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Foyle (UK Parliament constituency)

Coordinates: 55°01′34″N 7°23′46″W / 55.026°N 7.396°W / 55.026; -7.396
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Foyle
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Map
Interactive map of boundaries from 2024
Location within Northern Ireland
Districts of Northern IrelandDerry City and Strabane District Council
Electorate68,565 (March 2011)
Major settlementsDerry
Current constituency
Created1983
Member of ParliamentColum Eastwood (SDLP)
Seats1
Created fromLondonderry
Mid Ulster (small parts of)[1]

Foyle is a constituency in Northern Ireland covering Derry, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. Its current Member of Parliament (MP) has been Colum Eastwood of the SDLP since 2019.

Boundaries

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The seat was created in boundary changes in 1983, as part of an expansion of Northern Ireland's constituencies from 12 to 17, and was predominantly made up from the old Londonderry constituency. From further revisions in 1995 (when it lost parts of the district of Strabane to the West Tyrone constituency), and until the 2008 revision, it covered exactly the same area as Derry City Council.

Prior to the 2010 general election the transfer of Claudy and Banagher wards to East Londonderry were approved through the passing of the Northern Ireland Parliamentary Constituencies Order[2] in 2008.

Prior to the 2024 general election, Claudy and Eglinton were transferred to East Londonderry, and Slievekirk was transferred to West Tyrone.[3][4]

The constituency is currently composed of the following wards of the District of Derry and Strabane:

  • Ballymagroarty, Brandywell, Carn Hill, Caw, City Walls, Clondermot, Creggan, Creggan South, Culmore, Drumahoe, Ebrington, Enagh, Foyle Springs, Galliagh, Kilfennan, Lisnagelvin, Madam's Bank, New Buildings, Northland, Shantallow, Shantallow East, Sheriff's Mountain, Skeoge, Springtown, and Victoria.

Constituency profile

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The River Foyle at night

The name comes from the River Foyle which the city lies on and is used to avoid the contentious names of Derry or Londonderry, as well as to cover the areas of County Tyrone that were originally in the constituency. The seat is nationalist-leaning and residents' wealth is below average for the UK.

The wards within the constituency are among the poorest in the UK with high unemployment, high welfare dependency and the lowest employment rate for Northern Ireland.

The seat has typically been an SDLP stronghold however in 2017 Sinn Féin gained the seat for the first time with the smallest majority in Northern Ireland of 169. In 2019 SDLP leader Colum Eastwood won the seat back with an 18% swing and 17,000 majority.

History

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For the history of the equivalent constituency prior to 1983, see Londonderry (UK Parliament constituency).

At the seat's creation at the 1983 general election, SDLP leader John Hume won the new seat, becoming the party's only MP after it lost Belfast West to Sinn Féin. Hume retained the seat until his retirement at the 2005 general election, when he was succeeded by the SDLP's Mark Durkan.

Durkan retained the seat in 2010. This seat also gave the Alliance Party their worst share of the vote in Northern Ireland, polling just 0.6% of the votes. Durkan was re-elected to a third term in 2015, increasing his share of the vote to 47.9% and winning a majority of 6,046 votes.

In the 2016 referendum to leave the European Union, the constituency was estimated to have voted remain by 78.3%. This was the sixth highest support for remain for a constituency, and the highest support for remain in Northern Ireland.[5]

In the 2017 election, the seat was won by Elisha McCallion of Sinn Féin, who won with a majority of just 169 votes over Mark Durkan. Following the election, concerns about electoral malpractice were raised with the Electoral Office by the SDLP and People Before Profit's Eamonn McCann.[6][7]

In the 2019 election, the seat was recaptured by SDLP leader Colum Eastwood. Sinn Féin's vote share dropped significantly from 39.7% in 2017 to 20.7% in 2019, which was the lowest percentage share that that party had won in any general election in the constituency since 1992.

