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1983 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland

The 1983 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland was held on 9 June with 17 MPs elected in single-seat constituencies using first-past-the-post as part of the wider general election in the United Kingdom. This was an increase of five seats, after the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1979 had come into effect to account for the reduced representation after direct rule had been imposed since 1972. New constituencies were drawn up in 1982.

The Conservative Party led by Margaret Thatcher as prime minister won another term in government.

The main beneficiaries of the increase of seats was the Ulster Unionist Party, now led by James Molyneaux. The SDLP lost a seat held by former leader Gerry Fitt to Gerry Adams of Sinn Féin, but the new SDLP leader John Hume gained a seat.

Party	Seats	Aggregate Votes
	UUP	11	6	0	6	64.7	259,952	34.0	2.6
	DUP	3	0	0		17.6	152,749	20.0	9.8
	SDLP	1	0	0		5.9	137,012	17.9	0.3
	Sinn Féin	1	1	0	1	5.9	102,701	13.4	New
	UPUP	1	1	0	1	5.9	22,681	3.0	New
	Alliance	0	0	0		0.0	61,275	8.0	3.9
	Workers' Party	0	0	0		0.0	14,650	1.9	0.2
	Independent Socialist	0	0	0		0.0	10,326	1.3	1.3
	Independent DUP	0	0	0		0.0	1,134	0.1	1.3
	Independent	0	0	0		0.0	2,265	0.3	0.1
17			5		801,734

Constituency	MP
Antrim East	UUP	Roy Beggs
Antrim North	DUP	Ian Paisley
Antrim South	UUP	Clifford Forsythe
Belfast East	DUP	Peter Robinson
Belfast North	UUP	Cecil Walker
Belfast South	UUP	Martin Smyth
Belfast West	Sinn Féin	Gerry Adams
Down North	UPUP	Jim Kilfedder
Down South	UUP	Enoch Powell
Fermanagh and South Tyrone	UUP	Ken Maginnis
Foyle	SDLP	John Hume
Lagan Valley	UUP	James Molyneaux
Londonderry East	UUP	William Ross
Mid Ulster	DUP	William McCrea
Newry and Armagh	UUP	Jim Nicholson
Strangford	UUP	John Taylor
Upper Bann	UUP	Harold McCusker

In December 1985, all Unionist MPs resigned their seats in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement and sought re-election in by-elections. These resulted in a loss of one seat to the SDLP

Constituency	Date	Incumbent	Winner	Party
Antrim North	23 January 1986	Ian Paisley	DUP	Ian Paisley	DUP	Resignation
Antrim East	23 January 1986	Roy Beggs	UUP	Roy Beggs	UUP	Resignation
Antrim South	23 January 1986	Clifford Forsythe	UUP	Clifford Forsythe	UUP	Resignation
Belfast East	23 January 1986	Peter Robinson	DUP	Peter Robinson	DUP	Resignation
Belfast North	23 January 1986	Cecil Walker	UUP	Cecil Walker	UUP	Resignation
Belfast South	23 January 1986	Martin Smyth	UUP	Martin Smyth	UUP	Resignation
Down North	23 January 1986	James Kilfedder	UPUP	James Kilfedder	UPUP	Resignation
Down South	23 January 1986	Enoch Powell	UUP	Enoch Powell	UUP	Resignation
Fermanagh and South Tyrone	23 January 1986	Ken Maginnis	UUP	Ken Maginnis	UUP	Resignation
Lagan Valley	23 January 1986	James Molyneaux	UUP	James Molyneaux	UUP	Resignation
East Londonderry	23 January 1986	William Ross	UUP	William Ross	UUP	Resignation
Mid Ulster	23 January 1986	William McCrea	DUP	William McCrea	DUP	Resignation
Strangford	23 January 1986	John Taylor	UUP	John Taylor	UUP	Resignation
Newry and Armagh	23 January 1986	James Nicholson	UUP	Seamus Mallon	SDLP	Resignation
Upper Bann	23 January 1986	Harold McCusker	UUP	Harold McCusker	UUP	Resignation

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