Belfast Willowfield (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)

Constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland

54°35′13″N 5°53′56″W / 54.587°N 5.899°W / 54.587; -5.899

Belfast Willowfield
Former Borough constituency for the Parliament of Northern Ireland
Belfast shown within Northern Ireland
Former constituency
Created	1929
Abolished	1973
Election method	First past the post

Belfast Willowfield was a constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland.

Boundaries

Belfast Willowfield was a borough constituency comprising part of southern Belfast. It was created in 1929 when the House of Commons (Method of Voting and Redistribution of Seats) Act (Northern Ireland) 1929 introduced first past the post elections throughout Northern Ireland.

Belfast Willowfield was created by the division of Belfast South into four new constituencies. It survived unchanged, returning one member of Parliament, until the Parliament of Northern Ireland was temporarily suspended in 1972, and then formally abolished in 1973.^[1]

Politics

In common with other seats in south Belfast, the constituency was strongly unionist. The seat was generally held by Unionist candidates, although labour movement candidates often performed well and sometimes took the seat.^[1]

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1929	Arthur Black	Ulster Unionist
	1941(b)	Harry Midgley	Northern Ireland Labour Party
	1941		Commonwealth Labour Party
	1947		Ulster Unionist
	1958	William Hinds	Ulster Unionist
	1969	Tom Caldwell	Independent Unionist
1973		constituency abolished

Election results

Politics of Northern Ireland
(1921–72)


Government Governor Privy Council Ministries Prime Minister Craigavon ministry Andrews ministry Brookeborough ministry O'Neill ministry Chichester-Clark ministry Faulkner ministry Northern Ireland Civil Service Departments
Parliament Acts Statutory rules and orders Senate Speaker of the Senate Leader of the Senate House of Commons Speaker Leader of the Opposition Members 1921, 1925, 1929, 1933 1938, 1945, 1949, 1953 1958, 1962, 1965, 1969 Senate
Elections Elections in Northern Ireland 1921, 1925, 1929, 1933 1938, 1945, 1949, 1953 1958, 1962, 1965, 1969 By-elections Constituencies Political parties
See also Fourth Home Rule Bill Constitution Act 1973
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v t e

General Election 1929: Belfast Willowfield^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	UUP	Arthur Black	4,691	53.9
	Town Tenants' Association	Alexander McConnell	4,015	46.1
Majority			676	7.8
Turnout			8,706	69.4
	UUP win (new seat)

At the 1933 Northern Ireland general election, Arthur Black was elected unopposed.^[2]

General Election 1938: Belfast Willowfield^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	Arthur Black	7,615	65.1	*N/A*
	Ulster Protestant League	Arthur Cleland	4,086	34.9	New
Majority			3,530	30.2	N/A
Turnout			11,701	74.1	N/A
	UUP hold		Swing	N/A

Belfast Willowfield by-election, 1941^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	NI Labour	Harry Midgley	7,209	74.8	*New*
	UUP	Fred Lavery	2,435	25.2	−39.9
Majority			4,774	49.6	N/A
Turnout			9,644	60.0	N/A
	NI Labour gain from UUP		Swing	N/A

General Election 1945: Belfast Willowfield^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Commonwealth Labour	Harry Midgley	7,072	55.9	*New*
	UUP	George Irvine Finlay	4,488	35.5	−29.6
	NI Labour	Robert McBrinn	1,082	8.6	N/A
Majority			2,584	20.4	N/A
Turnout			11,560	75.1	+1.0
	Commonwealth Labour gain from UUP		Swing	N/A

General Election 1949: Belfast Willowfield^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	Harry Midgley	11,304	87.5	+52.0
	NI Labour	William Leeburn	1,611	12.5	+3.9
Majority			9,693	75.0	N/A
Turnout			12,915	77.3	+2.2
	UUP gain from Commonwealth Labour		Swing	N/A

General Election 1953: Belfast Willowfield^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	Harry Midgley	6,539	68.8	−18.7
	NI Labour	Norman Searight	2,966	31.2	+18.7
Majority			3,573	37.6	−37.4
Turnout			9,505	59.5	−17.8
	UUP hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 1958: Belfast Willowfield^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	William Hinds	4,017	41.6	−27.2
	NI Labour	Norman Searight	2,847	29.5	−1.7
	Ind. Unionist	Alfred Walker Shaw	2,785	28.9	New
Majority			1,170	12.1	−25.5
Turnout			9,649	66.6	+7.1
	UUP hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 1962: Belfast Willowfield^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	William Hinds	4,931	58.5	+16.9
	NI Labour	Norman Searight	3,497	41.5	+12.0
Majority			1,434	17.0	+4.9
Turnout			8,428	62.0	−4.6
	UUP hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 1965: Belfast Willowfield^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	William Hinds	4,918	64.9	+6.4
	NI Labour	Martin McBirney	2,654	35.1	−6.4
Majority			2,264	29.8	+12.8
Turnout			7,572	57.1	−4.9
	UUP hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 1969: Belfast Willowfield^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ind. Unionist	Tom Caldwell	4,613	54.3	*New*
	UUP	William Hinds	2,134	25.1	−39.8
	NI Labour	Billy Boyd	1,747	20.6	−14.5
Majority			2,479	29.2	N/A
Turnout			8,494	68.4	+11.3
	Ind. Unionist gain from UUP		Swing	N/A

