Down (UK Parliament constituency)

For other constituencies of the same name, see Down (disambiguation).

Down
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
1801 (1801)–1885 (1885)
Replaced by	East Down, North Down, South Down and West Down
1922 (1922)–1950 (1950)
Replaced by	North Down and South Down
Created from	East Down, Mid Down, North Down, South Down and West Down

Down was a UK Parliament constituency in Ireland. It was a two member constituency and existed in two periods, 1801-1885 and 1922-1950.

Boundaries

1801-1885: The whole of County Down, excluding the Boroughs of Downpatrick and Newry.

1922-1950: The Administrative county of Down, that is the whole of County Down excluding the part in the City of Belfast.

Members of Parliament

1801–1885

Election		First member	First party		Second member	Second party
1801		Viscount Castlereagh	Tory		John Meade
1805		Francis Savage
May 1812		Hon. Robert Ward
October 1812		Viscount Castlereagh
1817					Lord Arthur Hill
1821		Matthew Forde
1826		Viscount Castleragh
1836					Earl of Hillsborough
1845					Lord Arthur Hill-Trevor	Conservative
1852		David Steward Ker
1857		William Brownlow Forde
1874		James Sharman Crawford
1878		Viscount Castlereagh	Conservative
1880					Lord Arthur Hill	Conservative
1884		Richard William Blackwood Ker
1885		constituency abolished: see Down East, Down West, Down South and Down North

1922–1955

Election		First member	First party		Second member	Second party
1922		David Reid	Ulster Unionist Party		John Morrow Simms	Ulster Unionist Party
1931					Edward Vane Tempest Stewart	Ulster Unionist Party
1939		James Little	Ulster Unionist Party
1945			Independent Unionist		Walter Smiles	Ulster Unionist Party
1946		Charles Heron Mullan	Ulster Unionist Party

Elections

Elections in the 1940s

Down by-election, 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ulster Unionist	Charles Heron Mullan	50,699	51.4	N/A
	Labour (NI)	Desmond Donnelly	28,846	29.3	N/A
	Independent Unionist	J. Hastings-Little	16,895	17.1	N/A
	Independent Unionist	James Brown	2,125	2.2	-16.9
Majority			21,853	22.2
Turnout			98,565
	Ulster Unionist gain from Independent Unionist		Swing	N/A

General Election 1945: Down
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Unionist	James Little	46,732	40.4	N/A
	Ulster Unionist	Walter Smiles	24,148	20.9	N/A
	Ulster Unionist	John Blakiston Houston	22,730	19.6	N/A
	Independent Unionist	James Brown	22,163	19.1	N/A
Turnout				39.8
	Independent Unionist gain from Ulster Unionist		Swing	N/A
	Ulster Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1930s

At the Down by-election, 1939, James Little was elected unopposed as an Ulster Unionist. He subsequently left the party in the run-up to the 1945 general election in a dispute over re-selection.

General Election 1935: Down
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ulster Unionist	David Reid	66,324	43.5	N/A
	Ulster Unionist	John Morrow Simms	58,777	46.4	N/A
	Independent Republican	Patrick O'Hagan	20,236	13.3	N/A
Turnout				56.7
	Ulster Unionist hold		Swing	N/A
	Ulster Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

At the 1931 UK general election, David Reid and Edward Vane Tempest Stewart were elected unopposed.

Elections in the 1920s

General Election 1929: Down
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ulster Unionist	David Reid	54,073	36.3	-10.2
	Ulster Unionist	John Morrow Simms	53,943	36.2	-10.2
	Liberal	Robert Pollock	20,999	14.1	N/A
	Liberal	David Johnston	20,013	13.4	N/A
Turnout				58.5
	Ulster Unionist hold		Swing	N/A
	Ulster Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 1924: Down
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ulster Unionist	David Reid	58,929	46.5	N/A
	Ulster Unionist	John Morrow Simms	58,777	46.4	N/A
	Sinn Féin	Michael Murney	8,941	7.1	N/A
Turnout				65.8
	Ulster Unionist hold		Swing	N/A
	Ulster Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

At the 1922 and 1923 general elections, David Reid and John Morrow Simms were elected unopposed.

References

• The Parliaments of England by Henry Stooks Smith (1st edition published in three volumes 1844-50), 2nd edition edited (in one volume) by F.W.S. Craig (Political Reference Publications 1973)
• Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922, edited by B.M. Walker (Royal Irish Academy 1978)
• ElectionsIreland.org
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "D" (part 3)