Northern Ireland assembly elections, 1982
Encyclopedia
The Northern Ireland Assembly elections were held on 20 October 1982 in an attempt to re-establish devolution
and power-sharing in Northern Ireland
. Although the Northern Ireland Assembly officially lasted until 1986 (and was seen as being a continuation of the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention
of 1975) it met infrequently and achieved very little.
system, the decision to use the same 12 constituency boundaries used in the 1973 Assembly election
rather than the new 17 constituency boundaries which were later adopted in the 1983 general election
was heavily criticised. The problem was that the Boundary Commissions
Final Recommendations, which recommended that all future Assembly elections should be held using 17 constituencies each electing five members, had not yet been approved by Parliament
and therefore remained, technically, provisional recommendations. The consequence of this was that the elections were held using constituencies which varied greatly in size and electorate, ranging from Belfast West
with an electorate of 57,726 to South Antrim
with an electorate of 131,734. In the latter constituency this resulted in huge administrative problems with a record 27 candidates standing necessitating 23 counts over 36 hours with the count not completed until two days after the election. A further result of the disparity in electorates was that the number of members returned for each constituency varied widely, from four members in Belfast West to ten members in South Antrim.
side, the Assembly was welcomed, with some hailing it nostalgically as 'a new Stormont
'. Consequently many Nationalists
were suspicious of the new body. The Irish Independence Party
which had moderate electoral success in the elections of the previous year immediately announced that they would boycott the elections and called on other nationalists to follow suit. However Sinn Féin
was keen to test its electoral support and both it and the Social Democratic and Labour Party
(SDLP) announced that they would contest the elections but refuse to take any seats which they won. The smaller People's Democracy
which had won two council seats due to an electoral alliance with the Irish Republican Socialist Party
the previous year did likewise.
Great interest centred on the performance of Sinn Féin, fighting its first full election since 1957 and on the inter-Unionist rivalry between the Democratic Unionist Party
(DUP) and the Ulster Unionist Party
(UUP). The former had pulled ahead in the European election of 1979 and the Local Council Elections of 1981 but had suffered a setback in the 1982 by-election
which followed the murder of Robert Bradford
.
and Fermanagh and South Tyrone
. The SDLP were disappointed with their 14 seats and one of these was subsequently lost in a by-election to the UUP as Seamus Mallon
was disqualified following a successful UUP election petition on the grounds that he was ineligible as he was a member of the Seanad Éireann
at the time. On the Unionist side the UUP gained a clear lead over the DUP, while the United Ulster Unionist Party
failed to make an impact and, as a result, folded two years later. In the centre
Alliance Party
consolidated with 10 seats including unexpected wins in North and West Belfast. The Workers' Party
failed to make a breakthrough despite respectable vote shares in places like North and West Belfast.
|}
Note: Changes in vote share are relative to the Constitutional convention election in 1975. Changes shown above for United Ulster Unionist party relate to seats won by Vanguard
in 1975
. Bill Craig, who stood under the label 'Vanguard' in 1982, is included with Independent Unionists.
Devolution
Devolution is the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to government at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level. Devolution can be mainly financial, e.g. giving areas a budget which was formerly administered by central government...
and power-sharing in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. Although the Northern Ireland Assembly officially lasted until 1986 (and was seen as being a continuation of the Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention
Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention
The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention was an elected body set up in 1975 by the UK Labour government of Harold Wilson as an attempt to deal with constitutional issues surrounding the status of Northern Ireland....
of 1975) it met infrequently and achieved very little.
Electoral controversy
The electoral system proved to be hugely controversial. While there was general acceptance that the elections should take part using the Single Transferable VoteSingle transferable vote
The single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...
system, the decision to use the same 12 constituency boundaries used in the 1973 Assembly election
Northern Ireland Assembly election, 1973
-Seats summary:-Source:* http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/fa73.htm...
rather than the new 17 constituency boundaries which were later adopted in the 1983 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1983
The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...
was heavily criticised. The problem was that the Boundary Commissions
Boundary Commission (United Kingdom)
Boundary Commissions in the UK are non-departmental public bodies responsible for determining the boundaries of constituencies for elections to the Westminster Parliament, the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales. There are four boundary commissions in the United Kingdom: one...
Final Recommendations, which recommended that all future Assembly elections should be held using 17 constituencies each electing five members, had not yet been approved by Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
and therefore remained, technically, provisional recommendations. The consequence of this was that the elections were held using constituencies which varied greatly in size and electorate, ranging from Belfast West
Belfast West (UK Parliament constituency)
Belfast West is a parliamentary constituency in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.-Boundaries:The seat was restored in 1922 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...
with an electorate of 57,726 to South Antrim
South Antrim (UK Parliament constituency)
South Antrim is a Parliamentary Constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons.-Boundaries:From 1885, this constituency was one of four county divisions of the former Antrim constituency...
with an electorate of 131,734. In the latter constituency this resulted in huge administrative problems with a record 27 candidates standing necessitating 23 counts over 36 hours with the count not completed until two days after the election. A further result of the disparity in electorates was that the number of members returned for each constituency varied widely, from four members in Belfast West to ten members in South Antrim.
Response of political parties
On the UnionistUnionism in Ireland
Unionism in Ireland is an ideology that favours the continuation of some form of political union between the islands of Ireland and Great Britain...
side, the Assembly was welcomed, with some hailing it nostalgically as 'a new Stormont
Parliament of Northern Ireland
The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended...
