From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fermanagh and South Tyrone County constituency
Fermanagh and South Tyrone shown within Northern Ireland
Created:	1950
MP:	Michelle Gildernew
Party:	Sinn Féin
Type:	House of Commons
Districts:	Fermanagh, Dungannon and South Tyrone
EP constituency:	Northern Ireland

Fermanagh and South Tyrone is a Parliamentary Constituency in the British House of Commons.

Contents 1 Boundaries 2 History 3 Members of Parliament 4 Elections 4.1 Elections in the 2000s 4.2 Elections in the 1990s 4.3 Elections in the 1980s 4.4 Elections in the 1970s 4.5 Elections in the 1960s 4.6 Elections in the 1950s 5 Sources 6 See also

The seat was created in 1950 when the old Fermanagh & Tyrone two MP constituency was abolished as part of the final move to single member seats. As the name implies, the seat includes all of County Fermanagh and the southern part of County Tyrone. Of the post 1973 districts, it initially contained all of Fermanagh and Dungannon and South Tyrone.

In boundary changes proposed by a review in 1995, a portion of Dungannon and South Tyrone (then simply called Dungannon) district was transferred to the Mid Ulster constituency.

At the time of writing the Boundary Commission has proposed alterations to the Northern Ireland constituencies, however no changes are proposed for Fermanagh & South Tyrone.

For the history of the constituency prior to 1950, see Fermanagh and Tyrone.

Throughout its history, Fermanagh and South Tyrone has seen a precarious balance between unionists and nationalist voters, though in recent years the nationalists have advanced significantly to be in a clear majority. Many elections have seen a candidate from one community triumph due to multiple candidates from the other community splitting the vote.

Perhaps because of this, Fermanagh and South Tyrone has repeatedly had the highest turnout of any constituency in Northern Ireland.

The seat was initially won by the Irish Nationalist Party in 1950 and 1951, the closely contested 1951 election seeing a 93.4% turnout - a UK record for any election.

In 1955, the constituency was won by Philip Clarke of Sinn Féin in, however he was unseated on petition on the basis that his convictions for IRA activity made him ineligible, and it was granted to the Ulster Unionist candidate.

In 1970 the seat was won by Frank McManus standing on the "Unity" ticket which sought to unite nationalist voters behind a single candidate. However in the February 1974 general election the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) contested the seat, dividing the nationalist vote and allowing Harry West of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) to win with the support of the Vanguard Progressive Unionist Party and the Democratic Unionist Party.

In the October 1974 general election a nationalist pact was agreed and Frank Maguire won, standing as an Independent Republican. He retained his seat in the 1979 general election, when both the Unionist and Nationalist votes were split, the former by the intervention of Ernest Baird, leader of the short-lived United Ulster Unionist Party, and the latter by Austin Currie, who defied the official SDLP decision to not contest the seat. Maguire died in early 1981.

The ensuing by-election took place amidst the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike and is widely considered to be the single most important and prominent by-election in modern Ireland. In order to test public opinion, the Provisional Irish Republican Army Officer Commanding in Long Kesh, Bobby Sands was nominated as an Anti-H-Block/Armagh Political Prisoner. Harry West also stood for the Ulster Unionist Party but no other candidates contested the by-election. On April 9, 1981, Sands won with 30,492 votes against 29,046 for West. 26 days later Sands died of starvation.

Speedy legislation barred "convicted felons" from standing for Parliament and so in the new by-election Sands' agent Owen Carron stood as a "Proxy Political Prisoner". The UUP nominated Ken Maginnis. The second by-election in August was also contested by the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, the Workers' Party Republican Clubs, a candidate standing on a label of General Amnesty and another as The Peace Lover. The turnout was even higher, with most of the additional votes going to the additional parties standing, and Carron was elected.

These victories had the effect of pushing Republicans towards the Armalite and ballot box strategy. In the 1982 elections for the Northern Ireland Assembly Carron headed up the Sinn Féin slate for the constituency and was elected.

Republicans suffered a reversal in the 1983 general election when the SDLP contested the seat. Maginnis won and held the seat for the UUP for the next eighteen years until he retired. By this point boundary changes had resulted in a broad 50:50 balance between Unionists and Nationalists and it was expected that a single Unionist candidate would hold the seat in the 2001 general election. James Cooper was nominated by the UUP.

However on this occasion it was the unionist vote that was to be split. Initially Maurice Morrow of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) was nominated to stand, with the DUP fiercely opposing the UUP's support for the Good Friday Agreement. However Morrow then withdrew in favour of Jim Dixon, a survivor of the Enniskillen bombing who stood as an Independent Unionist opposed to the Agreement. Dixon polled 6,843 votes, far in excess of the mere 53 vote lead that Sinn Féin's Michelle Gildernew had over Cooper. Subsequently the result was challenged amid allegations that a polling station had been kept open for longer than the deadline, allowing more people to vote, but the courts did not uphold the challenge.

