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Belfast West — UK General Election Results

Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30

Belfast West was won by Sinn Féin at the 2024 general election, with a majority of 15,961 votes over People Before Profit Alliance. This page covers every general election in Belfast West from 1885 to 2024.

Full Election History, 1885–2024

Election Elected Votes Vote Share Runner-up Majority Turnout
1885 James Horner Haslett (Irish Unionist) 3,780 50.2% Thomas Sexton (Irish Parliamentary Party) 37 (0.5 pts) 92.5%
1886 Thomas Sexton (Irish Parliamentary Party) 3,832 50.7% James Horner Haslett (Irish Unionist) 103 (1.4 pts) 93.0%
1892 Hugh Oakeley Arnold-Foster (Liberal Unionist) 4,266 55.5% Thomas Sexton (Irish Parliamentary Party) 839 (10.9 pts) 92.3%
1895 Hugh Oakeley Arnold-Forster (Liberal Unionist) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1900 Hugh Oakley Arnold-Forster (Liberal Unionist) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1906 Joseph Devlin (Irish Parliamentary Party) 4,138 49.2% John Reid Smiley (Liberal Unionist) 16 (0.2 pts) 94.6%
Jan 1910 Joseph Devlin (Irish Parliamentary Party) 4,651 52.9% John Boyd Carpenter (Irish Unionist) 587 (6.7 pts) 95.2%
Dec 1910 Joseph Devlin (Irish Parliamentary Party) 4,543 52.7% John Boyd Carpenter (Irish Unionist) 463 (5.4 pts) 72.9%
1922 Robert John Lynn (Ulster Unionist) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1923 Robert John Lynn (Ulster Unionist) 24,975 52.9% Harry Cassidy Midgley (Belfast Labour) 2,720 (5.8 pts) 70.3%
1924 Robert John Lynn (Ulster Unionist) 28,435 54.4% Harry Cassidy Midgley (NI Labour) 7,313 (14.0 pts) 79.1%
1929 William Edward David Allen (Ulster Unionist) 33,274 57.9% Frank MacDermot (Irish Nationalist) 9,097 (15.8 pts) 73.9%
1931 Alexander Crawford Browne (Ulster Unionist) 31,113 58.6% Thomas Joseph Campbell (Irish Nationalist) 9,107 (17.1 pts) 68.1%
1935 Alexander Crawford Browne (Ulster Unionist) 34,060 62.6% Charles Leddy (Independent Republican) 13,747 (25.3 pts) 68.0%
1945 John Beattie (Independent Labour) 30,787 53.5% Samuel Knox Cunningham (Ulster Unionist) 4,058 (7.1 pts) 73.1%
1950 James Godfrey MacManaway (Ulster Unionist) 33,917 51.4% John Beattie (Irish Labour) 3,378 (5.1 pts) 83.6%
1951 John Beattie (Irish Labour) 33,174 50.0% Thomas Leslie Teevan (Ulster Unionist) 25 (0.0 pts) 84.1%
1955 Patricia McLaughlin (Ulster Unionist) 34,191 54.5% Jack Beattie (Irish Labour) 18,141 (28.9 pts) 74.7%
1959 Patricia McLaughlin (Ulster Unionist) 28,898 54.1% John Joseph Brennan (Independent Labour Group) 8,836 (16.6 pts) 72.7%
1964 James Kilfedder (Ulster Unionist) 21,337 41.2% Harry Diamond (Republican Labour) 6,659 (12.8 pts) 74.7%
1966 Gerry Fitt (Republican Labour) 26,292 52.0% James Kilfedder (Ulster Unionist) 2,011 (4.0 pts) 74.8%
1970 Gerry Fitt (Republican Labour) 30,649 52.8% Brian McRoberts (Ulster Unionist) 3,198 (5.5 pts) 84.6%
Oct 1974 Gerry Fitt (SDLP) 21,821 49.0% John McQuade (DUP) 5,556 (12.5 pts) 67.2%
Feb 1974 Gerry Fitt (SDLP) 19,554 41.0% John McQuade (DUP) 2,180 (4.6 pts) 72.6%
1979 Gerry Fitt (SDLP) 16,480 49.5% Thomas Passmore (Ulster Unionist) 8,235 (24.7 pts) 56.5%
1983 Gerry Adams (Sinn Féin) 16,379 36.9% Joe Hendron (SDLP) 5,445 (12.3 pts) 74.3%
1987 Gerry Adams (Sinn Féin) 16,862 41.2% Joe Hendron (SDLP) 2,221 (5.4 pts) 69.1%
1992 Joe Hendron (SDLP) 17,415 43.6% Gerry Adams (Sinn Féin) 589 (1.5 pts) 73.2%
1997 Gerry Adams (Sinn Féin) 25,662 55.9% Joe Hendron (SDLP) 7,909 (17.2 pts) 74.3%
2001 Gerry Adams (Sinn Féin) 27,096 66.1% Alex Attwood (SDLP) 19,342 (47.2 pts) 68.7%
2005 Gerry Adams (Sinn Féin) 24,348 70.5% Alex Attwood (SDLP) 19,315 (55.9 pts) 64.5%
2010 Gerry Adams (Sinn Féin) 22,840 71.1% Alex Attwood (SDLP) 17,579 (54.7 pts) 54.9%
2015 Paul Maskey (Sinn Féin) 19,163 54.2% Gerry Carroll (People Before Profit Alliance) 12,365 (35.0 pts) 56.8%
2017 Paul Maskey (Sinn Féin) 27,107 66.7% Frank McCoubrey (DUP) 21,652 (53.3 pts) 65.4%
2019 Paul Maskey (Sinn Féin) 20,866 53.8% Gerry Carroll (People Before Profit Alliance) 14,672 (37.8 pts) 59.4%
2024 Paul Maskey (Sinn Féin) 21,009 52.9% Gerry Carrol (People Before Profit Alliance) 15,961 (40.2 pts) 53.1%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1885

