1987 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland

Main article: 1987 United Kingdom general election

1987 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland

11 June 1987
17 seats in Northern Ireland of the 650 seats in the House of Commons
Turnout	67.4% ()
First party Second party   Leader James Molyneaux John Hume Party Ulster Unionist Party Social Democratic and Labour Party Leader since 1979 6 May 1979 Leader's seat Lagan Valley Foyle Seats won 9 3 Seat change 2 2 Popular vote 276,230 154,087 Percentage 37.8% 21.1%   Third party Fourth party   Leader Ian Paisley Gerry Adams Party Democratic Unionist Party Sinn Féin Leader since 1971 1983 Leader's seat Antrim North Belfast West Seats won 3 1 Seat change Popular vote 85,642 83,389 Percentage 11.7% 11.4%

The 1987 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland was held on 11 June with 17 MPs elected in single-seat constituencies using first-past-the-post as part of the wider general election in the United Kingdom. 1,090,389 people were eligible to vote, up 40,253 from the 1983 general election. 67.41% of eligible voters turned out, down 5.9 percentage points from the last general election.[1]

Results

The Conservative Party led by Margaret Thatcher as prime minister won another term in government.

Results[2][3][4]

Party		MPs		Votes
		No.	Change	No.	%	Change
	UUP	9	2	276,230	38.0%	4.0
	SDLP	3	2	154,087	21.2%	3.3
	DUP	3		85,642	11.8%	8.2
	Sinn Féin	1		83,389	11.5%	3.9
	UPUP	1		18,420	2.5%	0.5
	Alliance	0		72,761	10.0%	2.0
	Workers' Party	0		19,294	2.6%	0.7
	Real Unionist	0	New	14,467	2.0%	2.0
	Protestant Unionist	0	New	2,147	0.3%	0.3
	Ecology	0	New	281	0.04%	0.04
Total		17		726,718	100

MPs elected

Constituency	Party		MP
Antrim East		UUP	Roy Beggs
Antrim North		DUP	Ian Paisley
Antrim South		UUP	Clifford Forsythe
Belfast East		DUP	Peter Robinson
Belfast North		UUP	Cecil Walker
Belfast South		UUP	Martin Smyth
Belfast West		Sinn Féin	Gerry Adams
Down North		UPUP	Jim Kilfedder
Down South		SDLP	Eddie McGrady
Fermanagh and South Tyrone		UUP	Ken Maginnis
Foyle		SDLP	John Hume
Lagan Valley		UUP	James Molyneaux
Londonderry East		UUP	William Ross
Mid Ulster		DUP	William McCrea
Newry and Armagh		SDLP	Seamus Mallon
Strangford		UUP	John Taylor
Upper Bann		UUP	Harold McCusker

By-elections

Constituency	Date	Incumbent	Party		Winner	Party		Cause
Upper Bann	17 May 1990	Harold McCusker		UUP	David Trimble		UUP	Death

References

1. "UK Parliamentary Election 1987 - Turnout". EONI. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
2. Walker, Brian Mercer (1992). Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1918–1992 (New History of Ireland). Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. pp. 37–39. ISBN 0901714968.
3. "Elections to the United Kingdom Parliament held in Northern Ireland: General Election 11 June 1987". ElectionsIreland.org. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
4. "Westminster election, 11 June 1987". ARK: Northern Ireland Elections. Archived from the original on 20 December 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2019.