2019 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland

On 12 December 2019, the 2019 United Kingdom general election was held in Northern Ireland, to elect all 650 members of the House of Commons, including the 18 Northern Ireland seats.

1,293,971 people were eligible to vote, up 51,273 from the 2017 general election. 62.09% of eligible voters turned out, down 3.5 percentage points from the last general election. For the first time in history, nationalist parties won more seats than unionist parties.

Electoral system MPs were elected in 18 Single Member constituencies by first-past-the-post.

Background The election was called on 29 October 2019 under the Early Parliamentary General Election Act 2019. At the 2017 election, the nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) lost all of their seats. The DUP won 10 seats, Sinn Féin won 7 seats, and Independent Unionist Sylvia Hermon was also elected. The election ended in a hung parliament, and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) signed a confidence and supply agreement with the Conservative Party.

In 2018, Sinn Féin MP for West Tyrone, Barry McElduff, resigned after a social media post he made caused controversy regarding perceived sectarianism on the Kingsmill massacre. The party won a by-election later, but with a plurality instead of a majority.

In the 2019 European Parliament election, Sinn Féin, the DUP, and the Alliance Party each won a seat.

Participating parties 102 candidates stood in the general election. The Alliance Party was the only party standing in all 18 seats. The DUP stood in 17 seats, the UUP in 16, and both Sinn Féin and the SDLP in 15 seats. Aontú stood in 7 seats, the Northern Ireland Conservatives in 4, the Green Party of Northern Ireland in 3, and People Before Profit and the UK Independence Party in 2. Traditional Unionist Voice did not stand in this election. There were also three independent candidates. Sylvia Hermon did not contest this election.

Sinn Féin operates on an all-Ireland basis. Their MPs in Westminster practice abstentionism, meaning they do not take their seats in the House of Commons. Aontú, who like Sinn Féin are an abstentionist all-Ireland party, was formed in January 2019.

Opinion polling

Pollster/client(s) Date(s)conducted Samplesize DUP SF SDLP UUP Alliance Green Other Lead 2019 general election 12 Dec 2019 – 30.6% 22.8% 14.9% 11.7% 16.8% 0.2% 3.1% 7.8% Lucid Talk/Remain United 27–30 Nov 2019 2,422 30% 25% 13% 11% 16% 0% 5% 5% 9 November 2019 Steve Aiken officially becomes leader of the Ulster Unionist PartyLucid Talk/Remain United 30 Oct–1 Nov 2019 2,386 28% 24% 14% 9% 16% 1% 8% 4%Lucid Talk 9–12 Aug 20192,302 29% 25% 8% 9% 21% 1% 7% 4% 21 November 2018 Clare Bailey officially becomes leader of NI Green Party Survation/Channel 4 20 Oct–2 Nov 2018 555 31% 27% 11% 15% 12% – 4% 4% 3 May 2018 West Tyrone by-election 10 Feb 2018 Mary Lou McDonald becomes leader of Sinn Féin 2017 general election 8 Jun 2017 – 36.0% 29.4% 11.7% 10.3% 7.9% 0.9% 3.7% 6.6%

Results

+PartySeatsAggregate Votes Total Gains LossesNet +/-Of all (%)Total Of all (%)Difference 8 0 2 2 44.4 244,128 30.6 5.4 7 1 1 38.9 181,853 22.8 6.7 2 2 0 2 11.1 118,737 14.9 3.1 1 1 0 1 5.6 134,115 16.8 8.8 0 0 0 0.0 93,123 11.7 1.4 0 0 0 0.0 9,814 1.2 New 0 0 0 0.0 7,526 0.9 0.2 0 0 0 0.0 5,433 0.7 0.2 0 0 0 0.0 1,996 0.2 0.7 0 0 1 1 0.0 1,687 0.2 1.8 0 0 0 0.0 623 0.1 New Total 18 799,035 61.8 3.6

Results by constituency

Constituency 2017result2019 winning party Turnout VotesParty Votes Share Majority DUP SF APNI SDLP UUP Con Grn Other Total Belfast EastDUP DUP 20,874 49.2% 1,819 64.1% 20,874 19,055 2,516 42,445 Belfast North DUP SF 23,078 47.1% 1,943 67.9% 21,135 23,078 4,824 49,037 Belfast South DUP SDLP 27,079 57.2% 15,401 67.7% 11,678 6,786 27,079 1,259 550 47,352 Belfast West SF SF 20,866 53.8% 14,672 59.1% 5,220 20,866 1,882 2,985 7,829 38,782 East Antrim DUP DUP 16,871 45.3% 6,706 57.5% 16,871 2,120 10,165 902 5,475 1,043 685 37,261 East Londonderry DUPDUP 15,765 40.1% 9,607 56.8% 15,765 6,128 5,921 6,158 3,599 1,731 39,302 Fermanagh and South Tyrone SFSF 21,986 43.3% 57 69.7% 21,986 2,650 3,446 21,929 751 50,762 Foyle SFSDLP 26,881 57.0% 17,110 63.4% 4,773 9,771 1,267 26,881 1,088 3,364 47,143 Lagan Valley DUPDUP 19,586 43.1% 6,499 60.0% 19,586 1,098 13,087 1,758 8,606 955 315 45,405 Mid Ulster SFSF 20,473 45.9% 9,537 63.3% 10,936 20,473 3,526 6,384 2,611 690 44,620 Newry and Armagh SFSF 20,287 40.0% 9,287 62.5% 11,000 20,287 4,211 9,449 4,204 1,628 50,779 North Antrim DUPDUP 20,860 47.4% 12,721 57.1% 20,860 5,632 6,231 2,943 8,139 246 44,051 North Down IndAPNI 18,358 45.2% 2,968 60.6% 15,390 18,358 4,936 1,959 40,643 South Antrim DUPDUP 15,149 35.3% 2,689 59.9% 15,149 4,887 8,190 2,288 12,460 42,974 South Down SFSF 16,137 32.4% 1,620 62.9% 7,619 16,137 6,916 14,517 3,307 1,266 49,762 Strangford DUPDUP 17,705 47.2% 7,071 56.0% 17,705 555 10,634 1,994 4,023 1,476 790 308 37,485 Upper Bann DUPDUP 20,501 41.0% 8,210 60.4% 20,501 12,291 6,433 4,623 6,197 50,045 West Tyrone SFSF 16,544 40.2% 7,478 62.2% 9,066 16,544 3,979 7,330 2,774 521 972 41,186 Total for all constituencies Turnout TotalDUPSFAPNISDLPUUPConGrn Other Votes 61.8% 244,128 181,853 134,115 118,737 93,123 5,433 1,996 19,650 799,035 30.6% 22.8% 16.8% 14.9% 11.7% 0.7% 0.2% 2.5% 100.0% Seats 8 7 1 2 0 0 0 0 18 44% 39% 6% 11% 0% 0% 0% 0% 100.0%

Notes

See also 2019 United Kingdom general election in England 2019 United Kingdom general election in Scotland 2019 United Kingdom general election in Wales

References

External links Manifestos: Alliance Aontú election broadcast DUP SDLP UUP