- Northern Ireland Assembly election, 1973
-
Northern Ireland Assembly election, 1973 
1969 ←
members28 June 1973 → 1975
membersAll 78 seats to the Northern Ireland Assembly
40 seats were needed for a majorityFirst party Second party Third party 
Leader Brian Faulkner Gerry Fitt Ian Paisley Party Ulster Unionist SDLP Democratic Unionist Leader since 23 March 1971 21 August 1970 30 September 1971 Leader's seat South Down Belfast North North Antrim Last election N/A N/A N/A Seats won 31 19 8 Seat change 
31 19 8Popular vote 258,790 159,773 78,228 Percentage 35.8% 22.1% 10.8% Swing 35.8% 22.1% 10.8%Fourth party Fifth party Leader William Craig Oliver Napier Party Vanguard Alliance Leader since 9 February 1972 1972 Leader's seat North Antrim Belfast East Last election N/A N/A Seats won 7 8 Seat change 7 8Popular vote 75,709 66,541 Percentage 11.5% 9.2% Swing 11.5% 9.2%
Percentage of seats gained by each of the party.
Chief Executive before election
New position
Elected Chief Executive
Northern Ireland 1973–98 
This article is part of the series:
Politics and government of
Northern IrelandInterim bodies Northern Ireland Assembly (1973)
Northern Ireland Executive (1974)
Constitutional Convention (1975)
Northern Ireland Assembly (1982)
Northern Ireland Forum (1996)Elections 1973 · 1975 · 1982 · 1996 Members 1973 · 1975 · 1982 · 1996 See also Anglo-Irish Agreement
New Ireland Forum
Northern Ireland by-elections, 1986
Northern Ireland sovereignty referendum, 1973
The 1973 elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly took place following the publication of the British government's white paper Northern Ireland Constitutional Proposals which proposed a 78-member Northern Ireland Assembly, elected by proportional representation.
A cross-community coalition of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) under Brian Faulkner, the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland was agreed in November, and following the Sunningdale Agreement, a Power Sharing Executive was established from 1 January 1974. After opposition from within the UUP and the Ulster Workers Council Strike, the executive and assembly collapsed in May 1974.
The election results were:
Party Votes Vote % Seats Seats % gain loss net Ulster Unionist (pro-assembly) 182,696 25.3 24 30.8 SDLP 159,773 22.1 19 24.4 Democratic Unionist 78,228 10.8 8 10.3 Ulster Unionist (anti-assembly) 76,094 10.5 7 9 Vanguard 75,709 11.5 7 9 Alliance 66,541 9.2 8 10.3 Labour (NI) 18,675 2.6 1 1.3 West Belfast Loyalist Coalition 16,869 2.3 3 3.8 Independent Unionist 13,755 1.9 1 1.3 Republican Clubs 13,064 1.8 0 Nationalist (NI) 6,270 0.9 0 Independent 4,091 0.6 0 Loyalist 2,752 0.4 0 Independent pro-White Paper 2,008 0.3 0 Independent Nationalist 2,000 0.3 0 Republican Labour 1,750 0.2 0 Liberal 811 0.1 0 National Front 591 0.1 0 Ulster Constitutional Loyalist 202 0.0 0 Independent Loyalist 189 0.0 0 Communist Party 123 0.0 0 - All parties listed.
Contents
Votes summary
Seats summary
See also
Source
Elections and referendums in Northern Ireland Elections Local government elections 1973 · 1977 · 1981 · 1985 · 1989 · 1993 · 1997 · 2001 · 2005 · 2011Referendums Categories:- 1973 elections in the United Kingdom
- Elections in Northern Ireland
- 1973 in Northern Ireland
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