Ahead of the 2005 general election there was much speculation that a single Unionist candidate could retake the seat. However the UUP and DUP ran opposing candidates and in the event Gildernew held her seat with an increased majority.

The Member of Parliament since the 2001 general election is Michelle Gildernew of Sinn Féin. Between 1983 and 2001 the MP was Ken Maginnis of the UUP who retired at that election.

Constituency created (1950)
1950	Cahir Healy		Nationalist (NI)
1955	Philip Christopher Clarke		Sinn Féin - subsequently unseated on petition
1955	Lord Robert Grosvenor		Ulster Unionist
1964	James Hamilton, Marquess of Hamilton		Ulster Unionist
1970	Frank McManus		Unity
1974	Harry West		Ulster Unionist
1974	Frank Maguire		Independent Republican
1981 (by-election)	Bobby Sands		Anti H-Block/Armagh Political Prisoner
1981 (second by-election)	Owen Carron		Anti H-Block Proxy Political Prisoner
1982			Sinn Féin
1983	Ken Maginnis		Ulster Unionist
2001	Michelle Gildernew		Sinn Féin

General Election 2005: Fermanagh and South Tyrone
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Sinn Féin	Michelle Gildernew	18,638	38.2	+4.1
	Democratic Unionist	Arlene Foster	14,056	28.8	N/A
	Ulster Unionist	Tom Elliott	8,869	18.2	-15.8
	Social Democratic and Labour	Tommy Gallagher	7,230	14.8	-3.9
Majority			4,582	9.4
Turnout			48,793	72.6	-5.4
	Sinn Féin hold		Swing

General Election 2001: Fermanagh and South Tyrone
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Sinn Féin	Michelle Gildernew	17,739	34.1	+11.0
	Ulster Unionist	James Cooper	17,686	34.0	-17.5
	Social Democratic and Labour	Tommy Gallagher	9,706	18.7	-4.2
	Independent	Jim Dixon	6,843	13.2	N/A
Majority			53	0.1
Turnout			51,974	78.0	+3.2
	Sinn Féin gain from Ulster Unionist		Swing

General Election 1997: Fermanagh and South Tyrone
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ulster Unionist	Ken Maginnis	24,862	51.5
	Sinn Féin	Gerry McHugh	11,174	23.1
	Social Democratic and Labour	Tommy Gallagher	11,060	22.9
	Alliance	Stephen Farry	977	2.0
	Natural Law	S. Gillan	217	0.4
Majority			13,688
Turnout				74.8
	Ulster Unionist hold		Swing

Boundary changes took effect from the 1997 general election.

General Election 1992: Fermanagh and South Tyrone
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ulster Unionist	Ken Maginnis	26,923	48.8
	Social Democratic and Labour	Tommy Gallagher	12,810	23.2
	Sinn Féin	Francie Molloy	12,604	22.9
	Independent Progressive Socialist	David Kettyles	1,094	2.0
	Alliance	Eric Bullick	950	1.7
	New Agenda	Gerry Cullen	747	1.4
Majority			14,113	25.6
Turnout				78.5
	Ulster Unionist hold		Swing

General Election 1987: Fermanagh and South Tyrone
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ulster Unionist	Ken Maginnis	27,446	49.6
	Sinn Féin	Paul Corrigan	14,623	26.4
	Social Democratic and Labour	Rosemary Flanagan	10,581	19.1
	Workers' Party	David Kettyles	1,784	3.2
	Alliance	John Haslett	950	1.7
Majority			12,823	23.2
Turnout				80.3
	Ulster Unionist hold		Swing

Fermanagh and South Tyrone by-election, 1986
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ulster Unionist	Ken Maginnis	27,857
	Sinn Féin	Owen Carron	15,278
	Social Democratic and Labour	Austin Currie	12,081
	Workers' Party	David Kettyles	864
Majority			12,579
Turnout
	Ulster Unionist hold		Swing

General Election 1983: Fermanagh and South Tyrone
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ulster Unionist	Ken Maginnis	28,630	47.6
	Sinn Féin	Owen Carron	20,954	34.8
	Social Democratic and Labour	Rosemary Flanagan	9,923	16.5
	Workers' Party	David Kettyles	649	1.1
Majority			7,676	12.8
Turnout				88.6
	Ulster Unionist gain from Independent		Swing

Minor boundary changes took effect from the 1983 general election.

