Belfast West (UK Parliament constituency)

For other constituencies of the same name, see Belfast West.

Belfast West
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
200px Boundary of Belfast West in Northern Ireland.
Districts of Northern Ireland	Belfast, Lisburn
Electorate	60,817 (March 2011)
Major settlements	Belfast
Current constituency
Created	1922
Member of parliament	Paul Maskey (Sinn Féin)
Number of members	One
Created from	Belfast Falls, Belfast St Anne's and Belfast Woodvale
1885–1918
Number of members	One
Type of constituency	Borough constituency
Replaced by	Belfast Falls, Belfast St Anne's and Belfast Woodvale
Created from	Belfast
Overlaps
European Parliament constituency	Northern Ireland

Belfast West is a parliamentary constituency in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.

Boundaries

1950-1974: The County Borough of Belfast wards of Court, Falls, St Anne's, St George's, Smithfield, and Woodvale.

1974-1983: The County Borough of Belfast wards of Court, Falls, St Anne's, St George's, Smithfield, and Woodvale; and the Rural District of Lisburn electoral divisions of Andersonstown, Ballygammon, and Ladybrook.

1983-1997: The District of Belfast wards of Andersonstown, Ballygomartin, Central, Clonard, Court, Falls, Grosvenor, Highfield, Ladybrook, Milltown, North Howard, St James, Suffolk, and Whiterock.

1997-2010: The District of Belfast wards of Andersonstown, Beechmount, Clonard, Falls, Falls Park, Glencairn, Glencolin, Glen Road, Highfield, Ladybrook, Shankill, Upper Springfield, and Whiterock; and the District of Lisburn wards of Collin Glen, Kilwee, Poleglass, and Twinbrook.

2010-present: The District of Belfast wards of Andersonstown, Beechmount, Clonard, Falls, Falls Park, Glencairn, Glencolin, Glen Road, Highfield, Ladybrook, Shankill, Upper Springfield, and Whiterock; and the District of Lisburn City wards of Collin Glen, Dunmurry, Kilwee, Poleglass, Twinbrook, and part of Derryaghy.

The seat was restored in 1922 (having been abolished for the 1918 general election) when as part of the establishment of the devolved Stormont Parliament for Northern Ireland, the number of MPs in the Westminster Parliament was drastically cut. In 1983 the Sandy Row and Donegall Road areas were removed leaving a seat centred on the west section of Belfast, though between 1983 and 1997 it included the area around the Docks on the north east side of the Lagan Estuary. Belfast West also contains part of the city of Lisburn district in the shape of the Poleglass and Twinbrook estates.

Prior to the 2010 general election, boundary changes added the Dunmurry ward and the northern part of Derriaghy ward to this seat. Following public consultation, the proposals were passed through Parliament via the Northern Ireland Parliamentary Constituencies Order. In an unprecedented move by a Boundary Commission, an electoral ward was split between constituencies following disquiet in parts of Derriaghy. This ward is now split between Belfast West and Lagan Valley.

History

Belfast West has historically been the most nationalist of Belfast's four constituencies, though it is only in the last few decades that the votes for unionist parties have plunged to tiny levels. The constituency is largely made of a long, slender, belt along the Falls Road and its suburban extensions, with three of the five wards from the staunchly unionist Shankill area now something of a bolt-on, with a several kilometre long peace line dividing them from the rest of the constituency. There is also a smaller Protestant enclave at Suffolk.

Unsurprisingly, the tenor of the constituency is largely working class and in the 1991 census it was one of only twenty constituencies where the majority of housing was still state owned. Although there are now large pockets of middle-class housing in Andersonstown and other suburban parts of the seat. Closer to the centre public-sector terraced housing, both Victorian and high quality modern housing, predominates, while in the suburbs, leafy pockets are scattered among post-War housing estates such as Lenadoon and Twinbrook.

The Westminster constituency was consistently held by the Ulster Unionist Party but always had strong Labour movement sympathies. In the UK general election, 1923, the Belfast Labour Party came within 1,000 votes of taking the seat. A by-election in 1943 was won by Jack Beattie, standing for the Northern Ireland Labour Party. For the next twenty-three years the seat would regularly change from unionist to nationalist/labour, with the latter represented by a variety of parties.