Members of Parliament

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The Member of Parliament since the 2019 UK General Election is Colum Eastwood of the SDLP. He succeeded Elisha McCallion of Sinn Féin to regain the seat which the SDLP had held from its 1983 creation until 2017. The constituency was previously represented by John Hume, former leader of the SDLP and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Election Member Party
1983 John Hume SDLP
2005 Mark Durkan
2017 Elisha McCallion Sinn Féin
2019 Colum Eastwood SDLP

Elections

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Elections in the 2020s

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General election 2024: Foyle[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SDLP Colum Eastwood 15,647 40.8 −17.4
Sinn Féin Sandra Duffy 11,481 29.9 +8.7
DUP Gary Middleton 3,915 10.2 +1.5
People Before Profit Shaun Harkin 2,444 6.4 +3.6
Independent Anne McCloskey 1,519 4.0 New
UUP Janice Montgomery 1,422 3.7 +1.7
Alliance Rachael Ferguson 1,268 3.3 +0.6
Aontú John Boyle 662 1.7 −2.7
Majority 4,166 10.9 −25.4
Turnout 38,358 52.2 −11.2
Registered electors 73,496
SDLP hold Swing -13.1

Elections in the 2010s

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General election 2019: Foyle[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SDLP Colum Eastwood 26,881 57.0 +17.7
Sinn Féin Elisha McCallion 9,771 20.7 ―19.0
DUP Gary Middleton 4,773 10.1 ―6.0
Aontú Anne McCloskey 2,032 4.3 New
People Before Profit Shaun Harkin 1,332 2.8 ―0.2
Alliance Rachael Ferguson 1,267 2.7 +0.9
UUP Darren Guy 1,088 2.3 New
Majority 17,110 36.3 N/A
Turnout 47,144 63.4 ―2.0
Registered electors 74,360
SDLP gain from Sinn Féin Swing +18.4

This seat saw the largest decrease in vote share for Sinn Féin at the 2019 general election.[11]

General election 2017: Foyle[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Sinn Féin Elisha McCallion 18,256 39.7 +8.1
SDLP Mark Durkan 18,087 39.3 ―8.6
DUP Gary Middleton 7,398 16.1 +3.7
People Before Profit Shaun Harkin 1,377 3.0 New
Alliance John Doherty 847 1.8 ―0.5
Majority 169 0.4 N/A
Turnout 46,136 65.4 +12.6
Registered electors 70,324
Sinn Féin gain from SDLP Swing +8.3
General election 2015: Foyle[13][14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SDLP Mark Durkan 17,725 47.9 +3.2
Sinn Féin Gearóid Ó Heára 11,679 31.6 ―0.3
DUP Gary Middleton 4,573 12.4 +0.6
UUP Julia Kee 1,226 3.3 +0.1
Alliance David Hawthorne 835 2.3 +1.7
UKIP Kyle Thompson 832 2.2 New
NI Conservatives Hamish Badenoch 132 0.4 New
Majority 6,046 16.3 +3.5
Turnout 37,002 52.8 ―4.7
Registered electors 70,036
SDLP hold Swing +1.8
General election 2010: Foyle[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SDLP Mark Durkan[16] 16,922 44.7 ―1.7
Sinn Féin Martina Anderson[17] 12,098 31.9 ―1.4
DUP Maurice Devenney[18] 4,489 11.8 ―2.2
People Before Profit Eamonn McCann[19] 2,936 7.7 New
UCU-NF David Harding 1,221 3.2 +0.9
Alliance Keith McGrellis[20] 223 0.6 New
Majority 4,824 12.8 ―0.3
Turnout 37,889 57.5 ―12.5
Registered electors 65,843
SDLP hold Swing ―0.2

Elections in the 2000s

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General election 2005: Foyle[21]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SDLP Mark Durkan 21,119 46.3 ―3.9
Sinn Féin Mitchel McLaughlin 15,162 33.2 +6.6
DUP William Hay 6,557 14.4 ―0.8
Socialist Environmental Eamonn McCann 1,649 3.6 New
UUP Earl Storey 1,091 2.4 ―4.5
Rainbow Dream Ticket Ben Reel 31 0.1 New
Majority 5,957 13.1 ―10.5
Turnout 45,609 65.9 ―3.0
Registered electors 68,758
SDLP hold Swing ―5.3
General election 2001: Foyle[22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SDLP John Hume 24,538 50.2 ―2.3
Sinn Féin Mitchel McLaughlin 12,988 26.6 +2.7
DUP William Hay 7,414 15.2 ―6.3
UUP Andrew Davidson 3,360 6.9 New
Alliance Colm Cavanagh 579 1.2 ―0.5
Majority 11,550 23.6 ―5.0
Turnout 48,879 68.9 ―1.5
Registered electors 70,943
SDLP hold Swing ―2.5

