1945 Northern Ireland general election

The 1945 Northern Ireland general election was held on 14 June 1945. The election saw significant losses for the Ulster Unionist Party, though they retained their majority.

1945 Northern Ireland general election

14 June 1945
All 52 seats to the House of Commons of Northern Ireland 27 seats were needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Basil Brooke T. J. Campbell Paddy Agnew Party UUP Nationalist NI Labour Leader since 1 May 1943 18 January 1934 1938 Leader's seat Lisnaskea Belfast Central South Armagh (defeated) Last election 39 seats, 56.8% 8 seats, 4.9% 1 seat, 5.7% Seats won 33 10 2 Seat change 6 2 1 Popular vote 180,342 32,546 66,053 Percentage 50.4% 9.1% 18.5% Swing 6.4% 4.2% 12.8%   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Harry Midgley Harry Diamond Party Commonwealth Labour Socialist Republican Leader since 1942 1944 Leader's seat Belfast Willowfield Belfast Falls Last election Did not stand Did not stand Seats won 1 1 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 28,079 5,497 Percentage 7.8% 1.5% Swing New party New party
Percentage of seats gained by each of the party
Prime Minister before election Basil Brooke UUP Elected Prime Minister Basil Brooke UUP

Mirroring the result across the rest of the UK in the 1945 UK general election, candidates standing on behalf of the various Labour parties won a significantly higher vote share of 30%,[nb 1] but this translated into just two new MPs due to the first-past-the-post electoral system.

Results

↓

33	10	2	2	5
UUP	Nationalist	L	IU	Oth

1945 Northern Ireland general election
Party		Candidates						Votes
		Stood	Elected	Gained	Unseated	Net	% of total	%	No.	Net %
	UUP	41	33	0	6	-6	63.5	50.4	180,342	-6.4
	NI Labour	15	2	2	1	+1	3.8	18.5	66,053	+12.8
	Nationalist	11	10	2	0	+2	19.2	9.1	32,546	+4.2
	Commonwealth Labour	6	1	1	0	+1	1.9	7.8	28,079	N/A
	Independent Unionist	5	2	1	1	0	3.8	5.0	17,906	-1.8
	Communist (NI)	3	0	0	0	0		3.5	12,456	N/A
	Independent Labour	2	1	0	0	0	1.9	2.8	9,872	+1.1
	Socialist Republican	2	1	1	0	+1	1.9	1.5	5,497	N/A
	Federation of Labour	1	0	0	0	0		1.1	3,912	N/A
	Independent	2	2	2	0	+2	3.8	0.3	1,219	-1.9

Electorate: 845,964 (509,098 in contested seats); Turnout: 70.3% (357,882).

Votes summary

Popular vote Ulster Unionist   50.39% Labour   18.46% Nationalist Party   9.09% Commonwealth Labour   7.85% Independent Unionist   5.00% Communist   3.48% Independent Labour   2.76% Socialist Republican   1.54% Federation of Labour   1.09% Independent   0.34%

Seats summary

Parliamentary seats Ulster Unionist   63.46% Nationalist Party   19.23% Independent Unionist   3.85% Labour   3.85% Independent Labour   1.92% Commonwealth Labour   1.92% Socialist Republican   1.92% Independent   3.85%

Footnotes

1. 19% for the Northern Irish Labour Party, 8% for the Commonwealth Labour Party, 3% for Independent Labour candidates and 1% for the Federation of Labour

See also

• 1945 United Kingdom general election

References

• Northern Ireland Parliamentary Election Results