In the 1966 general election the seat was won by Gerry Fitt of the Republican Labour Party. Later in 1970 he left that party to become a founder and first leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party. In the February 1974 general election, Belfast West was the only constituency in Northern Ireland to elect an MP supporting the Sunningdale Agreement. Fitt's majority was a narrow 2180 votes in February 1974 primarily due to the candidature of Albert Price, father of the Price sisters who were in prison in England for PIRA related offences. However the candidacy of a UVF backed candidate in October 1974 and a declining Unionist vote in 1979 led to him increasing his majorities in subsequent years. He retained the seat for the next nine years but increasingly distanced himself from nationalist groups and in late 1979 he left the SDLP altogether. He sat as an independent socialist but lost his seat in the 1983 when it was won by Gerry Adams of Sinn Féin. The Unionist vote which had still been at 30% in the 1982 Assembly elections was cut to 20% as a result of the 1983 boundary changes which, while adding the loyalist Glencairn area, removed the Donegall Road, Sandy Row and added the Nationalist Lenadoon area.

Adams' share of the vote, at 37%, was short of a majority and he achieved victory only due to Fitt and the SDLP candidate splitting the non-Sinn Féin vote. In 1987 Adams narrowly held his seat, but lost it in the 1992 general election amidst a strong tactical voting campaign in favour of Joe Hendron of the Social Democratic and Labour Party by unionists in the Shankill Road area of the constituency. After the election a constituent, Maura McCrory, lodged an election petition challenging the result. The election court reported Hendron personally guilty of the illegal practice of failing to deliver a declaration verifying the return of his election expenses, and guilty through his election agent of failing to deliver a verified return of election expenses within 35 days, exceeding the maximum spending by £782.02, and failing to pay all the expenses within 28 days. Hendron's agent was also reported personally guilty of distributing election material without the name and address of the printer and publisher. The Judges granted both Hendron and his agent relief from their findings, on the grounds that the law had been broken through inadvertence; they therefore certified that Hendron had been duly elected.

In the mid-1990s the Boundary Commission originally suggested removing the Shankill wards from the constituency and replacing them with about half of the Belfast South constituency namely the 6 wards of the Balmoral Electoral Area and the Shaftesbury ward, effectively transforming the seat into a Belfast South West constituency.

The subsequent local enquiries were bitterly contested with the SDLP favouring the commission's original proposals which would add an area where Sinn Féin had little support (and aside from the Shaftesbury ward, had not contested in council elections), while Sinn Féin argued instead for adding the mostly republican Twinbrook and Poleglass estates (where they were outpolling the SDLP in council elections by a margin of 3 to 1). With all parties except the SDLP supporting an option of retaining four seats in Belfast the latter option became the commissions final proposals and the Shankill wards remained in the constituency.

The boundary changes, coupled with the IRA ceasefire, meant that support for Sinn Féin in the constituency soared to new levels and in all elections held in the seat since 1996 they have taken over 50% of the vote. In 1997 Adams regained the seat and held it in 2001, 2005 and 2010. In 2011, Adams decided to stand in the 2011 Republic of Ireland general election and vacated his seat.

Members of Parliament

The Member of Parliament since a 2011 by-election is Paul Maskey of Sinn Féin, who succeeded Gerry Adams, the party president. Adams previously held the seat from 1983 to 1992 when he lost it to Joe Hendron of the Social Democratic and Labour Party but regained it in 1997.

In November 2010, Adams announced his intention to contest the imminent election in the Republic of Ireland. Although the Disqualifications Act 2000 permits MPs to sit in Dáil Éireann, he submitted a letter of resignation to the Speaker in January 2011. However, the prescribed procedure for vacating a parliamentary seat involves applying for the post of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead, which he had "no intention" of doing. Thus he was still considered to hold the seat. On 26 January, HM Treasury announced that Adams had been appointed as Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead. The Prime Minister, David Cameron claim that Adams had applied for the appointment, but this was later clarified to state that although he had not requested the appointment. Adams stated the Prime Minister's private secretary had apologised to him for making the announcement that Adams had 'accepted' the position, when in fact Adams resignation letter was taken to be a request to be so appointed, whatever his own wishes.

