is a Parliamentary Constituency in the House Of Commons and also an Assembly constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly .
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was re-created in 1950 when the old Antrim two MP constituency was abolished as part of the final move to single member seats. The seat has had relatively few changes over the years and currently contains exactly the districts of Ballymena , Ballymoney and Moyle .
The constituency is largely rural. Amongst the features within its boundaries are Rathlin Island and Giant's Causeway .
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At the time of writing the Boundary Commission has proposed alterations for the boundaries of constituencies in Northern Ireland. North Antrim currently has the largest electorate of any constituency in Northern Ireland and it is proposed to transfer the Glens, including Rathlin Island, in Moyle to East Antrim and rename that seat . However this proposal has raised many questions, with some already arguing that the Glens have no natural ties to Jordanstown . The changes will be subject to a series of consultations and it remains to be seen whether these proposals will be upheld. If not then it is likely that some other changes will be performed.
is an overwhelmingly Unionist seat. It first existed in 1885-1922, before reverting to being part of the two member Antrim seat (as it had been before 1885). North Antrim was re-created in 1950 as a larger seat than it had been in its first incarnation. County Antrim , excluding the parts in the Belfast constituencies, was split into two divisions instead of four as previously. The 1950 North Antrim was comparable to the North and Mid Antrim divisions which had existed from 1885 to 1922.
Since 1950 the Westminster elections have been relatively uncompetitive. In 1951, it was one of the last four seats to be uncontested in a UK general election. More recently, one man has repeatedly won by a landslide. The Reverend Ian Richard Kyle Paisley was first elected as a Protestant Unionist Party candidate in the 1970 General Election . The following year that party changed to the Democratic Unionist Party and Paisley has held the seat ever since. This is the longest continuous period the current holding party has held any Northern Irish seat for. In elections at all levels, the DUP have frequently had their highest share of the vote in North Antrim and have rarely been seriously challenged.
Surprisingly there has been strong evidence of a number of Catholic voters in the constituency voting for Ian Paisley despite his views, presumably because of his strong reputation for his constituency work. 30% of residents were Catholic at the 2001 UK Census. Some allowances must be made for residents aged under 18 but, in comparison, the proportion of nationalist voters in recent elections has been 23% (2001 local government), 26.6% (2001 general election), 27.6% (2003 assembly election), 26.8% (2005 local government) and 27.9% (2005 general election).
There is much speculation that Ian Paisley will step down at the next UK general election. It is widely expected that, if he does, the new DUP candidate will be his son, Ian Paisley, Jr. .
According to straw polls, the constituency was alone in Northern Ireland in voting against the Belfast Agreement .
The Member Of Parliament since the 1970 General Election is the Rev. Dr. Ian Paisley . He was initially elected as a member of the Protestant Unionist Party but since 1971 has sat for the Democratic Unionist Party
North Antrim has had comparatively few MPs in its lifetime compared to other parliamentary constituencies. Sir Hugh O'Neill had sat for one of the predecessor seats of Mid Antrim between 1915 and 1922 and Antrim between 1922 until 1950 , making this one of the few seats where four individuals between them represented the seat continuously over a period of ninety years.
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Sinn Féin
|
| |
Philip McGuigan
|
| |
7,191
|
| |
157
|
| |
+59
|
|
| |
Ulster Unionist Party
|
| |
Rodney McCune
|
| |
6,637
|
| |
145
|
| |
-65
|
|
| |
Social Democratic and Labour Party
|
| |
Sean Farren
|
| |
5,585
|
| |
122
|
| |
-46
|
|
| |
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
|
| |
Jayne Dunlop
|
| |
1,357
|
| |
30
|
| |
+04
|
|
| |
Democratic Unionist Party
|
|
| |
Ulster Unionist Party
|
| |
Lexie Scott
|
| |
10,315
|
| |
210
|
| |
-27
|
|
| |
Social Democratic and Labour Party
