Belfast South (Assembly constituency)

Northern Ireland Assembly constituency infobox
Name = Belfast South
Type = Borough


Year = 1973
AM = Carmel Hanna
Anna Lo
Alex Maskey
Alasdair McDonnell
Michael McGimpsey
Jimmy Spratt
Districts = Belfast, Castlereagh

Belfast South is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973. It usually shares boundaries with the Belfast South UK Parliament constituency, however the boundaries of the two constituencies were slightly different from 1983 to 1986 as the Assembly boundaries had not caught up with Parliamentary boundary changes and from 1996 to 1997 when members of the Northern Ireland Forum had been elected from the newly drawn Parliamentary constituencies but the 51st Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected in 1992 under the 1983-95 constituency boundaries, was still in session.

Members were then elected from the constituency to the 1975 Constitutional Convention, the 1982 Assembly, the 1996 Forum and then to the current Assembly from 1998.

For further details of the history and boundaries of the constituency, see Belfast South (UK Parliament constituency).

Members

The six MLAs for the constituency elected in the 2007 election are:

*Carmel Hanna — Social Democratic and Labour Party
*Anna Lo — Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
*Alex Maskey — Sinn Féin
*Alasdair McDonnell — Social Democratic and Labour Party
*Michael McGimpsey — Ulster Unionist Party
*Jimmy Spratt — Democratic Unionist Party

The six MLAs for the constituency elected in the 2003 election were:

*Esmond Birnie — Ulster Unionist Party
*Carmel Hanna — Social Democratic and Labour Party
*Alex Maskey — Sinn Féin
*Alasdair McDonnell — Social Democratic and Labour Party
*Michael McGimpsey — Ulster Unionist Party
*Mark Robinson — Democratic Unionist Party

In the 1998 election the six MLAs elected were:

*Esmond Birnie — Ulster Unionist Party
*Carmel Hanna — Social Democratic and Labour Party
*Alasdair McDonnell — Social Democratic and Labour Party
*Michael McGimpsey — Ulster Unionist Party
*Monica McWilliams — Northern Ireland Women's Coalition
*Mark Robinson — Democratic Unionist Party

In the 1996 election to the Northern Ireland Peace Forum, 5 Forum members were elected from North Belfast. They were as follows:

*Jim Clarke — Ulster Unionist Party
*Steve McBride — Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
*Alasdair McDonnell — Social Democratic and Labour Party
*Joan Parkes — Democratic Unionist Party
*Bob Stoker — Ulster Unionist Party

In 1982 elections were held for an Assembly for Northern Ireland to hold the Secretary of State to account, in the hope that this would be the first step towards restoring devolution. South Belfast elected 5 members as follows:

*David Cook — Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
*Edgar Graham — Ulster Unionist Party
*Jim Kirkpatrick — Ulster Unionist Party
*Stuart McCrea — Democratic Unionist Party
*Martin Smyth — Ulster Unionist Party

Changes 1982-1986

*Edgar Graham, Ulster Unionist Party assassinated by the IRA on December 7 1983. Frank Millar Jr, also Ulster Unionist Party, elected unopposed in by-election on March 1 1984.

In 1975 elections were held to a Constitutional Convention which sought (unsuccessfully) to generate a consensus on the future of the province. The six members elected from South Belfast were:

*Jeremy Burchill — Ulster Unionist Party
*Thomas Burns — Democratic Unionist Party
*Basil Glass — Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
*Jim Hendron — Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
*Martin Smyth — Ulster Unionist Party
*David Trimble — Vanguard Progressive Unionist Party

In 1973 elections were held to the Assembly set up under the Sunningdale Agreement. The six members elected from North Belfast were:

*Thomas Burns — Democratic Unionist Party
*Nelson Elder — Ulster Unionist Party pro Sunningdale
*Basil Glass — Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
*Herbert Kirk — Ulster Unionist Party pro Sunningdale
*Reginald Magee — Ulster Unionist Party pro Sunningdale
*Basil McIvor — Ulster Unionist Party pro Sunningdale

Elections

=2007=

=1996 Forum=

Successful candidates are shown in bold. [ [http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/96sb.htm 1996 Candidates - South Belfast] , Northern Ireland Elections]

=1973=

References