References

^ ^a ^b The Northern Ireland House of Commons, 1921-1972, Northern Ireland Elections
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Northern Ireland Parliamentary Elections Results: Boroughs: Belfast

v t e Parliament of Northern Ireland constituencies
1921–1929	1929–1973
Antrim	Antrim Borough Bannside Carrick Larkfield (from 1969) Larne Mid Antrim Newtownabbey (from 1969) North Antrim South Antrim
Armagh	Central Armagh Mid Armagh North Armagh South Armagh
Belfast East	Belfast Bloomfield Belfast Dock Belfast Pottinger Belfast Victoria
Belfast North	Belfast Clifton Belfast Duncairn Belfast Oldpark Belfast Shankill
Belfast South	Belfast Ballynafeigh Belfast Cromac Belfast Willowfield Belfast Windsor
Belfast West	Belfast Central Belfast Falls Belfast St Anne's Belfast Woodvale
Down	Ards Bangor (from 1969) East Down Iveagh Lagan Valley (from 1969) Mid Down Mourne North Down South Down West Down
Fermanagh and Tyrone	East Tyrone Enniskillen Lisnaskea Mid Tyrone North Tyrone South Fermanagh South Tyrone West Tyrone
Londonderry	City of Londonderry Foyle Mid Londonderry North Londonderry South Londonderry
Queen's University	Queen's University (to 1969)

Parliamentary constituencies in County Antrim and the city of Belfast

Parliament of Ireland
to 1800

County Antrim (???–1800)
Antrim (1666–1800)
Belfast (1613–1800)
Carrickfergus (1326–1800)
Lisburn (1661–1800)
Randalstown (???–1800)

Westminster 1801–present

Historic

Antrim (1801–85, 1922–50)
Mid Antrim (1885–1922)
Belfast (1801–85)
Belfast Cromac (1918–22)
Belfast Duncairn (1918–22)
Belfast Falls (1918–22)
Belfast Ormeau (1918–22)
Belfast Pottinger (1918–22)
Belfast Shankill (1918–22)
Belfast South (1885–1918, 1922–2024)
Belfast St Anne's (1918–22)
Belfast Victoria (1918–22)
Belfast Woodvale (1918–22)
Carrickfergus (1801–85)
Lisburn (1801–85)
Queen's University of Belfast (1918–50)

Current

East Antrim (1885–1922, 1983—)
North Antrim (1885–1922, 1950—)
South Antrim (1885–1922, 1950—)
Belfast East (1885–1918, 1922—)
Belfast North (1885–1918, 1922—)
Belfast South and Mid Down (2024—)
Belfast West (1885–1918, 1922—)
Lagan Valley 1983—

Dáil Éireann
Revolutionary era 1919–1922

First Dáil
1919–21

Seats taken	(none)
No seats taken	East Antrim Mid Antrim North Antrim South Antrim Belfast Cromac Belfast Duncairn Belfast Falls Belfast Ormeau Belfast Pottinger Belfast St Anne's Belfast Shankill Belfast Victoria Belfast Woodvale Queen's University of Belfast

Second Dáil
1921–22

Seats taken	(none)
No seats taken	Antrim Belfast East Belfast North Belfast South Belfast West Queen's University of Belfast

Parliament of Northern Ireland
1921–72

1921–29

Antrim (1921–29)
Belfast East (1921–29)
Belfast North (1921–29)
Belfast South (1921–29)
West Belfast (1921–29)
Queen's University of Belfast (1921–69)

1929–72

Bannside (1929–72)
Belfast Ballynafeigh (1929–72)
Belfast Bloomfield (1929–72)
Belfast Central (1929–72)
Belfast Clifton (1929–72)
Belfast Cromac (1929–72)
Belfast Dock (1929–72)
Belfast Duncairn (1929–72)
Belfast Falls (1929–72)
Belfast Oldpark (1929–72)
Belfast Pottinger (1929–72)
Belfast Shankill (1929–72)
Belfast St Anne's (1929–72)
Belfast Victoria (1929–72)
Belfast Willowfield (1929–72)
Belfast Windsor (1929–72)
Belfast Woodvale (1929–72)
Carrick (1929–72)
Larkfield (1969–72)
Larne (1929–72)
Mid Antrim (1929–72)
Newtownabbey (1969–72)
North Antrim (1929–72)
Queen's University of Belfast (1921–69)
South Antrim (1929–72)

Northern Ireland Assemblies

Assembly 1973–74 Constitutional Convention 1975–76 Assembly 1982–86	North Antrim South Antrim Belfast East Belfast North Belfast South Belfast West
Northern Ireland Forum 1996–98 Assembly (1998–present)	East Antrim North Antrim South Antrim Belfast East Belfast North Belfast South Belfast West Lagan Valley

European Parliament
1979–2020

Northern Ireland

Constituencies in Ireland by county
Republic of Ireland	Carlow Cavan Clare Cork Donegal Dublin Galway Kerry Kildare Kilkenny Laois Leitrim Limerick Longford Louth Mayo Meath Monaghan Offaly Roscommon Sligo Tipperary Waterford Westmeath Wexford Wicklow
Northern Ireland	Antrim Armagh Down Fermanagh Londonderry Tyrone