Monument to James Horner Haslett, MP & Mayor of Belfast, grounds of Belfast City Hall

Election		Member	Party
	1885	James Horner Haslett	Conservative
	1886	Thomas Sexton	Irish Parliamentary
	1890		Irish National Federation
	1892	H. O. Arnold-Forster	Liberal Unionist
	1906	Joseph Devlin	Irish Parliamentary
1918		constituency abolished
1922		constituency recreated
	1922	Robert Lynn	Ulster Unionist
	1929	W. E. D. Allen	Ulster Unionist
	1931		New Party
	1931	Alexander Browne	Ulster Unionist
	1943 by-election	Jack Beattie	Labour (NI)
	1943		Independent Labour
	1945		Federation of Labour
	1949		Irish Labour
	1950	James MacManaway	Ulster Unionist
	1950 by-election	Thomas Teevan	Ulster Unionist
	1951	Jack Beattie	Irish Labour
	1955	Patricia McLaughlin	Ulster Unionist
	1964	James Kilfedder	Ulster Unionist
	1966	Gerry Fitt	Republican Labour
	1970		Social Democratic and Labour
	1979		Independent
	1983	Gerry Adams	Sinn Féin
	1992	Joe Hendron	Social Democratic and Labour
	1997	Gerry Adams	Sinn Féin
	2011 by-election	Paul Maskey	Sinn Féin

Election results

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2015: Belfast West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Sinn Féin	Paul Maskey	19,163	54.2	-16.4
	People Before Profit	Gerry Carroll	6,798	19.2	+11.6
	SDLP	Alex Attwood	3,475	9.8	-3.7
	DUP	Frank McCoubrey	2,773	7.8	+1.7
	UUP	Bill Manwaring	1,088	3.1	+1.4
	UKIP	Brian Higginson	765	2.2	N/A
	Alliance	Gerard Catney	636	1.8	+1.3
	Workers' Party	John Lowry	597	1.7	N/A
	NI Conservatives	Paul Shea	34	0.1	N/A
Majority			12,365	35.0	-19.7
Turnout			35,329	56.3	+2.3
	Sinn Féin hold		Swing	-14.0

Changes above relate to the by-election in 2011 except for the turnout where the comparison is with the General Election in 2010.

Belfast West by-election, 2011

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Sinn Féin	Paul Maskey	16,211	70.6	−0.5
	SDLP	Alex Attwood	3,088	13.5	−2.9
	People Before Profit	Gerry Carroll	1,751	7.6	N/A
	DUP	Brian Kingston	1,393	6.1	−1.5
	UUP	Bill Manwaring	386	1.7	−1.4
	Alliance	Aaron McIntyre	122	0.5	−1.4
Majority			13,123	57.1	+2.4
Turnout			22,951	37.5	−16.5
	Sinn Féin hold		Swing	+1.2

General Election 2010: Belfast West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Sinn Féin	Gerry Adams	22,840	71.1	+2.5
	SDLP	Alex Attwood	5,261	16.4	+0.3
	DUP	William Humphrey	2,436	7.6	−3.3
	UCU-NF	Bill Manwaring	1,000	3.1	+0.6
	Alliance	Maíre Hendron	596	1.9	+1.8
Majority			17,579	54.7	−1.2
Turnout			32,133	54.0	−13.5
	Sinn Féin hold		Swing	+1.1

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Belfast West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Sinn Féin	Gerry Adams	24,348	70.5	+4.4
	SDLP	Alex Attwood	5,033	14.6	−4.3
	DUP	Diane Dodds	3,652	10.6	+4.2
	UUP	Chris McGimpsey	779	2.3	−3.9
	Workers' Party	John Lowry	432	1.3	−0.5
	Rainbow Dream Ticket	Lynda Gilby	154	0.4	+0.2
	Independent	Liam Kennedy	147	0.4	+0.4
Majority			19,315	55.9	+8.7
Turnout			34,545	64.2	−4.5
	Sinn Féin hold		Swing	+4.4

