Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30
Belfast elected 2 MPs at the 1880 general election: William Ewart (Conservative) and James Porter Corry (Conservative). This page covers every general election in Belfast from 1832 to 1880.
This constituency elected more than one MP at once in some years. Before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (and in a shrinking number of boroughs through 1948), most UK constituencies elected two or more MPs together by "multi-member plurality" (block vote): each elector could cast one vote per available seat, and the top vote-getters overall were all elected. In those elections below, "Elected" lists every MP returned, "Votes" is the count that secured the last seat, and "Majority" is the gap between that seat and the first candidate who missed out.
Full Election History, 1832–1880
Election
Elected
Votes
Vote Share
Runner-up
Majority
Turnout
1832
Arthur Chichester (Conservative); James Emerson Tennent (Liberal)
723
29.8% (top seat)
Robert James Tennent (Liberal)
98 (3.5 pts)
84.3%
1835
James Emerson Tennent (Conservative); John McCance (Liberal)
719
35.0% (top seat)
Arthur Chichester (Conservative)
6 (0.3 pts)
51.7%
1837
James Gibson (Liberal); George Hamilton Chichester (Liberal)
922
25.9% (top seat)
James Emerson Tennent (Conservative)
21 (0.6 pts)
49.9%
1841
James Emerson Tennent (Conservative); William Gillilan Johnson (Conservative)
913
26.8% (top seat)
George Hamilton Chichester (Liberal)
92 (2.7 pts)
29.2%
1847
Robert James Tennent (Liberal); John Ludford Chichester (Peelite)
747
39.3% (top seat)
George Suffern (Conservative)
58 (2.5 pts)
12.2%
1852
Richard Davison (Conservative); Hugh McCalmont Cairns (Conservative)
1,193
37.5% (top seat)
Robert James Tennent (Liberal)
289 (8.6 pts)
62.2%
1857
Hugh McCalmont Cairns (Conservative); Richard Davison (Conservative)
1,410
28.5% (top seat)
John Robinson McClean (Liberal)
415 (8.0 pts)
73.7%
1859
Hugh McCalmont Cairns (Conservative); Richard Davison (Conservative)
Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record
0.0%
1865
Hugh McCalmont Cairns (Conservative); Samuel Gibson Getty (Conservative)
1,728
40.1% (top seat)
John Hay (Liberal)
737 (16.2 pts)
66.5%
1868
William Johnston (Conservative); Thomas McClure (Liberal)
4,202
39.1% (top seat)
Charles Lanyon (Conservative)
662 (4.3 pts)
62.9%
1874
James Porter Corry (Conservative); William Johnston (Conservative)
8,176
39.7% (top seat)
Thomas McClure (Liberal)
4,080 (19.2 pts)
66.3%
1880
William Ewart (Conservative); James Porter Corry (Conservative)
7,683
30.1% (top seat)
Robert Seeds (Independent Conservative)
1,564 (5.8 pts)
63.8%
Full Result Breakdown by Election
1832 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Arthur Chichester
Conservative
834
29.8%
Yes
James Emerson Tennent
Liberal
723
25.8%
Yes
Robert James Tennent
Liberal
625
22.3%
No
William Sharman Crawford
Radical
616
22.0%
No
1835 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
James Emerson Tennent
Conservative
773
35.0%
Yes
John McCance
Liberal
719
32.6%
Yes
Arthur Chichester
Conservative
713
32.3%
No
John French
Radical
3
0.1%
No
1837 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
James Gibson
Liberal
941
25.9%
Yes
George Hamilton Chichester
Liberal
922
25.4%
Yes
James Emerson Tennent
Conservative
901
24.8%
No
George Dunbar
Conservative
869
23.9%
No
1841 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
James Emerson Tennent
Conservative
927
26.8%
Yes
William Gillilan Johnson
Conservative
913
26.4%
Yes
George Hamilton Chichester
Liberal
821
23.8%
No
David Robert Ross
Liberal
792
22.9%
No
1847 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Robert James Tennent
Liberal
929
39.3%
Yes
John Ludford Chichester
Peelite
747
31.6%
Yes
George Suffern
Conservative
689
29.1%
No
1852 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Richard Davison
Conservative
1,259
37.5%
Yes
Hugh McCalmont Cairns
Conservative
1,193
35.5%
Yes
Robert James Tennent
Liberal
904
26.9%
No
1857 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Hugh McCalmont Cairns
Conservative
1,479
28.5%
Yes
Richard Davison
Conservative
1,410
27.2%
Yes
John Robinson McClean
Liberal
995
19.2%
No
John Francis Ferguson
Liberal
733
14.1%
No
Thomas McClure
Liberal
566
10.9%
No
1859 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Hugh McCalmont Cairns
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
Richard Davison
Conservative
Unopposed
Yes
1865 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
Hugh McCalmont Cairns
Conservative
1,822
40.1%
Yes
Samuel Gibson Getty
Conservative
1,728
38.1%
Yes
John Hay
Liberal
991
21.8%
No
1868 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Johnston
Conservative
5,975
39.1%
Yes
Thomas McClure
Liberal
4,202
27.5%
Yes
Charles Lanyon
Conservative
3,540
23.1%
No
John Mulholland
Conservative
1,580
10.3%
No
1874 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
James Porter Corry
Conservative
8,412
39.7%
Yes
William Johnston
Conservative
8,176
38.6%
Yes
Thomas McClure
Liberal
4,096
19.3%
No
John Rea
Independent Conservative
506
2.4%
No
1880 (2 seats)
Candidate
Party
Votes
Share
Elected
William Ewart
Conservative
8,132
30.1%
Yes
James Porter Corry
Conservative
7,683
28.4%
Yes
Robert Seeds
Independent Conservative
6,119
22.6%
No
John Shaw Brown
Liberal
5,122
18.9%
No
Margin Over Time
Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.
Trend
Belfast has been contested at 12 general elections on record since 1832. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Conservative, Liberal, Peelite.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won Belfast in the 1880 general election?
William Ewart (Conservative), James Porter Corry (Conservative) won Belfast in 1880.
Which parties have won Belfast since 1832?
Since 1832, Belfast has been won by: Conservative, Liberal, Peelite.
What was the closest result in Belfast?
The closest result on record for Belfast was 1835, when Conservative beat Conservative by just 6 votes (0.3 percentage points).
Did Belfast ever elect more than one MP at a time?
Yes -- like most UK constituencies before the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, Belfast elected multiple MPs at once in some elections on this page (a system called multi-member plurality, or 'block vote'), each voter casting one vote per available seat.