57-690: North Kilkenny was a parliamentary constituency in Ireland , represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) from 1885 to 1922. This constituency comprised the northern part of County Kilkenny . Prior to the 1885 general election the area was part of the County Kilkenny constituency. In 1918 the constituency
114-564: A Unionist in 1892 (who received a not much larger 314 votes), were the only candidates from other political traditions to contest the seat. The most hotly contested election was the 1890 North Kilkenny by-election . This was the first parliamentary election to take place in Ireland after the Irish Parliamentary Party split into Parnellite and Anti-Parnellite factions, in early December 1890. The two factions each nominated
171-602: A candidate. The Anti-Parnellite won, on a 2,527 to 1,362 vote. All elections in the constituency after its first decade of existence, starting with the 1895 United Kingdom general election , were uncontested. The Sinn Féin candidate, future President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State W. T. Cosgrave (6 June 1880 – 16 November 1965), made an unopposed gain from the IPP in 1918. Notes:- Devlin
228-420: A few cases one). From 1535 each Welsh county and borough was represented, by one knight or burgess. The franchise was restricted differently in different types of constituency; in county constituencies forty shilling freeholders (i.e. landowners) could vote, while in boroughs the franchise varied from potwallopers , giving many residents votes, to rotten boroughs with hardly any voters. A county borough
285-697: A form or degree of mixed-member proportional representation . The existing constituencies were created, effectively, for the first general election of the Scottish Parliament, in 1999. When created, all but two had the names and boundaries of Westminster constituencies. The two exceptions were the Orkney Holyrood constituency , covering the Orkney Islands council area , and the Shetland Holyrood constituency , covering
342-448: A more suitable label cannot be found. Where used, "The compass point reference used will generally form a prefix in cases where the rest of the constituency name refers to the county area or a local council, but a suffix where the rest of the name refers to a population centre." This is the reason for the difference in naming between, for example, North Shropshire (a county constituency ) and Reading West (a borough constituency ). In
399-608: A number of single-member first-past-the Post constituencies, matching the way Westminster MPs are elected. Following the decision that all MEPs should be elected by some form of proportional representation , the Labour government passed the European Parliamentary Elections Act 1999 , creating eleven constituencies on Great Britain, which were first used in 1999 . The South West England constituency
456-687: Is in the Holyrood area of Edinburgh , while the main meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom is the Palace of Westminster , in the City of Westminster . There are 73 Holyrood constituencies covering Scotland , and each elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first-past-the-post system . Also, the constituencies are grouped into eight electoral regions, and each of these regions elects seven additional members , to produce
513-526: The 2005 United Kingdom general election , the House of Commons had 646 constituencies covering the whole of the United Kingdom. This rose to 650 in the 2010 election following the Fifth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies . Each constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the " first-past-the-post " system of election. The House of Commons is one of the two chambers of
570-579: The 2016 referendum to leave the European Union, the constituency voted remain by 74.1%. 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
627-621: The Acts of Union 1707 , Scottish burghs were grouped into districts of burghs in the Parliament of Great Britain , except that Edinburgh was a constituency in its own right . After the Acts of Union 1800 , smaller Irish boroughs were disenfranchised, while most others returned only one MP to the United Kingdom Parliament. The Reform Act 1832 reduced the number of parliamentary boroughs in England and Wales by eliminating
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#1732791686086684-490: 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 (miles) long peace line dividing them from the rest of the constituency. There is also a smaller Protestant enclave at Suffolk. The tenor of the constituency is largely working class and in the 1991 census it was one of only twenty constituencies where
741-836: The Northern Ireland House of Commons and the House of Commons of Southern Ireland as an election for the Irish Republic's Second Dáil . No actual voting was necessary in Southern Ireland as all the seats were filled by unopposed returns. Except for Dublin University all other constituencies elected Sinn Féin TDs. As with the First Dáil, the other Deputies could have joined the Dáil if they chose. From
798-531: The Scottish Parliament (Constituencies) Act 2004 , which enabled the creation of a new set of Westminster constituencies without change to Holyrood constituencies. The new Westminster boundaries became effective for the 2005 United Kingdom general election . There are 40 Senedd constituencies covering Wales , and each elects one Member of the Senedd (MS) by the first-past-the-post system . Also,
855-580: The Shetland Islands council area . For Westminster elections, these council areas were covered (and still are covered) by the Orkney and Shetland Westminster constituency . In 1999, under the Scotland Act 1998 , the expectation was that there would be a permanent link between the boundaries of Holyrood constituencies and those of Westminster constituencies. This link was broken, however, by
912-669: The Third Dáil onwards the Dáil represented only the twenty-six counties which formed the Irish Free State . In the 2nd and 3rd Dála Kilkenny North formed part of the Carlow–Kilkenny constituency. The constituency was a safe nationalist/republican seat throughout its existence, from 1885 to 1922. Only three of the thirteen elections held in the seat (nine at general elections and four at by-elections) were contested. A Conservative in 1885 (who polled only 174 votes) and
