East Tyrone (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)

Northern Ireland Parliament constituency infobox
Name = East Tyrone


Type = County
Start = 1929
End = 1972
EM = First past the post

East Tyrone was a constituency of the Northern Ireland Parliament.

Boundaries

East Tyrone was a county constituency comprising the eastern part of County Tyrone. It was created in when the House of Commons (Method of Voting and Redistribution of Seats) Act (Northern Ireland) 1929 introduced first past the post elections throughout Northern Ireland. East Tyrone was created by the division of Fermanagh and Tyrone into eight new constituencies, of which five were in County Tyrone. The constituency survived unchanged, returning one member of Parliament, until the Northern Ireland Parliament was prorogued in 1972 and formally abolished in 1973. [http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/hnihoc.htm The Northern Ireland House of Commons, 1921-1972] , Northern Ireland Elections]

The main town in the area was Cookstown. The seat was bordered by Mid Tyrone to the West, South Tyrone to the South, South Londonderry to the North and Lough Neagh to the east.

Politics

County Tyrone had five Stormont MPs between 1929 and 1972. Mid Tyrone and West Tyrone were strongly Nationalist, while the constiuencies covering the North and South of the county were consistently won by Unionists. East Tyrone was strongly marginal between the two traditions, with Nationalists just outnumbering Unionists. Nationalists consistently won the seat, with majorities around 1,000. However, in the 1958 election, the sitting Nationalist MP, Joseph Francis Stewart, was run pretty close by the area's Westminster MP George Forrest (Ulster Unionist MP for Mid Ulster 1956-1969).

Members of Parliament

Election results

At the 1929, 1933 general elections, Joseph Francis Stewart was elected unopposed.

Election box candidate with party link
party = Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland)
candidate = Joseph Francis Stewart
votes = 7,942
percentage = 54.0
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Ulster Unionist Party
candidate = D. G. Kennedy
votes = 6,764
percentage = 46.0
change = "N/A"Election box majority
votes = 1,178
percentage = 8.0
change = "N/A"Election box turnout
votes = 14,706
percentage = 89.5
change = "N/A"Election box hold with party link
winner = Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland)
swing = "N/A"

At the 1945 election J F Stewart was elected unopposed.

Election box candidate with party link
party = Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland)
candidate = Joseph Francis Stewart
votes = 7,443
percentage = 54.9
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Ulster Unionist Party
candidate = S. Miller
votes = 6,122
percentage = 45.1
change = "N/A"Election box majority
votes = 1,321
percentage = 9.8
change = +1.8Election box turnout
votes = 13,565
percentage = 86.1
change = "N/A"Election box hold with party link
winner = Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland)
swing = "N/A"

At the 1953 election, Joseph Francis Stewart was elected unopposed.

Election box candidate with party link
party = Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland)
candidate = Joseph Francis Stewart
votes = 7,336
percentage = 50.8
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Ulster Unionist Party
candidate = George Forrest
votes = 7,100
percentage = 49.2
change = "N/A"Election box majority
votes = 236
percentage = 1.6
change = "N/A"Election box turnout
votes = 14,436
percentage = 89.1
change = "N/A"Election box hold with party link
winner = Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland)
swing = "N/A"

Election box candidate with party link
party = Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland)
candidate = Joseph Francis Stewart
votes = 7,768
percentage = 52.8
change = +2.0Election box candidate with party link
party = Ulster Unionist Party
candidate = R. Vaughan
votes = 6,953
percentage = 47.2
change = -2.0Election box majority
votes = 815
percentage = 5.6
change = +4.0Election box turnout
votes = 14,721
percentage = 88.0
change = -1.1Election box hold with party link
winner = Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland)
swing = +2.0

Stewart died on 6th May 1964.

Election box candidate with party link
party = Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland)
candidate = Austin Currie
votes = 8,223
percentage = 54.3
change = +1.5Election box candidate with party link
party = Ulster Unionist Party
candidate = Alexander Blevins
votes = 6,927
percentage = 45.7
change = -1.5Election box majority
votes = 1,296
percentage = 8.6
change = +3.0Election box turnout
votes = 15,150
percentage = 89.7
change = +1.7Election box hold with party link
winner = Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland)
swing = +1.5

At the 1965 election, Austin Currie was elected unopposed.

Election box candidate with party link
party = Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland)
candidate = Austin Currie
votes = 9,065
percentage = 58.2
change = "N/A"Election box candidate with party link
party = Ulster Unionist Party
candidate = E. R. Curran
votes = 6,501
percentage = 47.2
change = -3.9Election box majority
votes = 2,564
percentage = 16.4
change = +7.8Election box turnout
votes = 14,721
percentage = 88.0
change = -1.1Election box hold with party link
winner = Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland)
swing = +3.9

The Northern Ireland Parliament was prorouged in 1972 and formally abolished in 1973.

References