Queen's University of Belfast (UK Parliament constituency)
Template:Short description Template:Distinguish Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Hiberno-English Template:Infobox UK constituency main
Queen's University of Belfast was a university constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Parliament from the 1918 general election until 1950 general election.
It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) elected by the first-past-the-post voting system.
Franchise
The MP was elected by the graduates of Queen's University Belfast; male graduates aged over 21 and female graduates aged over 30 were eligible to vote in this constituency.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
First Dáil
After the 1918 election, Sinn Féin invited all those elected for constituencies in Ireland to sit as TDs in Dáil Éireann rather than in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> All those elected for Irish constituencies were included in the roll of the Dáil but only those elected for Sinn Féin sat in the First Dáil.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In May 1921, the Dáil passed a resolution declaring that elections to the House of Commons of Northern Ireland and the House of Commons of Southern Ireland would be used as the election for the Second Dáil and that the First Dáil would be dissolved on the assembly of the new body.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The graduates of Queen's would then have been represented in the Dáil by the four-seat constituency of Queen's University of Belfast, which also returned no representatives for Sinn Féin.
Members of Parliament
| Election | Member <ref name="rayment">Template:Rayment-hc</ref> | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| rowspan="3" style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" | | 1918 | William Whitla | Ulster Unionist |
| 1923 | Thomas Sinclair | ||
| 1940 by-election | Douglas Lloyd Savory | ||
| 1950 | constituency abolished | ||
Politics and History of the constituency
University constituencies had existed in the United Kingdom Parliament and its predecessors since 1603 and in 1918 Queen's was enfranchised as such. When the Parliament of Northern Ireland was established, the same franchise was preserved - see Queen's University of Belfast (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency).
As with most other Northern Ireland seats in this period, the electorate was heavily inclined towards the Ulster Unionists, with no contests for the Westminster seat taking place at all in the interwar years.
Under the Representation of the People Act 1948, university constituencies at Westminster were abolished with effect at the 1950 United Kingdom general election.
Election results
Template:Election box begin Template:Election box winning candidate with party link Template:Election box candidate with party link Template:Election box majority Template:Election box turnout Template:Election box new seat win Template:Election box end
<ref name="walker1978">Template:Cite book</ref>
Template:Election box begin Template:Election box winning candidate unopposed with party link Template:Election box hold with party link no swing Template:Election box end
<ref name="craig1918-1949">Template:Cite book</ref> <ref name="walker1992">Template:Cite book</ref>
Template:Election box begin Template:Election box winning candidate unopposed with party link Template:Election box hold with party link no swing Template:Election box end
<ref name="craig1918-1949" /><ref name="walker-p16">Walker, Parliamentary election results in Ireland, 1918–1992, page 16</ref>
Template:Election box begin Template:Election box winning candidate unopposed with party link Template:Election box hold with party link no swing Template:Election box end
<ref name="craig1918-1949" /><ref name="walker-p16" />
Template:Election box begin Template:Election box winning candidate unopposed with party link Template:Election box hold with party link no swing Template:Election box end
<ref name="craig1918-1949" /><ref>Walker, Parliamentary election results in Ireland, 1918–1992, page 17</ref>
Template:Election box begin Template:Election box winning candidate unopposed with party link Template:Election box hold with party link no swing Template:Election box end
<ref name="craig1918-1949" /><ref>Walker, Parliamentary election results in Ireland, 1918–1992, page 18</ref>
Template:Election box begin Template:Election box winning candidate unopposed with party link Template:Election box hold with party link no swing Template:Election box end
<ref name="craig1918-1949" /><ref name="walker-p19">Walker, Parliamentary election results in Ireland, 1918–1992, page 19</ref>
Resignation of Sinclair
Template:Election box begin Template:Election box winning candidate unopposed with party link Template:Election box hold with party link no swing Template:Election box end
<ref name="craig1918-1949" /><ref name="walker-p19" />
Template:Election box begin Template:Election box winning candidate with party link Template:Election box candidate with party link Template:Election box majority Template:Election box turnout Template:Election box hold with party link no swing Template:Election box end
<ref name="craig1918-1949" /><ref>Walker, Parliamentary election results in Ireland, 1918–1992, page 20</ref>
References
Template:University constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom Template:County Antrim constituencies
- Historic Westminster constituencies in Belfast
- Queen's University Belfast
- University constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Dáil constituencies in Northern Ireland (historic)
- University Dáil constituencies
- Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1918
- Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1950