|
| |
Sean Farren
|
| |
8,283
|
| |
168
|
| |
+10
|
|
| |
Sinn Féin
|
| |
John Kelly
|
| |
4,822
|
| |
98
|
| |
+35
|
|
| |
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
|
| |
Jayne Dunlop
|
| |
1,258
|
| |
26
|
| |
-36
|
|
| |
Democratic Unionist Party
|
|
| |
Ulster Unionist Party
|
| |
James Leslie
|
| |
10,921
|
| |
236
|
| |
+55
|
|
| |
Social Democratic and Labour Party
|
| |
Sean Farren
|
| |
7,333
|
| |
159
|
| |
+16
|
|
| |
Sinn Féin
|
| |
James McGarry
|
| |
2,896
|
| |
63
|
| |
+21
|
|
| |
Northern Ireland Women's Coalition
|
| |
B Hinds
|
| |
580
|
| |
13
|
| |
''N/A''
|
|
| |
Natural Law Party
|
| |
J Wright
|
| |
116
|
| |
03
|
| |
''N/A''
|
|
| |
Democratic Unionist Party
|
|
| |
Ulster Unionist Party
|
| |
Joe Gaston
|
| |
8,216
|
| |
181
|
| |
''N/A''
|
|
| |
Social Democratic and Labour Party
|
| |
Sean Farren
|
| |
6,512
|
| |
143
|
| |
-18
|
|
| |
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
|
| |
Gareth Williams
|
| |
3,442
|
| |
76
|
| |
-48
|
|
| |
Conservative Party (UK)
|
| |
Richard Sowler
|
| |
2,263
|
| |
50
|
| |
''N/A''
|
|
| |
Sinn Féin
|
| |
James McGarry
|
| |
1,916
|
| |
42
|
| |
-22
|
|
| |
Democratic Unionist Party
|
|
| |
Social Democratic and Labour Party
|
| |
Sean Farren
|
| |
5,149
|
| |
125
|
|
| |
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
|
| |
Gareth Williams
|
| |
5,140
|
| |
124
|
|
| |
Sinn Féin
|
| |
S Reagan
|
| |
2,633
|
| |
64
|
|
| |
Democratic Unionist Party
|
|
| |
Democratic Unionist Party
|
| |
''N/A''
|
|
| |
Ulster Unionist Party
|
| |
R Coulter
|
| |
10,749
|
| |
243
|
|
| |
Social Democratic and Labour Party
|
| |
Sean Farren
|
| |
6,193
|
| |
140
|
|
| |
Sinn Féin
|
| |
P McMahon
|
| |
2,860
|
| |
65
|
|
| |
Democratic Unionist Party
|
|
| |
Ulster Unionist Party
|
| |
David Burchill
|
| |
15,398
|
| |
234
|
| |
''N/A''
|
|
| |
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
|
| |
Hugh Wilson
|
| |
7,797
|
| |
119
|
| |
''N/A''
|
|
| |
Social Democratic and Labour Party
|
| |
Sean Farren
|
| |
4,867
|
| |
74
|
| |
- 54
|
|
| |
Irish Independence Party
|
| |
John Turnly
|
| |
3,689
|
| |
56
|
| |
''N/A''
|
|
| |
Democratic Unionist Party
|
|
| |
Independent (politician)
|
| |
Hugh Wilson
|
| |
8,689
|
| |
146
|
| |
''N/A''
|
|
| |
Social Democratic and Labour Party
|
| |
Mary McAlister
|
| |
7,616
|
| |
128
|
| |
- 27
|
|
| |
Democratic Unionist Party
|
|
| |
Pro-Assembly Unionist
|
| |
Thomas Utley
|
| |
13,651
|
| |
210
|
| |
''N/A''
|
|
| |
Social Democratic and Labour Party
|
| |
Mary McAlister
|
| |
10,056
|
| |
155
|
| |
''N/A''
|
|
| |
Democratic Unionist Party
|
|
| |
Protestant Unionist Party
|
| |
Ian Paisley
|
| |
24,130
|
| |
412
|
| |
''N/A''
|
|
| |
Northern Ireland Labour Party
|
| |
Patrick McHugh
|
| |
6,476
|
| |
110
|
| |
''N/A''
|
|
| |
National Democratic Party (Northern Ireland)
|
| |
Alasdair McDonnell
|
| |
4,312
|
| |
74
|
| |
''N/A''
|
|
| |
Ulster Liberal Party
|
| |
Richard Moore
|
| |
2,269
|
| |
39
|
| |
- 180
|
|
| |
Protestant Unionist Party
|
| |
Ulster Unionist Party
|
|
| |
Ulster Liberal Party
|
| |
Richard Moore
|
| |
8,941
|
| |
219
|
| |
''N/A''
|
|
| |
Independent Republican (Ireland)
|
| |
John Caughey
|
| |
4,424
|
| |
99
|
| |
''N/A''
|
|
| |
Sinn Féin
|
| |
John Dougan
|
| |
2,280
|
| |
51
|
| |
- 89
|
|
| |
Sinn Féin
|
| |
John Dougan
|
| |
6,809
|
| |
140
|
| |
''N/A''
|
|
| |
Ulster Unionist Party
|
| |
''N/A''
|
|
:In the 1950 and 1951 UK General Election s, Sir Hugh O'Neill was elected unopposed. In the North Antrim By-election, 1953 , Phelim Robert Hugh O'Neill (his son) was elected unopposed.
The six MLAs for the constituency elected in the 2003 Election are:
In the 1998 Election the six MLAs elected were:
1998 - 2003
In the 1996 election to the Northern Ireland Peace Forum, 5 Forum members were elected from North Antrim. They were as follows:
In 1982 elections were held for an Assembly for Northern Ireland to hold the Secretary Of State to account, in the hope that this would be the first step towards restoring devolution. North Antrim elected 8 members as follows:
In 1975 elections were held to a Constitutional Convention which sought (unsuccessfully) to generate a consensus on the future of the province. The seven members elected from North Antrim were:
In 1973 elections were held to the Assembly set up under the Sunningdale Agreement . The seven members elected from North Antrim were:
1973 - 1974
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