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Horner Haslett Irish Unionist 3,78050.2% Yes
Thomas Sexton Irish Parliamentary Party 3,74349.8% No

1886

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Thomas Sexton Irish Parliamentary Party 3,83250.7% Yes
James Horner Haslett Irish Unionist 3,72949.3% No

1892

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Hugh Oakeley Arnold-Foster Liberal Unionist 4,26655.5% Yes
Thomas Sexton Irish Parliamentary Party 3,42744.5% No

1895

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Hugh Oakeley Arnold-Forster Liberal Unionist Unopposed Yes

1900

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Hugh Oakley Arnold-Forster Liberal Unionist Unopposed Yes

1906

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Joseph Devlin Irish Parliamentary Party 4,13849.2% Yes
John Reid Smiley Liberal Unionist 4,12249.0% No
Alexander Montgomery Carlisle Independent Liberal Unionist 1531.8% No

Jan 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Joseph Devlin Irish Parliamentary Party 4,65152.9% Yes
John Boyd Carpenter Irish Unionist 4,06446.2% No
Patrick Magee Irish Nationalist 750.9% No

Dec 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Joseph Devlin Irish Parliamentary Party 4,54352.7% Yes
John Boyd Carpenter Irish Unionist 4,08047.3% No

1922

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert John Lynn Ulster Unionist Unopposed Yes

1923

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert John Lynn Ulster Unionist 24,97552.9% Yes
Harry Cassidy Midgley Belfast Labour 22,25547.1% No

1924

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert John Lynn Ulster Unionist 28,43554.4% Yes
Harry Cassidy Midgley NI Labour 21,12240.4% No
Patrick Nash Sinn Féin 2,6885.1% No

1929

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Edward David Allen Ulster Unionist 33,27457.9% Yes
Frank MacDermot Irish Nationalist 24,17742.1% No

1931

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Alexander Crawford Browne Ulster Unionist 31,11358.6% Yes
Thomas Joseph Campbell Irish Nationalist 22,00641.4% No

1935

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Alexander Crawford Browne Ulster Unionist 34,06062.6% Yes
Charles Leddy Independent Republican 20,31337.4% No

1945

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Beattie Independent Labour 30,78753.5% Yes
Samuel Knox Cunningham Ulster Unionist 26,72946.5% No

1950

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Godfrey MacManaway Ulster Unionist 33,91751.4% Yes
John Beattie Irish Labour 30,53946.3% No
Jimmy Steele Sinn Féin 1,4822.2% No

1951

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John Beattie Irish Labour 33,17450.0% Yes
Thomas Leslie Teevan Ulster Unionist 33,14950.0% No

1955

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Patricia McLaughlin Ulster Unionist 34,19154.5% Yes
Jack Beattie Irish Labour 16,05025.6% No
Eamonn Boyce Sinn Féin 8,44713.5% No