Elections in the 1990s

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General election 1997: Foyle[23]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SDLP John Hume 25,109 52.5 +1.0
Sinn Féin Mitchel McLaughlin 11,445 23.9 +6.3
DUP William Hay 10,290 21.5 ―4.9
Alliance Helen-Marie Bell 817 1.7 ―1.0
Natural Law Donn Brennan 154 0.3 ―0.5
Majority 13,664 28.6 +3.5
Turnout 47,815 70.4 +0.9
Registered electors 67,905
SDLP hold Swing ―4.0
General election 1992: Foyle[24]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SDLP John Hume 26,710 51.5 +2.7
DUP Gregory Lloyd Campbell 13,705 26.4 ―2.2
Sinn Féin Martin McGuinness 9,149 17.6 ―0.3
Alliance Lara McIlroy 1,390 2.7 +0.1
Workers' Party Gordon McKenzie 514 1.0 ―1.1
Natural Law John Burns 422 0.8 New
Majority 13,005 25.1 +4.9
Turnout 51,890 69.5 +0.5
Registered electors 74,673
SDLP hold Swing +2.5

Elections in the 1980s

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General election 1987: Foyle[25]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SDLP John Hume 23,743 48.8 +2.8
DUP Gregory Lloyd Campbell 13,883 28.6 ―1.9
Sinn Féin Martin McGuinness 8,707 17.9 ―2.4
Alliance Elizabeth Zammitt 1,276 2.6 +0.5
Workers' Party Eamonn Melaugh 1,022 2.1 +1.0
Majority 9,860 20.2 +4.7
Turnout 48,631 69.0 ―8.6
Registered electors 70,519
SDLP hold Swing +2.4
General election 1983: Foyle[26]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SDLP John Hume 24,071 46.0
DUP Gregory Lloyd Campbell 15,923 30.5
Sinn Féin Martin McGuinness 10,607 20.3
Alliance Gerard O'Grady 1,108 2.1
Workers' Party Eamonn Melaugh 582 1.1
Majority 8,148 15.5
Turnout 52,291 77.6
Registered electors 66,976
SDLP win (new seat)

See also

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  • Foyle and City of Londonderry were neighbouring constituencies in the Northern Ireland Parliament from 1929 to 1973.
  • Londonderry City was a borough constituency in the UK parliament from the Act of Union to 1922.

References

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  1. ^ "'Foyle', June 1983 up to May 1997". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  2. ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 No". Archived from the original on 5 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
  3. ^ "Final Recommendations Report of the 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituencies.PDF" (PDF). 23 June 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  4. ^ "Boundary Commission publish their 2023 Review of Parliamentary Consitutencies - Northern Ireland Elects". nielects.com. 2 July 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  5. ^ "Revised estimates of leave vote in Westminster constituencies". Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  6. ^ "Foyle MLA to raise concerns over 'stolen votes' with election chief". News Letter. 13 June 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  7. ^ "Claims of Foyle vote theft mount - SDLP to meet with Electoral Office". Belfast Telegraph. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  8. ^ "Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll". Electoral Office for Northern Ireland. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  9. ^ "Foyle - General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  10. ^ "Foyle Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  11. ^ "General Election 2019: results and analysis" (PDF). House of Commons Library. 28 January 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  12. ^ "Election of a Member of Parliament for the FOYLE Constituency – Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll". Electoral Office of Northern Ireland. 11 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  13. ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  14. ^ "The Electoral Office of Northern Ireland – EONI". www.eoni.org.uk.
  15. ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  16. ^ "Durkan selected as Foyle Westminster candidate", SDLP
  17. ^ Foyle[permanent dead link‍], UKPollingReport
  18. ^ Harding named UUP candidate in forthcoming election, Londonderry Sentinel, 1 April 2010
  19. ^ Vote People Before Profit Alliance in May's Westminster Election[permanent dead link‍], People Before Profit Alliance, 24 March 2010
  20. ^ Alliance List of Candidates Archived 4 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, 6 May 2010
  21. ^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  22. ^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  23. ^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  24. ^ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  25. ^ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  26. ^ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
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55°01′34″N 7°23′46″W / 55.026°N 7.396°W / 55.026; -7.396

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