1946 Londonderry Borough Council election

Elections to Londonderry Borough Council were held on 16 October 1946. Sir Basil McFarland continued as Mayor of Londonderry. The elections were postponed from the original February date due to an unusually large number of objections to the list of electors.[1]

Background

The election was held following the passage of the 1946 Elections and Franchise Act (Northern Ireland) by the Parliament of Northern Ireland which limited the voting franchise to only ratepayers and their wives and granted business owners the rights to cast up to six business votes (depending on the size of their business) under the Act.[2] The boundaries for the election had also been reviewed by the Londonderry Corporation and drawn by the Parliament of Northern Ireland.[2]

Campaigns

Controversy arose during the calling of the election. On 20 January 1946, the Londonderry Corporation called the election to be held on 10 February and only gave candidates 11 days to file for candidacy. No reason was given for this by Sir Basil though it was speculated in the United States House of Representatives by the Montana 1st representative Mike Mansfield that it was only called so that the old electoral register with its unionist majority would be used rather than a new one that was due to come into effect six weeks later. This would have had the effect of disenfranchising younger nationalist voters which would have given nationalists a majority.[3]

The Taoiseach of the Irish Free State held a meeting at Mansion House, Dublin, with nationalist party leaders from Northern Ireland as well as Irish Free State parties. Collectively, they released a statement condemning the move calling it "electoral manipulation" and encouraged nationalists in the Londonderry Borough Council area to legally object.[3] Owing to the controversies and challenges to the electors' eligibility, the election was delayed until 16 October.[1] During pre-election hustings, William Henry McLaughlin, who was standing for election for the Ulster Unionist Party in Waterside, declared that he had only ever employed one Roman Catholic in forty-eight years and that was only due to a case of mistaken identity.[4]

Council results

Londonderry Borough Council election, 1946[5]
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  UUP 12
  Nationalist 6
  NI Labour 2
  Derry Labour Party 0

Ward results

Aldermen

6 Aldermen[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
UUP Captain Thomas Fitzpatrick Cooke
North Ward
UUP Samuel Wallace Kennedy
North Ward
NI Labour Patrick Fox
South Ward
Nationalist Francis Edward McCarroll
South Ward
UUP William James Little
Waterside Ward

North Ward

North Ward[5]
6 Councillors
Electorate: 5,622
Party Candidate Votes % ±
UUP James C. Hamilton 3,203
UUP Gerald Stanley Glover 3,200
UUP S. Dowds 3,195
UUP J. J. Hill 3,188
UUP Sir Basil McFarland 3,180
UUP A. McGowan 3,148
NI Labour A. H. Halliday 1,247
NI Labour J. Campbell 1,220
NI Labour F. Moorehead 1,159
Independent M. T. Mulhearn 1,132
Turnout 4,498 80.01

South Ward

South Ward[5]
6 Councillors
Electorate: 7,468
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Nationalist & Labour W. Barr 3,751
Nationalist T. Doherty 3,730
Nationalist James Deeney 3,727
Nationalist Daniel Barr 3,727
Nationalist Patrick J. Downey 3,675
NI Labour W. Mullan 3,538
NI Labour Stephen McGonagle 1,236
NI Labour G. Hamill 1,233
NI Labour J. Sharkey 1,099
NI Labour W. McLeery 1,093
Turnout 5,122 68.59

Waterside Ward

Waterside Ward[5]
3 Councillors
Electorate:
Party Candidate Votes % ±
UUP Robert Graham Unopposed
UUP William Henry McLoughlin Unopposed
UUP Samuel Orr Unopposed
Turnout Unopposed
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References

  1. "Local elections in Derry postponed". Irish Times. 10 August 1946.
  2. Ranelagh, John (2012). A Short History of Ireland. Cambridge University Press. p. 305. ISBN 1139789260.
  3. Congressional Record: Proceedings of the 81st Congress. 95, part 1. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1949. pp. 810–811.
  4. Gallagher, Tom (1983). Contemporary Irish Studies. Manchester University Press. p. 18. ISBN 0719009197.
  5. "Londonderry Sentinel - Saturday 19 October 1946". Londonderry Sentinel. p. 4. Retrieved 5 August 2020 via British Newspaper Archive.(subscription required)
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