General Election 2001: Belfast West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Sinn Féin	Gerry Adams	27,096	66.1	+10.2
	SDLP	Alex Attwood	7,754	18.9	−19.8
	DUP	Eric Smyth	2,641	6.4	N/A
	UUP	Chris McGimpsey	2,541	6.2	+2.8
	Workers' Party	John Lowry	736	1.8	+0.2
	Third Way	David Kerr	116	0.3	N/A
	Rainbow Dream Ticket	Rainbow George Weiss	98	0.2	N/A
Majority			19,342	47.2
Turnout			40,982	68.7	−5.5
	Sinn Féin hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Belfast West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Sinn Féin	Gerry Adams	25,662	55.9	+13.9
	SDLP	Joe Hendron	17,753	38.7	−5.5
	UUP	Fred Parkinson	1,556	3.4	−8.2
	Workers' Party	John Lowry	721	1.6	N/A
	Human Rights	Liam Kennedy	102	0.2	N/A
	Natural Law	Mary Daly	91	0.2	N/A
Majority			7,909	17.2
Turnout			45,885	74.3
	Sinn Féin gain from SDLP		Swing

1997 Changes are compared to the 1992 notional results shown below.

Notional 1992 UK General Election Result : Belfast West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SDLP	N/A	20,045	44.2	N/A
	Sinn Féin	N/A	19,027	42.0	N/A
	UUP	N/A	5,275	11.6	N/A
	Others	N/A	975	2.2	N/A
Majority			1,018	2.3	N/A

General Election 1992: Belfast West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SDLP	Joe Hendron	17,415	43.6	+7.9
	Sinn Féin	Gerry Adams	16,826	42.1	+1.0
	UUP	Fred Cobain	4,766	11.9	−6.8
	Workers' Party	John Lowry	750	1.9	−2.5
	Natural Law	Michael F. Kennedy	213	0.5	N/A
Majority			589	1.7	−3.7
Turnout			34,545	73.2	+4.1
	SDLP gain from Sinn Féin		Swing

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Belfast West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Sinn Féin	Gerry Adams	16,862	41.1	+2.1
	SDLP	Joe Hendron	14,641	35.7	+9.4
	UUP	Frank Millar	7,646	18.7	+12.9
	Workers' Party	Mary McMahon	1,819	4.4	−0.1
Majority			2,221	5.4	−7.6
Turnout			40,968	69.1	−1.1
	Sinn Féin hold		Swing

General Election 1983: Belfast West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Sinn Féin	Gerry Adams	16,379	36.9	N/A
	SDLP	Joe Hendron	10,934	24.6	−14.4
	Independent Socialist	Gerry Fitt	10,326	23.3	N/A
	UUP	Thomas Passmore	2,435	5.5	−19.0
	DUP	George Albert Haffey	2,399	5.4	−5.8
	Workers' Party	Mary McMahon	1,893	4.3	−2.4
Majority			5,445	12.3	−11.7
Turnout			44,366	74.3	+13.7
	Sinn Féin gain from SDLP		Swing

Following the 1979 election, Fitt became increasingly at odds with the SDLP and left it, continuing to sit as an independent socialist.

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1979: Belfast West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SDLP	Gerry Fitt	16,480	49.5	+0.5
	UUP	Thomas Passmore	8,245	24.8	N/A
	DUP	Billy Dickson	3,716	11.2	−25.3
	Republican Clubs	Brian Brennan	2,284	6.9	−1.1
	Alliance	John Cousins	2,024	6.1	N/A
	NI Labour	Derek Peters	540	1.6	N/A
Majority			8,235	24.7	+12.2
Turnout			33,289	56.5	−10.7
	SDLP hold		Swing

General Election October 1974: Belfast West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SDLP	Gerry Fitt	21,821	49.0	+8.0
	DUP	John McQuade	16,265	36.5	0.0
	Republican Clubs	Kitty O'Kane	3,547	8.0	+ 1.5
	Volunteer Political Party	Ken Gibson	2,690	6.0	N/A
	Marxist-Leninist (Ireland)	Peter Kerins	203	0.5	N/A
Majority			5,556	12.5	+ 8.3
Turnout				67.2	– 4.3
	SDLP hold		Swing

General Election February 1974: Belfast West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SDLP	Gerry Fitt	19,554	41.0	N/A
	DUP	John McQuade	17,374	36.5
	Independent Republican	Albert Price	5,662	11.9	N/A
	Republican Clubs	John Brady	3,088	6.5	N/A
	NI Labour	Billy Boyd	1,989	4.2	N/A
Majority			2,180	4.6	– 0.9
Turnout				71.5	– 13.0
	SDLP gain from Republican Labour		Swing

After the 1970 election Fitt left the Republican Labour Party to cofound the Social Democratic & Labour Party. The remains of Republican Labour had disintegrated by 1974.