1959

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Patricia McLaughlin Ulster Unionist 28,89854.1% Yes
John Joseph Brennan Independent Labour Group 20,06237.6% No
Thomas Heenan Sinn Féin 4,4168.3% No

1964

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Kilfedder Ulster Unionist 21,33741.2% Yes
Harry Diamond Republican Labour 14,67828.3% No
Billy Boyd NI Labour 12,57124.2% No
Billy McMillen Independent Republican 3,2566.3% No

1966

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Gerry Fitt Republican Labour 26,29252.0% Yes
James Kilfedder Ulster Unionist 24,28148.0% No

1970

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Gerry Fitt Republican Labour 30,64952.8% Yes
Brian McRoberts Ulster Unionist 27,45147.2% No

Oct 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Gerry Fitt SDLP 21,82149.0% Yes
John McQuade DUP 16,26536.5% No
Kitty O'Kane Republican Clubs 3,5478.0% No
Ken Gibson Volunteer Political Party 2,6906.0% No
Peter Kerins Communist Party of Ireland (Marxist-Leninist) 2030.5% No

Feb 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Gerry Fitt SDLP 19,55441.0% Yes
John McQuade DUP 17,37436.4% No
Albert Price Independent Republican 5,66211.9% No
John Brady Republican Clubs 3,0886.5% No
Billy Boyd NI Labour 1,9894.2% No

1979

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Gerry Fitt SDLP 16,48049.5% Yes
Thomas Passmore Ulster Unionist 8,24524.8% No
Billy Dickson DUP 3,71611.2% No
Brian Brennan Republican Clubs 2,2846.9% No
John Cousins Alliance 2,0246.1% No
Derek Peters NI Labour 5401.6% No

1983

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Gerry Adams Sinn Féin 16,37936.9% Yes
Joe Hendron SDLP 10,93424.6% No
Gerry Fitt Independent Socialist 10,32623.3% No
Thomas Passmore Ulster Unionist 2,4355.5% No
George Haffey DUP 2,3995.4% No
Mary McMahon Workers' Party 1,8934.3% No

1987

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Gerry Adams Sinn Féin 16,86241.2% Yes
Joe Hendron SDLP 14,64135.7% No
Frank Millar Ulster Unionist 7,64618.7% No
Mary McMahon Workers' Party 1,8194.4% No

1992

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Joe Hendron SDLP 17,41543.6% Yes
Gerry Adams Sinn Féin 16,82642.1% No
Fred Cobain Ulster Unionist 4,76611.9% No
John Lowry Workers' Party 7501.9% No
Michael Kennedy Natural Law 2130.5% No

1997

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Gerry Adams Sinn Féin 25,66255.9% Yes
Joe Hendron SDLP 17,75338.7% No
Fred Parkinson Ulster Unionist 1,5563.4% No
John Lowry Workers' Party 7211.6% No
Liam Kennedy Human Rights 1020.2% No
Mary Daly Natural Law 910.2% No

2001

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Gerry Adams Sinn Féin 27,09666.1% Yes
Alex Attwood SDLP 7,75418.9% No
Eric Smyth DUP 2,6416.4% No
Chris McGimpsey Ulster Unionist 2,5416.2% No
John Lowry Workers' Party 7361.8% No
David Kerr Third Way 1160.3% No
Rainbow George Weiss Rainbow Dream Ticket 980.2% No

2005

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Gerry Adams Sinn Féin 24,34870.5% Yes
Alex Attwood SDLP 5,03314.6% No
Diane Dodds DUP 3,65210.6% No
Chris McGimpsey Ulster Unionist 7792.3% No
John Lowry Workers' Party 4321.3% No
Lynda Gilby Rainbow Dream Ticket 1540.4% No
Liam Kennedy Independent 1470.4% No

2010

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Gerry Adams Sinn Féin 22,84071.1% Yes
Alex Attwood SDLP 5,26116.4% No
William Humphrey DUP 2,4367.6% No
Bill Manwaring Independent 1,0003.1% No
Maire Hendron Alliance 5961.9% No

2015

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Paul Maskey Sinn Féin 19,16354.2% Yes
Gerry Carroll People Before Profit Alliance 6,79819.2% No
Alex Attwood SDLP 3,4759.8% No
Frank McCoubrey DUP 2,7737.8% No
Bill Manwaring Ulster Unionist 1,0883.1% No
Brian Higginson UKIP 7652.2% No
Gerard Catney Alliance 6361.8% No
John Lowry The Workers' Party 5971.7% No
Paul Shea Conservative 340.1% No