969-546: The bicameral Parliament of the United Kingdom , the other being the House of Lords . There are fourteen London Assembly constituencies covering the Greater London area, and each constituency elects one member of the assembly by the first-past-the-post system . Eleven additional members are elected from Greater London as a whole to produce a form or degree of mixed-member proportional representation . Constituency names and boundaries remain now as they were for
1026-498: The first general election of the assembly, in 2000. The assembly is part of the Greater London Authority and general elections of the assembly are held at the same time as election of the mayor of London . There are 18 Northern Ireland Assembly Constituencies : four borough (for Belfast ) and 14 county constituencies elsewhere (see below). Each elects five MLAs to the 90 member NI Assembly by means of
1083-424: The single transferable vote system. Assembly Constituency boundaries are identical to their House of Commons equivalents. The constituencies below are not used for the election of members to the 11 district councils . Scottish Parliament constituencies are sometimes called Holyrood constituencies, to distinguish them from Westminster (House of Commons) constituencies. The Scottish Parliament Building
1140-659: The 1979 election, Fitt became increasingly at odds with the SDLP and left it, continuing to sit as an independent socialist. After the 1970 election Fitt left the Republican Labour Party to co-found the Social Democratic & Labour Party. The remains of Republican Labour had disintegrated by 1974. Note: The sitting MP, W.E.D. Allen , had joined the New Party earlier in 1931 but did not contest
1197-559: The Boundary Commissions for England , Wales , Scotland and Northern Ireland the power to create names for constituencies, and does not provide a set of statutory guidelines for the Commissions to follow in doing so. Constituency names are geographic, and "should normally reflect the main population centre(s) contained in the constituency". Compass points are used to distinguish constituencies from each other when
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#17327916860861254-562: 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 City of Lisburn wards of Collin Glen, Dunmurry, Kilwee, Poleglass, Twinbrook, and part of Derryaghy. The seat
1311-883: The Representation of the People Bill 1917 - redistribution of seats . 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
1368-569: The SDLP altogether. He sat as an independent socialist but lost his seat in the 1983 General Election 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
1425-592: 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
1482-591: 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
1539-529: The Sinn Féin Deputies participated in the Dáil, but the other Irish MPs could have done so if they had chosen to adhere to the Republic. The First Dáil, passed a motion at its last meeting on 10 May 1921, the first three parts of which make explicit the republican view. The Second Dáil first met on 16 August 1921, thereby dissolving the First Dáil. Sinn Féin had decided to use the polls for
1596-808: The UK House of Commons on the dissolution of 26 October 1922, shortly before the Irish Free State came into legal existence on 6 December 1922. The constituency was, in Irish republican theory, entitled to return one Teachta Dála (known in English as a Deputy) in 1918 to serve in the Irish Republic 's First Dáil . Sinn Féin used the UK general election in 1918 to elect the Dáil. The revolutionary body assembled on 21 January 1919. The list of members read out on that day included everyone elected in Ireland. Only
1653-475: The United Kingdom elected its Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) through twelve multimember European Parliament constituencies . One, Northern Ireland , used single transferable vote , while the eleven covering Great Britain used the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation . For its first European Parliamentary elections in 1979 Great Britain was divided into
1710-452: 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. This seat had the largest Sinn Féin vote share at the 2019 general election. It also saw the only increase in vote share for the DUP at the election. 1997 Changes are compared to the 1992 notional results shown below. Following
1767-698: The area around the Docks on the north east side of the Lagan Estuary. 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
North Kilkenny (UK Parliament constituency) - Misplaced Pages Continue
1824-579: The centre of Grosvenor Street and west of a line drawn along the centre of Durham Street, and the townlands of Ballymagarry and Ballymurphy in the parish of Shankill. 1922–1974 : The County Borough of Belfast wards of Court, Falls, St. Anne's, St. George's, Smithfield, and Woodvale. The boundaries of these wards can be seen in Schedule 9 of the Report of the Boundary Commission (Ireland) on
1881-493: The constituencies are grouped into five electoral regions, and each of these regions elects four additional members , to produce a form or degree of mixed-member proportional representation . The current set of Senedd constituencies is the second to be created. The first was created for the first general election of the National Assembly for Wales, in 1999. Before its withdrawal from the European Union in 2020,
1938-470: 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. In
1995-456: The council. The spending limits for election campaigns are different in the two, the reasoning being that candidates in county constituencies tend to need to travel farther. For by-elections to any of these bodies, the limit in all constituencies is £100,000. In the House of Commons of England , each English county elected two " knights of the shire " while each enfranchised borough elected "burgesses" (usually two, sometimes four, and in