'. Consequently many Nationalists
Irish nationalism
Irish nationalism manifests itself in political and social movements and in sentiment inspired by a love for Irish culture, language and history, and as a sense of pride in Ireland and in the Irish people...
were suspicious of the new body. The Irish Independence Party
Irish Independence Party
The Irish Independence Party was an nationalist political party in Northern Ireland, founded in October 1977 by Frank McManus and Fergus McAteer...
which had moderate electoral success in the elections of the previous year immediately announced that they would boycott the elections and called on other nationalists to follow suit. However Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
was keen to test its electoral support and both it and the Social Democratic and Labour Party
Social Democratic and Labour Party
The Social Democratic and Labour Party is a social-democratic, Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. Its basic party platform advocates Irish reunification, and the further devolution of powers while Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom...
(SDLP) announced that they would contest the elections but refuse to take any seats which they won. The smaller People's Democracy
People's Democracy
People's Democracy was a political organisation that, while supporting the campaign for civil rights for Northern Ireland's Catholic minority, stated that such rights could only be achieved through the establishment of a socialist republic for all of Ireland...
which had won two council seats due to an electoral alliance with the Irish Republican Socialist Party
Irish Republican Socialist Party
The Irish Republican Socialist Party or IRSP is a republican socialist party active in Ireland. It claims the legacy of socialist revolutionary James Connolly, who founded the Irish Socialist Republican Party in 1896 and was executed after the Easter Rising of 1916.- History :The Irish Republican...
the previous year did likewise.
Great interest centred on the performance of Sinn Féin, fighting its first full election since 1957 and on the inter-Unionist rivalry between the Democratic Unionist Party
Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. Founded by Ian Paisley and currently led by Peter Robinson, it is currently the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons of the...
(DUP) and the Ulster Unionist Party
Ulster Unionist Party
The Ulster Unionist Party – sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or, in a historic sense, simply the Unionist Party – is the more moderate of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland...
(UUP). The former had pulled ahead in the European election of 1979 and the Local Council Elections of 1981 but had suffered a setback in the 1982 by-election
Belfast South by-election, 1982
The Belfast South by-election was held on 4 March 1982 following the death of Robert Bradford, Ulster Unionist Party Member of Parliament for Belfast South....
which followed the murder of Robert Bradford
Robert Bradford (NI politician)
Robert Jonathan Bradford MP was a Vanguard Unionist and Ulster Unionist Member of Parliament for the Belfast South constituency in Northern Ireland until he was killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army on 14 November 1981....
.
Results
The results were seen as a triumph for the new electoral strategy of Sinn Féin which gained 5 seats and narrowly missed winning seats in Belfast NorthBelfast North (UK Parliament constituency)
Belfast North is a Parliamentary Constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons.-Boundaries:The seat was created in 1922 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...
and Fermanagh and South Tyrone
Fermanagh and South Tyrone (UK Parliament constituency)
Fermanagh and South Tyrone is a Parliamentary constituency in the British House of Commons. The current MP for the constituency is Michelle Gildernew of Sinn Féin....
. The SDLP were disappointed with their 14 seats and one of these was subsequently lost in a by-election to the UUP as Seamus Mallon
Seamus Mallon
Seamus Frederick Mallon born 17 August 1936, in Markethill, County Armagh, is an Irish politician and former Deputy Leader of the nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party in Northern Ireland...
was disqualified following a successful UUP election petition on the grounds that he was ineligible as he was a member of the Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann is the upper house of the Oireachtas , which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann . It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its members Senators or Seanadóirí . Unlike Dáil Éireann, it is not directly elected but consists of a mixture of members chosen by...
at the time. On the Unionist side the UUP gained a clear lead over the DUP, while the United Ulster Unionist Party
United Ulster Unionist Party
The United Ulster Unionist Party was a unionist political party which existed in Northern Ireland between 1975 and 1984.It emerged from a division in the Vanguard Progressive Unionist Party in the late 1970s...
failed to make an impact and, as a result, folded two years later. In the centre
Centrism
In politics, centrism is the ideal or the practice of promoting policies that lie different from the standard political left and political right. Most commonly, this is visualized as part of the one-dimensional political spectrum of left-right politics, with centrism landing in the middle between...
Alliance Party
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland is a liberal and nonsectarian political party in Northern Ireland. It is Northern Ireland's fifth-largest party overall, with eight seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly and one in the House of Commons....
consolidated with 10 seats including unexpected wins in North and West Belfast. The Workers' Party
Workers' Party of Ireland
The Workers' Party is a left-wing republican political party in Ireland. Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970 after a split within the party, adopting its current name in 1982....
failed to make a breakthrough despite respectable vote shares in places like North and West Belfast.
|}
Note: Changes in vote share are relative to the Constitutional convention election in 1975. Changes shown above for United Ulster Unionist party relate to seats won by Vanguard
Vanguard Progressive Unionist Party
The Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party , informally known as Ulster Vanguard, was a unionist political party which existed in Northern Ireland between 1973 and 1978...
in 1975
Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention
The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention was an elected body set up in 1975 by the UK Labour government of Harold Wilson as an attempt to deal with constitutional issues surrounding the status of Northern Ireland....
. Bill Craig, who stood under the label 'Vanguard' in 1982, is included with Independent Unionists.