East Down (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)

54°23′10″N 5°25′52″W / 54.386°N 5.431°W / 54.386; -5.431

East Down
Former County constituency for the Parliament of Northern Ireland
Former constituency
Created	1929
Abolished	1973
Election method	First past the post

East Down was a constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland.

Boundaries

East Down was a county constituency comprising the towns of Ardglass, Ballynahinch, Crossgar, Downpatrick, Dunmore, Killinchy, Killyleagh, Kilmore, Saintfield and Strangford, all in the former Down District Council. It was created in 1929 as one of the eight seats replacing the former Down constituency 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. The constituency survived unchanged, returning one member of Parliament until the Parliament of Northern Ireland was temporarily suspended in 1972, and then formally abolished in 1973.

Politics

East Down had a unionist majority, and consistently elected Ulster Unionist Party members. On occasions, however, it was contested by members of the Ulster Liberal Party, and various nationalist candidates who usually received over 40% of the votes cast.

Members of Parliament

Elected	Party		Name
1929		UUP	Sir Alexander Robert Gisborne Gordon
1949		UUP	Brian Faulkner

Elections

Politics of Northern Ireland
(1921–72)

Government Governor Privy Council Ministries Prime Minister Craigavon ministry Andrews ministry Brookeborough ministry O'Neill ministry Chichester-Clark ministry Faulkner ministry Northern Ireland Civil Service Departments
Parliament Acts Statutory rules and orders Senate Speaker of the Senate Leader of the Senate House of Commons Speaker Leader of the Opposition Members 1921, 1925, 1929, 1933 1938, 1945, 1949, 1953 1958, 1962, 1965, 1969 Senate
Elections Elections in Northern Ireland 1921, 1925, 1929, 1933 1938, 1945, 1949, 1953 1958, 1962, 1965, 1969 By-elections Constituencies Political parties
See also Fourth Home Rule Bill Constitution Act 1973
Other countries
v t e

General Election 1929: East Down
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	UUP	Alexander Gordon	6,553	56.4
	Ulster Liberal	David Johnston	5,057	43.6
Majority			1,496	12.8
Turnout			11,610	74.1
	UUP win (new seat)

At the 1933 Northern Ireland general election, Alexander Gordon was elected unopposed.

General Election 1938: East Down
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	Alexander Gordon	4,989	55.2	*N/A*
	Progressive Unionist	W. J. Price	4,050	44.8	New
Majority			939	10.4	N/A
Turnout			9,039	57.8	N/A
	UUP hold		Swing	N/A

At the 1945 Northern Ireland general election, Alexander Gordon was elected unopposed.

General Election 1949: East Down
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	Brian Faulkner	8,132	59.7	*N/A*
	Nationalist	E.K McGrady	5,480	40.3	New
Majority			2,652	19.4	N/A
Turnout			13,612	79.9	N/A
	UUP hold		Swing	N/A

At the elections of 1953, 1958 and 1962 Northern Ireland general elections, Brian Faulkner was elected unopposed.

General Election 1965: East Down
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	Brian Faulkner	8,362	62.6	*N/A*
	National Democratic	Daniel Rice	4,995	37.4	New
Majority			3,367	25.2	N/A
Turnout			13,357	73.7	N/A
	UUP hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 1969: East Down
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	Brian Faulkner	8,136	51.5	*N/A*
	National Democratic	Eddie McGrady	6,427	40.6	+3.2
	Ind. Unionist	D. A. Rowan-Hamilton	1,248	7.9	New
Majority			1,709	10.9	N/A
Turnout			15,811	86.7	N/A
	UUP hold		Swing

Parliament prorogued 30 March 1972 and abolished 18 July 1973

References

"Stormont Constituency Boundaries". Election Demon. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
The Northern Ireland House of Commons, 1921-1972 Archived 2008-12-06 at the Wayback Machine, Northern Ireland Elections
^ "Northern Ireland Parliamentary Elections Results: Counties: Down". Archived from the original on 16 January 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2008.

v t e Parliament of Northern Ireland constituencies
1921–1929	1929–1973
Antrim	Antrim Borough Bannside Carrick Larkfield (from 1969) Larne Mid Antrim Newtownabbey (from 1969) North Antrim South Antrim
Armagh	Central Armagh Mid Armagh North Armagh South Armagh
Belfast East	Belfast Bloomfield Belfast Dock Belfast Pottinger Belfast Victoria
Belfast North	Belfast Clifton Belfast Duncairn Belfast Oldpark Belfast Shankill
Belfast South	Belfast Ballynafeigh Belfast Cromac Belfast Willowfield Belfast Windsor
Belfast West	Belfast Central Belfast Falls Belfast St Anne's Belfast Woodvale
Down	Ards Bangor (from 1969) East Down Iveagh Lagan Valley (from 1969) Mid Down Mourne North Down South Down West Down
Fermanagh and Tyrone	East Tyrone Enniskillen Lisnaskea Mid Tyrone North Tyrone South Fermanagh South Tyrone West Tyrone
Londonderry	City of Londonderry Foyle Mid Londonderry North Londonderry South Londonderry
Queen's University	Queen's University (to 1969)

Parliamentary constituencies in County Down

Parliament of Ireland
to 1800

County Down (????–1800)
Bangor (1613–1800)
Downpatrick (1586–1800)
Hillsborough (1662–1800)
Killyleagh (1613–1800)
Newry (????–1800)
Newtownards (????–1800)

Westminster
1801–present

Historic	Down (1801–85, 1922–50) East Down (1885–1922) Mid Down (1918–22) North Down (1885–1922, 1950–) South Down (1885–1922, 1950–) West Down (1885–1922) Downpatrick (1801–85) Newry (1801–1918)
Current	Belfast South and Mid Down (2024–) Lagan Valley (1983–) Newry & Armagh (1983–) North Down (1983–) South Down (1983–) Strangford (1983–)

Dáil Éireann
Revolutionary era 1919–1922

First Dáil
1919–21

Seats taken	(none)
Seats not taken	East Down Mid Down North Down South Down West Down

Second Dáil
1921–22

One or more seats taken	Down
No seats taken	(none)

Parliament of Northern Ireland
1921–72

Ards (1929–72)
Bangor (1969–72)
Down (1921–29)
East Down (1929–72)
Iveagh (1929–72)
Lagan Valley (1969–72)
Larkfield (1969–72)
Mid Down (1929–72)
Mourne (1929–72)
North Down (1929–72)
South Down (1929–72)
West Down (1929–72)

Northern Ireland Assemblies

Assembly 1973–74 Constitutional Convention 1975–76 Assembly 1982–86	North Down South Down
Northern Ireland Forum 1996–98 Assembly (1998–present)	North Down South Down Lagan Valley Newry & Armagh Strangford Upper Bann

European Parliament
1979–2020

Northern Ireland

Constituencies in Ireland by county
Republic of Ireland	Carlow Cavan Clare Cork Donegal Dublin Galway Kerry Kildare Kilkenny Laois Leitrim Limerick Longford Louth Mayo Meath Monaghan Offaly Roscommon Sligo Tipperary Waterford Westmeath Wexford Wicklow
Northern Ireland	Antrim Armagh Down Fermanagh Londonderry Tyrone

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