2017

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Paul Maskey Sinn Féin 27,10766.7% Yes
Frank McCoubrey DUP 5,45513.4% No
Gerry Carroll People Before Profit Alliance 4,13210.2% No
Tim Attwood SDLP 2,8607.0% No
Sorcha Eastwood Alliance 7311.8% No
Conor Campbell The Workers' Party 3480.9% No

2019

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Paul Maskey Sinn Féin 20,86653.8% Yes
Gerry Carroll People Before Profit Alliance 6,19416.0% No
Frank McCoubrey DUP 5,22013.5% No
Paul Doherty SDLP 2,9857.7% No
Donnamarie Higgins Alliance 1,8824.9% No
Monica Digney Aontú 1,6354.2% No

2024

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Paul Maskey Sinn Féin 21,00952.9% Yes
Gerry Carrol People Before Profit Alliance 5,04812.7% No
Paul Doherty SDLP 4,31810.9% No
Frank McCoubrey DUP 4,30410.8% No
Ann McClure Traditional Unionist Voice 2,0105.1% No
Eóin Millar Alliance 1,0772.7% No
Gerard Herdman Aontú 9042.3% No
Ben Sharkey Ulster Unionist 4611.2% No
Ash Jones Green 4511.1% No
Tony Mallon Independent 1610.4% No

Margin Over Time

Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.

1885: Irish Unionist margin 0.5 pts 1886: Irish Parliamentary Party margin 1.4 pts 1892: Liberal Unionist margin 10.9 pts 1906: Irish Parliamentary Party margin 0.2 pts Jan 1910: Irish Parliamentary Party margin 6.7 pts Dec 1910: Irish Parliamentary Party margin 5.4 pts 1923: Ulster Unionist margin 5.8 pts 1924: Ulster Unionist margin 14.0 pts 1929: Ulster Unionist margin 15.8 pts 1931: Ulster Unionist margin 17.1 pts 1935: Ulster Unionist margin 25.3 pts 1945: Independent Labour margin 7.1 pts 1950: Ulster Unionist margin 5.1 pts 1951: Irish Labour margin 0.0 pts 1955: Ulster Unionist margin 28.9 pts 1959: Ulster Unionist margin 16.6 pts 1964: Ulster Unionist margin 12.8 pts 1966: Republican Labour margin 4.0 pts 1970: Republican Labour margin 5.5 pts Oct 1974: SDLP margin 12.5 pts Feb 1974: SDLP margin 4.6 pts 1979: SDLP margin 24.7 pts 1983: Sinn Féin margin 12.3 pts 1987: Sinn Féin margin 5.4 pts 1992: SDLP margin 1.5 pts 1997: Sinn Féin margin 17.2 pts 2001: Sinn Féin margin 47.2 pts 2005: Sinn Féin margin 55.9 pts 2010: Sinn Féin margin 54.7 pts 2015: Sinn Féin margin 35.0 pts 2017: Sinn Féin margin 53.3 pts 2019: Sinn Féin margin 37.8 pts 2024: Sinn Féin margin 40.2 pts 1885 1886 1892 1906 Jan 1910 Dec 1910 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 Oct 1974 Feb 1974 1979 1983 1987 1992 1997 2001 2005 2010 2015 2017 2019 2024

Trend

Belfast West has been contested at 36 general elections on record since 1885. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Irish Unionist, Irish Parliamentary Party, Liberal Unionist, Ulster Unionist, Independent Labour, Irish Labour, Republican Labour, SDLP, Sinn Féin.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Belfast West in the 2024 general election?

Sinn Féin won Belfast West in 2024 with 21,009 votes (52.9%), a majority of 15,961 votes over People Before Profit Alliance in second place.

Which parties have won Belfast West since 1885?

Since 1885, Belfast West has been won by: Independent Labour, Irish Labour, Irish Parliamentary Party, Irish Unionist, Liberal Unionist, Republican Labour, SDLP, Sinn Féin, Ulster Unionist.

What was the closest result in Belfast West?

The closest result on record for Belfast West was 1951, when Irish Labour beat Ulster Unionist by just 25 votes (0.0 percentage points).

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