By-election, August 1981: Fermanagh and South Tyrone
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Anti H-Block	Owen Carron	31,278	49.1	-3.1
	Ulster Unionist	Ken Maginnis	29,048	45.6	-4.2
	Alliance	Seamus Close	1,930	3.0	N/A
	Republican Clubs	Tom Moore	1,132	1.8	N/A
	General Amnesty	Martin Green	249	0.4	N/A
	The Peace Lover	Simon Hall-Raleigh	90	0.1	N/A
Majority			2,230
Turnout				88.6	1.7
	Anti H-Block hold		Swing

By-election, April 1981: Fermanagh and South Tyrone
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Anti H-Block	Bobby Sands	30,493	51.2	N/A
	Ulster Unionist	Harry West	29,046	48.8	+20.8
Majority			1,447	2.4	N/A
Turnout
	Anti H-Block gain from Independent Republican		Swing

General Election 1979: Fermanagh and South Tyrone
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Republican	Frank Maguire	22,398	36.0
	Ulster Unionist	Raymond Ferguson	17,411	28.0
	Social Democratic and Labour	Austin Currie	10,785	17.3
	United Ulster Unionist	Ernest Baird	10,607	17.0
	Alliance	P. Acheson	1,070	1.7
Majority			4,987	8.0
Turnout				87.1
	Independent Republican hold		Swing

General Election October 1974: Fermanagh and South Tyrone
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Republican	Frank Maguire	32,795	51.8
	Ulster Unionist	Harry West	30,285	47.9
	Communist (Ireland, M-L)	A. J. Evans	185	0.3
Majority			2,510	4.0
Turnout				88.7
	Independent Republican gain from Ulster Unionist		Swing

General Election February 1974: Fermanagh and South Tyrone
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ulster Unionist	Harry West	26,858	43.6
	Unity	Frank McManus	16,229	26.3
	Social Democratic and Labour	Denis Haughey	15,410	25.0
	Pro-Assembly Unionist	H. Brown	3,157	5.1
Majority			10,629	17.2
Turnout				88.4
	Ulster Unionist gain from Unity		Swing

General Election 1970: Fermanagh and South Tyrone
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unity	Frank McManus	32,837	51.1
	Ulster Unionist	James Hamilton	31,390	48.9
Majority			1,447	2.3
Turnout				92.1
	Unity gain from Ulster Unionist		Swing

General Election 1966: Fermanagh and South Tyrone
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ulster Unionist	James Hamilton	29,352	54.0
	Unity	J. J. Donnelly	14,645	26.9
	Independent Republican	Rory Brady (Ruairí Ó Brádaigh)	10,370	19.1
Majority			14,707	27.1
Turnout				86.0
	Ulster Unionist hold		Swing

General Election 1964: Fermanagh and South Tyrone
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ulster Unionist	James Hamilton	30,010	55.1
	Independent Republican	A. Mulloy	14,645	26.9
	Liberal	G. E. FitzHerbert	6,006	11.0
	Labour (NI)	B. W. Gamble	2,339	4.3
Majority			13,872	25.5
Turnout				85.6
	Ulster Unionist hold		Swing

General Election 1959: Fermanagh and South Tyrone
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ulster Unionist	Lord Robert Grosvenor	32,080	81.4
	Sinn Féin	J. H. Martin	7,348	18.6
Majority			24,732	62.7
Turnout				61.6
	Ulster Unionist hold		Swing

General Election 1955: Fermanagh and South Tyrone
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Sinn Féin	Philip Clarke	30,529	50.2
	Ulster Unionist	Lord Robert Grosvenor	30,268	49.8
Majority			261	0.4
Turnout				92.6
	Sinn Féin gain from Irish Nationalist		Swing

After the election, Philip Clarke was found ineligible by an election court, and Lord Robert Grosvenor was declared elected in his place.

General Election 1951: Fermanagh and South Tyrone
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nationalist (NI)	Cahir Healy	32,717	52.1
	Ulster Unionist	G. F. Patterson	30,268	47.9
Majority			2,635	4.2
Turnout				93.4
	Nationalist (NI) hold		Swing

General Election 1950: Fermanagh and South Tyrone
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Nationalist (NI)	Cahir Healy	32,188	51.9
	Ulster Unionist	H. S. C. Richardson	29,877	48.1
Majority			2,311	3.8
Turnout
	Nationalist (NI) hold		Swing

• Guardian Unlimited Politics (Election results from 1992 to the present)
• http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/ (Election results from 1951 to the present)
• http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/bfst.htm (Northern Ireland election results 1983 - 1992)
• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page (Complete list of MPs)
• F. W. S. Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918 - 1949
• F. W. S. Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1950 - 1970

• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Northern Ireland

v • d • e Constituencies in Northern Ireland
DUP	Belfast East · Belfast North · East Antrim · East Londonderry · Lagan Valley · North Antrim · South Antrim · Strangford · Upper Bann
Sinn Féin	Belfast West · Fermanagh and South Tyrone · Mid Ulster · Newry and Armagh · West Tyrone
SDLP	Belfast South · Foyle · South Down
UUP	North Down
Northern Ireland European constituency     DUP (1 seat)  ·   Sinn Féin (1 seat)  ·   UUP (1 seat)