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1949 Northern Ireland general election
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| Field | Value | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
| <!-- Ulster Unionist --> | 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 | |
| seat_change1 | 4 | |
| popular_vote1 | 237,411 | |
| percentage1 | 62.7% | |
| swing1 | 12.3% | |
| <!-- Nationalist --> | image2 | |
| leader2 | James McSparran | |
| leader_since2 | 15 November 1945 | |
| party2 | Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland) | |
| leaders_seat2 | Mourne | |
| last_election2 | 9 seats, 9.1% | |
| seats2 | 9 | |
| seat_change2 | 1 | |
| popular_vote2 | 101,445 | |
| percentage2 | 26.8% | |
| swing2 | 17.6% | |
| map_image | 1949 Northern Ireland Assembly Election Results Map.svg | |
| map_size | 300px | |
| map_caption | Election results by constituency | |
| title | 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 |
27 seats were needed for a majority
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.
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.
Results
| Ulster Unionist Party}};"UUP | Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland)}};"Nationalist | Independent Unionist}};"IU | Oth |
|---|
|votes % = 62.7 |seats % = 71.2 |plus/minus = +12.3 |votes % = 26.8 |seats % = 17.3 |plus/minus = +17.6 |votes % = 7.1 |seats % = — |plus/minus = -11.4 |votes % = 2.1 |seats % = 1.9 |plus/minus = -0.7 |votes % = 0.6 |seats % = 3.8 |plus/minus = -4.4 |votes % = 0.5 |seats % = 3.8 |plus/minus = +0.2 |votes % = 0.2 |seats % = — |plus/minus = -2.6 |votes % = 0.0 |seats % = 1.9 |plus/minus = -1.5 |}
All parties shown. Electorate 846,719 (477,354 in contested seats); Turnout 79.3% (378,458).
Votes summary
Seats summary
Contested seats
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 Party}}" | Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland)}}" | Northern Ireland Labour Party}}" | Independent Labour}}" | Independent Unionist}}" | Independent (politician)}}" | Communist Party of Northern Ireland}}" | Total | 378,458 | 79.3 | 63 | 32 | — | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | — |
Uncontested seats
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 Party}}" | Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland)}}" | Independent Unionist}}" | Independent Labour}}" | Socialist Republican Party (Ireland)}}" | Total | 20 | 20 | 100 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
References
Notes
References
- Armitage, Darryl. (24 May 2021). "THROUGH THE ARCHIVES: Duty of every loyalist to vote warns Ulster's Minister of Labour".
- . (September 2025). ["The Anti-Partition League and 'The Chapel Gate Election' 1949"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zsr6v9q/revision/4). *BBC*.
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
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