1949 Northern Ireland general election

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.

1949 Northern Ireland general election

19 February 1949
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 James McSparran Harry Diamond Party UUP Nationalist Socialist Republican Leader since 1 May 1943 15 November 1945 1944 Leader's seat Lisnaskea Mourne Belfast Falls Last election 33 seats, 50.4% 9 seats, 9.1% 1 seat, 1.5% Seats won 37 9 1 Seat change 4 1 Popular vote 237,411 101,445 Unopposed Percentage 62.7% 26.8% — Swing 12.3% 17.6% 1.5%
Election results by constituency
Prime Minister before election Basil Brooke UUP Elected Prime Minister Basil Brooke UUP

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 development 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.

Results

↓

37	9	2	4
UUP	Nationalist	IU	Oth

1949 Northern Ireland general election
Party		Candidates						Votes
		Stood	Elected	Gained	Unseated	Net	% of total	%	No.	Net %
	UUP	46	37	4	0	+4	71.2	62.7	237,411	+12.3
	Nationalist	17	9	0	1	-1	17.3	26.8	101,445	+17.6
	NI Labour	9	0	0	2	-2	—	7.1	26,831	-11.4
	Independent Labour	4	1	1	1	0	1.9	2.1	7,970	-0.7
	Independent Unionist	3	2	0	0	0	3.8	0.6	2,150	-4.4
	Independent	2	2	0	0	0	3.8	0.5	2,028	+0.2
	Communist (NI)	1	0	0	0	0	—	0.2	623	-2.6
	Socialist Republican	1	1	0	0	0	1.9	0.0	0	-1.5

All parties shown. The only Socialist Republican Party candidate was elected unopposed. Electorate 846,719 (477,354 in contested seats); Turnout 79.3% (378,458).

Votes summary

Popular vote Ulster Unionist   62.73% Nationalist Party   26.80% Labour   7.10% Independent Labour   2.11% Independent Unionist   0.57% Communist   0.16% Independent   0.54%

Seats summary

Parliamentary seats Ulster Unionist   71.15% Nationalist Party   17.31% Independent Unionist   3.85% Independent Labour   1.92% Socialist Republican   1.92% Independent   3.85%

References

• Northern Ireland Parliamentary Election Results

See also

• MPs elected in the Northern Ireland general election, 1949