2052-496: The distinction; the Boundary Commission for England has stated that, "as a general principle, where constituencies contain more than a small rural element they should normally be designated as county constituencies. Otherwise they should be designated as borough constituencies." In Scotland, all House of Commons constituencies are county constituencies except those in the cities of Glasgow , Edinburgh , Aberdeen , Dundee and three urban areas of Lanarkshire . In England and Wales,
2109-438: 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
2166-448: 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
2223-777: The following body also included members elected by constituencies: Electoral areas called constituencies were previously used in elections to the European Parliament , prior to the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union (see European Parliament constituency ). In local government elections (other than for the London Assembly) electoral areas are called wards or electoral divisions . House of Commons, Scottish Parliament, Senedd and Northern Ireland Assembly constituencies are designated as either county or borough constituencies, except that in Scotland
2280-747: 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
2337-702: 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
North Kilkenny (UK Parliament constituency) - Misplaced Pages Continue
2394-491: 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
2451-461: The most secure of Northern Ireland's 18 seats by percentage and/or numerical tally of its winning majority, followed by North Down and by North Antrim respectively. 1885–1918 : In the Borough of Belfast, Smithfield ward, that part of St. Anne's ward bounded on the north-west by a line drawn along the centre of Carrick Hill, that part of St. George's ward lying to the north of a line drawn along
2508-465: The position of returning officer in borough constituencies is held ex officio by the mayor or chairman of the borough or district council, and the high sheriff of the county in county constituencies. The administration of elections is carried out by the acting returning officer, who will typically be a local council's chief executive or Head of Legal Services. The role, however, is separate from these posts, and can be held by any person appointed by
2565-413: The previous common electoral quota for the whole United Kingdom and replaced it with four separate national minimal seat quotas for the respective Boundaries commissions to work to, as a result the separate national electoral quotas came into effect: England 69,534; Northern Ireland 67,145, Wales 58,383 and in Scotland only 54,741 electors. The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 gives
2622-800: The rotten boroughs. It also divided larger counties into two two-seat divisions , the boundaries of which were defined in the Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832 , and gave seven counties a third member. Similar reforms were also made for Scotland and for Ireland . The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 ( 48 & 49 Vict. c. 23) equalised the population of constituencies; it split larger boroughs into multiple single-member constituencies, reduced smaller boroughs from two seats each to one, split each two-seat county and division into two single-member constituencies, and each three-seat county into single-member constituencies. The House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1958 , eliminated
2679-430: The term burgh is used instead of borough . Since the advent of universal suffrage , the differences between county and borough constituencies are slight. Formerly (see below ) the franchise differed, and there were also county borough and university constituencies. Borough constituencies are predominantly urban while county constituencies are predominantly rural . There is no definitive statutory criterion for
2736-466: 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
2793-466: 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
2850-458: Was also elected as MP for Belfast West and instead opted to sit as an MP there, prompting a by-election. United Kingdom constituencies In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons . Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called " constituencies " as opposed to " wards ": Between 1921 and 1973
2907-417: Was consistently held by the Ulster Unionist Party but always had strong Labour movement sympathies. In the 1923 UK general election , 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
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#17327916860862964-400: Was expanded from the 2004 elections onward to include Gibraltar , the only British overseas territory that was part of the European Union , following a court case. Belfast West (UK Parliament constituency) Belfast West is a parliamentary constituency (seat) in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament . The current MP is Paul Maskey of Sinn Fein . In 2017, it ranked
3021-428: Was redrawn as a result of the abolition of the Kilkenny City constituency . 1885–1918 : The baronies of Crannagh, Fassadinin, Galmoy and Shillelogher, and that part of the barony of Gowran not contained within the South Kilkenny constituency . 1918–1922 : The rural districts of Castecomer, Kilkenny and Urlingford No. 1, and the urban district of Kilkenny. The constituency ceased to be entitled to be represented in
3078-399: 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
3135-405: Was split between constituencies following disquiet in parts of Derriaghy . This ward is now split between Belfast West and Lagan Valley . 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
3192-414: 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 , claimed that Adams had applied for the appointment, but this was later clarified to state that he had not requested the appointment. Adams stated the Prime Minister's private secretary had apologised to him for making
3249-406: Was the constituency of a county corporate , combining the franchises of both county and borough. Until 1950 there were also university constituencies , which gave graduates an additional representation. Similar distinctions applied in the Irish House of Commons , while the non-university elected members of the Parliament of Scotland were called Shire Commissioners and Burgh Commissioners. After
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