General Election 1970: Belfast West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican Labour	Gerry Fitt	30,649	52.8	+ 0.8
	UUP	Brian McRoberts	27,451	47.3	– 0.7
Majority			3,198	5.5	+ 1.4
Turnout				84.5	+ 9.7
	Republican Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1966: Belfast West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican Labour	Gerry Fitt	26,292	52.0	+ 23.7
	UUP	James Kilfedder	24,281	48.0	+ 6.8
Majority			2,011	4.1	– 8.7
Turnout				74.8	+ 0.1
	Republican Labour gain from UUP		Swing

General Election 1964: Belfast West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	James Kilfedder	21,337	41.2	– 12.9
	Republican Labour	Harry Diamond	14,678	28.3	N/A
	NI Labour	Billy Boyd	12,579	24.3	N/A
	Independent Republican	Billy McMillen	3,256	6.3	N/A
Majority			6,659	12.8	– 3.8
Turnout				74.7	+ 2.0
	UUP hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1959: Belfast West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	Patricia McLaughlin	28,898	54.1	– 4.2
	Ind. Labour Group	John Joseph Brennan	20,062	37.6	N/A
	Sinn Féin	Thomas Heenan	4,416	8.3	– 6.1
Majority			8,836	16.6	– 14.3
Turnout				72.7	– 2.0
	UUP hold		Swing

General Election 1955: Belfast West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	Patricia McLaughlin	34,191	58.3	+ 8.3
	Irish Labour	Jack Beattie	20,062	27.4	– 22.6
	Sinn Féin	Eamonn Boyce	8,447	14.4	N/A
Majority			18,141	30.9	+ 30.9
Turnout				74.7	– 9.4
	UUP gain from Irish Labour		Swing

General Election 1951: Belfast West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Labour	Jack Beattie	33,174	50.0	+ 3.7
	UUP	Thomas Teevan	33,149	50.0	– 1.5
Majority			25	0.0	– 5.2
Turnout				84.1	+ 0.5
	Irish Labour gain from UUP		Swing

Belfast West by-election, 1950

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	Thomas Teevan	31,796	50.8	– 0.7
	Irish Labour	Jack Beattie	30,833	49.2	+ 2.9
Majority			913	1.5	– 4.0
Turnout			62,629
	UUP hold		Swing

General Election 1950: Belfast West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	James Godfrey MacManaway	33,917	51.5	+ 5.0
	Irish Labour	Jack Beattie	30,539	46.3	– 7.2
	Sinn Féin	Jimmy Steele	1,482	2.2	N/A
Majority			3,378	5.2	– 1.8
Turnout				83.6	+ 10.5
	UUP gain from Independent		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

General Election 1945: Belfast West
Electorate 80,641

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Labour	Jack Beattie	30,787	53.5	N/A
	UUP	Knox Cunningham	26,729	46.5	– 16.1
Majority			4,058	7.0	– 18.2
Turnout			57,516	73.1	+ 5.1
	Independent Labour gain from UUP		Swing

Belfast West by-election, 1943

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	NI Labour	Jack Beattie	19,936	46.2	N/A
	UUP	Knox Cunningham	14,426	33.4	– 29.2
	Ind. Unionist Association	William McConnell Wilton	7,551	17.5	N/A
	Independent Republican	H. C. Corvin	1,250	2.9	– 34.5
Majority			5,510	12.8	– 12.4
Turnout				54.8	– 13.2
	NI Labour gain from UUP		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1935: Belfast West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	Alexander Browne	34,060	62.6	+ 4.0
	Independent Republican	Charles Leddy	20,313	37.4	– 4.0
Majority			13,747	25.2	+ 8.0
Turnout				68.0	– 0.1
	UUP hold		Swing

General Election 1931: Belfast West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	Alexander Browne	31,113	58.6	+ 0.7
	Nationalist	Thomas Joseph Campbell	22,006	41.4	– 0.7
Majority			9,107	17.2	+ 1.4
Turnout				68.1	– 5.8
	UUP hold		Swing

Note: The sitting MP, W.E.D. Allen, had joined the New Party earlier in 1931 but did not contest the seat at the general election.

