.4%	3.5
	National Democratic	0		10,349	1.3%	1.3
	Independent Unionist	0		17,787	2.3%	2.3
	Independent Labour	0		7,565	1.0%	1.0
	Independent	0		4,290	0.4%	0.4
Total		12		778,037	100

MPs elected

Constituency	Party		MP
Antrim North		Protestant Unionist	Ian Paisley
Antrim South		UUP	James Molyneaux
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	Jim Kilfedder
Down South		UUP	Lawrence Orr
Fermanagh and South Tyrone		Unity	Francis McManus
Londonderry		UUP	Robin Chichester-Clark
Mid Ulster		Unity	Bernadette Devlin

Footnotes

1. Chichester-Clark sat as the MP for South Londonderry in the Northern Ireland Parliament.

References

1. Walker, Brian Mercer (1992). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1918–1992 (New History of Ireland). Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. p. 28. ISBN 0901714968.
2. "Elections to the United Kingdom Parliament held in Northern Ireland: General Election 1970". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
3. "The 1970 Westminster Elections in Northern Ireland". ARK: Northern Ireland Elections. Retrieved 30 January 2019.