|
|
results of the
GENERAL
northern Ireland general election results 2001
ulster
unionist party (uup)
6 SEATS: David Trimble, Upper Bann
Rev Martyn Smyth, South Belfast
Jeffrey Donaldson, Lagan Valley
Roy Begs, East Antrim
David Burnside, South Antrim
Lady Silvia Hermon, North Down
democratic
unionist party (dup)
5 SEATS: Rev Ian Paisley, North Antrim
Peter Robinson, East Belfast
Nigel Dodds, North Belfast
Gregory Campbell, East Londonderry
Iris Robinson, Strangford
sinn
fÉin (sf)
4 SEATS: Gerry Adams, West Belfast
Martin McGuinness, Mid Ulster
Michelle Guildernew, Fermanagh & South Tyrone
Pat Doherty, West Tyrone
social
democratic & labour party (sdlp)
3 SEATS: John Hume, Foyle
Seamus Mallon, Newry & Armagh
Eddie McGrady, South Down
· The unionist vote is almost evenly split between the pro-GFA Ulster Unionist Party (26.8% - 6 seats) and the anti-GFA Democratic Unionist Party (22.5% - 5 seats). The UUP gained 53% of the unionist vote. In his own seat of Upper Bann, UUP leader David Trimble won 33.5% of the vote while David Simpson of the DUP was hard on his heels with 29%.
· Moreover, the DUP gained 2 seats at the UUP’s expense, and its share of the vote increased considerably since the 1997 general election (13.5% to 22.5%) while the UUP’s share decreased (26.8% in 2001 from 32.6% in 1997).
· The UUP vote included support for anti-GFA MPs (Jeffrey Donaldson, David Burnside and the Rev Martin Smyth) in half the UUP seats.
· Although the overall trend in support for the UUP is downwards, at 26.8% the UUP fared slightly better than they did in the 1998 Northern Ireland Assembly elections, when they achieved only 21.3% of the vote. However, this improvement may well be the result of tactical voting by non-UUP supporters, particularly Alliance Party supporters lacking a candidate.
· The two small loyalist parties, the Progressive Unionist Party and the Ulster Democratic Party, were eclipsed in this election. The UDP did not field any candidates and the PUP had only two candidates, in South and East Belfast, in which their share of the vote dropped from 3.5% in 1997 to less than 1%.
· For the first time SF (21.7% - 4 seats) surpassed the SDLP (21% - 3 seats).
· Although SF doubled its seats from 2 to 4, in Fermanagh & South Tyrone their majority was only 53 votes. The UUP are likely to challenge this result amid allegations of fraud and that some polling stations were kept open for almost an hour after the official closing time, allowing latecomers to vote.
· The SDLP is badly in need of new blood. Only one of its 3 MPs, Eddie McGrady, is likely to stand in the next general election. John Hume and Seamus Mallon will probably retire.
· The nationalist vote is closing the gap with the unionist vote. SF and the SDLP polled 43%, while the UUP and DUP polled 49%, suggesting that the nationalists achieved a higher turnout than the mainstream unionist parties. The overall unionist total was 52%, the other 3% being made up of votes for splinter parties. Nationalists increased their overall number of seats from 5 to 7, while unionists seats were down from 13 (one of them UKUP) to 11.
· Since 1992, the nationalist vote has gone up from 262,000 to 346,000, with SF’s vote increasing from 78,000 to 176,000.
· Support for the Alliance Party was cut by more than half (8.1 % down to 3.6%). This result at least partially reflects their decision not to stand in UUP leader David Trimble’s constituency, Upper Bann, or in North Down, where the UUP ousted Bob McCartney, the UKUP’s only MP.
· Generally speaking, the outcome of this general election was one of polarisation, with less space for the middle ground.
· Turnout was higher in Northern Ireland (68%) than elsewhere (59%).
· The political map shows a marked split between nationalist parties in the west and unionist parties in the east.
click here for General Election Results Seat by Seat
click
here for
Northern
Ireland District Council Elections 2001
For Peace Justice & Human Rights
