West Belfast 1922-1949

See also election results for West Belfast 1950-1970, 1973-1982, 1983-1992 and 1993-2007.

* The only candidate nominated for the 1922 General Election was Unionist Robert Lynn. As the sole candidate he was therefore duly elected without a contest.

Westminster Election, 5 July 1945

Determined to recapture the seat lost to Beattie in the 1943 by-election, the Unionist Party once again selected Samuel Knox Cunningham. This time there was no other unionist candidate on the ballot to split the vote. In a substantially higher turn-out, Cunningham managed to consolidate the unionist vote and increase it by almost 5,000 compared to the by-election. However, Beattie, now standing an an Independent Labour candidate, was able to increase his tally by over 10,000 votes and comfortably retained his seat.

Beattie would go on to lose the seat in the 1950 Westminster election, regain it in 1951 and lose it again in 1955. Cunningham would go on to win a seat in South Antrim in the 1955 Westminster elections. He would hold that seat until 1970. Cunningham was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary for Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in 1959.

Westminster By-Election, 9 February 1943

Independent Labour majority: 5,510; electorate: 78,763; votes cast: 54.8%

Browne, who had been the MP for West Belfast since 1931, died in December 1942. In the resulting by-election, there was a relatively packed field, with no less than four candidates competing. The Unionist Party selected barrister Samuel Knox Cunningham to defend the seat that they had held since 1922. The unionst vote was also being courted by Independent Unionist, William Wilton. The Northern Ireland Labour Party were contesting the seat for the first time since 1924, with their veteran candidate Jack Beattie. Rounding out the field was Independent Republican, Hugh Corvin. The result sent shockwaves through the Unionist establishment. The splitting of the unionist vote between Cunningham and Wilton allowed Beattie to top the poll, becoming the the first labour MP elected for Northern Ireland.

Beattie had been a member of the NILP (and one time leader) until he was expelled in 1934. He was readmitted to the party in 1942 before resigning again the following year. He formed the Federation of Labour in 1945 before disbanding it and joining the Irish Labour Party in 1949. Beattie had represented East Belfast in the Northern Ireland House of Commons between 1925-1929 and Pottinger between 1929-1949.

Wilton had previously unsuccessfully contested the 1933 Northern Ireland general elections Belfast Oldpark and the 1938 general elections in Belfast Clifton. He would go on to serve as a member of the Northern Ireland Senate from 1945 to 1953.

Corvin had previously contested the 1924 Westminster elections as a Sinn Fein candidate in North Belfast.

Westminster Election, 14 November 1935

Westminster Election, 27 October 1931

Following Allen's defection to the New Party, the Unionists chose Capt. Alexander Crawford Browne as their candidate. As was the case in 1929, opposition came in the form of the Nationalist Party and their new candidate Tom Campbell. On a slightly reduced turn-out, the Unionists managed to comfortably retain the seat and Browne became the new MP for West Belfast.

Browne had been previously elected to Belfast City Council in 1924. Campbell had previously stood unsuccessfully for the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) in South Monaghan at the 1918 general election. He had been appointed to the Northern Ireland Senate in 1929. He would later be elected to the Northern Ireland House of Commons in a 1934 by-election for Belfast Central.

Westminster Election, 30 May 1929

Following Lynn's retirement from Westminster, the Unionist Party selected the London based William Allen to defend the West Belfast seat. Allen would face opposition from the Nationalist Party's candidate Frank MacDermot. Despite being the closest contest of the election in Northern Ireland, Allen still managed a comfortable majority of over 9,000 votes. At 73.9%, West Belfast had the highest turn-out across Northern Ireland in the 1929 election.

Allen had previously contested the two-seat Fermanagh and Tyrone constituency for the Unionists in the 1922 Westminster elections. In 1931 he would defect from the Unionist Party and join Sir Oswald Mosley's facist New Party. He did not conest the 1931 election.

Frank MacDermot was subsequently elected to the Dáil at the 1932 Irish general election as an Independent for Roscommon. He would later serve in the Seanad between 1938 and 1943, as a nominee of the Taoiseach.

Westminster Election, 29 October 1924

In the 1924 election, Lynn once again faced opposition from Harry Midgely, now standing under the Northern Ireland Labour Party (NILP) banner. This time round there would also be a third candidate in the race, Patrick Nash, representing Sinn Fein. Nash was one of eight Sinn Fein candidates put forward in 1924. The addition of Nash to the field appears to have eaten into Midgely's tally and Lynn was returned with an increased majority. At 79.1%, West Belfast had the highest turn-out across Northern Ireland in the 1924 election. It was also the closest result of the election.

Midgely would go on to be elected in the 1933 Northern Ireland general election for Belfast Dock and again in a 1941 by-election for Belfast Willowfield. He founded the Commonwealth Labour Party (CWLP) in 1942 and would serve as Minister of Public Security and Minister of Labour. Midgely would stand as a CWLP candidate in South Belfast in the 1945 Westminster election. He eventually disbanded the CWLP and joined the Unionist Party in 1947.

Westminster Election, 6 December 1923

Westminster Election, 15 November 1922