South Antrim by-election, 2000
Encyclopedia
Clifford Forsythe
, the Ulster Unionist
Member of Parliament
for South Antrim
, died on April 27, 2000, precipitating a by-election
.
-based public relations
executive David Burnside
was selected as the new Ulster Unionist Party candidate. Burnside claimed to have supported the Agreement at the time of its negotiation but to have since turned against the way in which it was being implemented. However this was at odds with his party's policy. This was seized upon by the Democratic Unionist Party
candidate, former Mid-Ulster
MP Rev. William McCrea
in campaigning. McCrea campaigned on a policy of refusal to co-operate with Sinn Féin
in the absence of progress on arms decommissioning.
The Northern Ireland Unionist Party
initially selected Norman Boyd
, who was a local member of the Northern Ireland Assembly
(elected as a member of the United Kingdom Unionist Party). However during the campaign Boyd withdrew, urging voters not to divide the anti-agreement vote, and supported McCrea. Although the Progressive Unionist Party
had secured 8.7% of the vote at the previous general election, they did not stand on this occasion.
The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
selected David Ford
, who was a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly
for the area and who had previously fought the seat in the 1997 general election
. With all the Unionist candidates opposed to the Good Friday Agreement to some degree, Ford hoped to gain the support of pro Agreement unionist voters. However with the Unionist parties fighting fiercely, Ford faced the difficult task of convincing voters that a vote for the Alliance was not wasted, especially when many who supported the Agreement argued that the best realistic result for maintaining it would be for Burnside to win the seat.
The nationalist SDLP
also ran their local assembly member, in this case Donovan McClelland
. With the constituency overwhelmingly Protestant the SDLP had no chance of winning and much of the spotlight on them concerned their electoral battle with Sinn Féin
as a prelude to forthcoming Assembly elections. Sinn Féin had no Assembly members but ran Martin Meehan
, who had been their sole Assembly candidate the last time, in the hope of increasing his profile and building up their local organisation in preparation for a shot at the next election. The battle between McClelland and Meehan attracted much attention as it would indicate the movement of votes within the nationalist community between the two parties, though most agreed that it was always likely for the SDLP to come out on top in the highly middle-class constituency.
In addition the Natural Law Party
selected David Collins. This was to be one of the last occasions that the party would fight an election in Northern Ireland.
, but in the event Ford narrowly held on.
Clifford Forsythe
Clifford Forsythe was a Northern Ireland Ulster Unionist Party politician. He served as Member of Parliament for South Antrim from 1983 to his death. He had previously been Mayor of Newtownabbey Borough Council, and was also a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly from 1982 to 1986...
, the Ulster Unionist
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...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for 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...
, died on April 27, 2000, precipitating a by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
.
Candidates
The election arose after the Good Friday Agreement, with prisoner releases having started, but before the pro-agreement parties had reached agreement on the shape of a devolved government. After a disputatious selection contest, the LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
-based public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
executive David Burnside
David Burnside
David Wilson Boyd Burnside is a Northern Ireland politician, and was Ulster Unionist Party Member of Parliament for South Antrim....
was selected as the new Ulster Unionist Party candidate. Burnside claimed to have supported the Agreement at the time of its negotiation but to have since turned against the way in which it was being implemented. However this was at odds with his party's policy. This was seized upon by 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...
candidate, former Mid-Ulster
Mid Ulster (UK Parliament constituency)
Mid Ulster is a Parliamentary Constituency in the British House of Commons.-Boundaries:The constituency was created in 1950 when the old two-seat constituency of Fermanagh and Tyrone was abolished as part of the final move to single member seats...
MP Rev. William McCrea
William McCrea (politician)
Robert Thomas William McCrea is a politician from Northern Ireland, and a member of the Democratic Unionist Party.-Career:...
in campaigning. McCrea campaigned on a policy of refusal to co-operate with 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...
in the absence of progress on arms decommissioning.
The Northern Ireland Unionist Party
Northern Ireland Unionist Party
The Northern Ireland Unionist Party was a small political party in Northern Ireland. It was formed in January 1999 as a splinter party from the UK Unionist Party . This split was caused by disagreement between the five UKUP members of the Northern Ireland Assembly...
initially selected Norman Boyd
Norman Boyd
Norman Boyd is a former Unionist politician in Northern Ireland.Boyd was born in Belfast and attended Belfast High School and Newtownabbey Technical College before working in banking....
, who was a local member of the Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...
(elected as a member of the United Kingdom Unionist Party). However during the campaign Boyd withdrew, urging voters not to divide the anti-agreement vote, and supported McCrea. Although the Progressive Unionist Party
Progressive Unionist Party
The Progressive Unionist Party is a small unionist political party in Northern Ireland. It was formed from the Independent Unionist Group operating in the Shankill area of Belfast, becoming the PUP in 1979...
had secured 8.7% of the vote at the previous general election, they did not stand on this occasion.
The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
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....
selected David Ford
David Ford
David Ford is a politician who is a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly. Ford has been leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland since 2001 and has been Northern Ireland Minister of Justice since April 2010.- Early life :...
, who was a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...
for the area and who had previously fought the seat in the 1997 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
. With all the Unionist candidates opposed to the Good Friday Agreement to some degree, Ford hoped to gain the support of pro Agreement unionist voters. However with the Unionist parties fighting fiercely, Ford faced the difficult task of convincing voters that a vote for the Alliance was not wasted, especially when many who supported the Agreement argued that the best realistic result for maintaining it would be for Burnside to win the seat.
The nationalist SDLP
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...
also ran their local assembly member, in this case Donovan McClelland
Donovan McClelland
Donovan McClelland is a Protestant member of the mostly Catholic Social Democratic and Labour Party in Northern Ireland....
. With the constituency overwhelmingly Protestant the SDLP had no chance of winning and much of the spotlight on them concerned their electoral battle with 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...
as a prelude to forthcoming Assembly elections. Sinn Féin had no Assembly members but ran Martin Meehan
Martin Meehan (Irish republican)
Martin Meehan was a Sinn Féin politician and former volunteer in the Provisional Irish Republican Army . Meehan was the first person to be convicted of membership of the Provisional IRA, and he spent eighteen years in prison during the Troubles.-Background and IRA activity:Meehan was born in 1945...
, who had been their sole Assembly candidate the last time, in the hope of increasing his profile and building up their local organisation in preparation for a shot at the next election. The battle between McClelland and Meehan attracted much attention as it would indicate the movement of votes within the nationalist community between the two parties, though most agreed that it was always likely for the SDLP to come out on top in the highly middle-class constituency.
In addition the Natural Law Party
Natural Law Party
The Natural Law Party was a transnational party based on the teachings of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It was active in up to 74 countries, and ran candidates in at least ten. Founded in 1992, it was mostly disbanded in 2004 but continues in India and in some U.S. states.The NLP viewed "natural law" as...
selected David Collins. This was to be one of the last occasions that the party would fight an election in Northern Ireland.
Campaign
With delays over the selection and the summer holiday intervening, polling day in the by-election was held off until September 21, allowing extensive campaigning. The constituency is strongly Protestant and it was always clear that the real contest was between the two Unionist parties. Away from these two, interest was piqued by the advance of Sinn Féin, overtaking the Alliance in the number of votes won. Many believed that this hearalded the former party subsequently taking the latter's Assembly seat in the next assembly electionNorthern Ireland Assembly election, 2003
The second elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly, which at the time of the elections had been suspended for just over a year, were held on Wednesday 26 November 2003. Six members were elected by Single Transferable Vote from each of Northern Ireland's eighteen Westminster Parliamentary...
, but in the event Ford narrowly held on.