Elections in the 1920s

General Election 1929: Belfast West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	William Edward David Allen	33,274	57.9	+ 3.4
	Independent Republican	Frank C.J. MacDermot	24,177	42.1	N/A
Majority			9,097	15.8	+ 1.7
Turnout				73.9	– 5.2
	UUP hold		Swing	n/a

General Election 1924: Belfast West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	Robert Lynn	28,435	54.5	+ 1.6
	NI Labour	Harry Midgley	21,122	40.4	– 3.7
	Sinn Féin	Patrick Nash	2,688	5.1	N/A
Majority			7,313	14.1	+ 8.3
Turnout				79.1	+ 8.8
	UUP hold		Swing

General Election 1923: Belfast West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	Robert Lynn	24,975	52.9	N/A
	Belfast Labour	Harry Midgley	22,255	47.1	N/A
Majority			2,720	5.8	N/A
Turnout				70.3	N/A
	UUP hold		Swing

General Election 1922: Belfast West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	Robert Lynn	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	UUP hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1910s

General Election December 1910: Belfast West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Joseph Devlin	4,543	52.7	-0.2
	Liberal Unionist	John Boyd Carpenter	4,080	47.3	+1.1
Majority			463	5.4	-1.3
Turnout			8,623	93.4	-1.8
	Irish Parliamentary hold		Swing

General Election January 1910: Belfast West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Joseph Devlin	4,651	52.9	+3.7
	Liberal Unionist	John Boyd Carpenter	4,064	46.2	-2.8
	Independent Nationalist	Patrick J. Magee	75	0.9	N/A
Majority			587	6.7	+6.5
Turnout			8,790	95.2	+0.6
	Irish Parliamentary hold		Swing

Elections in the 1900s

General Election 1906: Belfast West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Joseph Devlin	4,138	49.2	N/A
	Liberal Unionist	J. R. Smiley	4,122	49.0	N/A
	Ind. Liberal Unionist	Alexander Carlisle	153	1.8	N/A
Majority			16	0.2	N/A
Turnout			8,413	94.6	N/A
	Irish Parliamentary gain from Liberal Unionist		Swing

Belfast West by-election, 1903: Belfast West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	H. O. Arnold-Forster	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Liberal Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 1900: Belfast West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	H. O. Arnold-Forster	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Liberal Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1890s

General Election 1895: Belfast West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	H. O. Arnold-Forster	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Liberal Unionist hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 1892: Belfast West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	H. O. Arnold-Forster	4,266	55.5	N/A
	Irish National Federation	Thomas Sexton	3,427	44.5	-6.2
Majority			839	10.9	+9.6
Turnout			7,693
	Liberal Unionist gain from Irish Parliamentary		Swing

Elections in the 1880s

General Election 1886: Belfast West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Parliamentary	Thomas Sexton	3,832	50.7	+0.9
	Conservative	James Horner Haslett	3,729	49.3	-0.9
Majority			103	1.3	+0.8
Turnout			7,561
	Irish Parliamentary gain from Conservative		Swing

General Election 1885: Belfast West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Horner Haslett	3,778	50.2	N/A
	Irish Parliamentary	Thomas Sexton	3,743	49.8	N/A
Majority			35	0.5	N/A
Turnout			7,521		N/A
	Conservative hold		Swing

See also

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Northern Ireland

Further reading

• F. W. S. Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918 – 1949
• F. W. S. Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1950 – 1970
• The Liberal Year Book For 1917, Liberal Publication Department
• The Constitutional Year Book For 1912, Conservative Central Office
• The Constitutional Year Book For 1894, Conservative Central Office

External links

• Guardian Unlimited Politics (Election results from 1992 to the present)
• http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/ (Election results from 1951 to the present)
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 2) (Complete list of MPs)