The 1986 Northern Ireland by-elections were fifteen

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

s held on 23 January 1986, to fill vacancies in the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

caused by the resignation in December 1985 of all sitting Unionist

Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MPs). The MPs, from the

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule m ...

, Democratic Unionist Party and

Ulster Popular Unionist Party The Ulster Popular Unionist Party (UPUP) was a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1980 by James Kilfedder, independent Unionist Member of Parliament for North Down, who led the party until his death in 1995. For a ...

, did this to highlight their opposition to the

Anglo-Irish Agreement The Anglo-Irish Agreement was a 1985 treaty between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland which aimed to help bring an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The treaty gave the Irish government an advisory role in Northern Irela ...

. Each of their parties agreed not to contest seats previously held by the others, and each outgoing MP stood for re-election.

Other candidates

Of the two Northern Ireland seats not held by unionists, Foyle was held by the

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

Social Democratic and Labour Party The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) ( ga, Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is a social-democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland ...

(SDLP), while Belfast West was held by the

republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

party

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...

. These MPs did not resign and their seats were not contested. The SDLP and Sinn Féin regarded the resignations as a publicity stunt, and were reluctant to take part in the resulting by-elections. In the event, they contested only the seats which they believed to have an anti-unionist majority. The

Alliance Party of Northern Ireland The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI), or simply Alliance, is a liberal and centrist political party in Northern Ireland. As of the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election, it is the third-largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembl ...

instructed its branches to nominate a candidate for each by-election, but many were reluctant, and ultimately, the party stood in only five seats. The small Workers' Party stood in nine seats. It appeared that the incumbent would be the only candidate in four constituencies. This would have produced the first uncontested elections for the House of Commons since the Armagh by-election of 1954. In order to ensure that there was a contest and that the Unionists would be able to demonstrate their point,

Wesley Robert Williamson Wesley may refer to: People and fictional characters * Wesley (name), a given name and a surname Places United States * Wesley, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Wesley, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Wesley Township, Will County, Il ...

changed his name by deed poll to "Peter Barry", Peter Barry being

Minister for Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

of the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

. "Peter Barry" stood in these four constituencies under the label "For the Anglo-Irish Agreement", allowing a contest, but did not campaign. The unusual circumstances led this to be the greatest number of UK parliamentary by-elections held on a single day.

Results

Aggregate results

The aggregated results for all constituencies are shown below. Changes are compared to those for the 15 constituencies in the 1983 general election. , - , - style="text-align:center; background-color:#F2F2F2;" ! style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" colspan=2 rowspan=2 , Political party ! style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" rowspan=2 , Leader ! style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" rowspan=2 , Position ! style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" rowspan=2 , Candidates ! style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" colspan=5 , MPs ! style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" colspan=3 , Votes , - style="text-align:center; background-color:#F2F2F2;" ! style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , Total ! style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , Gained ! style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , Lost ! style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , Net ! style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , Of total
(%) ! style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , Total ! style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , Of total
(%) ! style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , Change
(%) , - , data-sort-value="Ulster Unionist Party" , style="border: 1px solid #aaa; text-align: left;" scope="row" , , style="border: 1px solid #aaa; text-align: left;" , , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , Anti-agreement , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 11 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 10 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 0 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 1 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 1 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 66.7 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 302,198 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 51.7 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 13.1 , - , data-sort-value="Democratic Unionist Party" , style="border: 1px solid #aaa; text-align: left;" scope="row" , , style="border: 1px solid #aaa; text-align: left;" , , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , Anti-agreement , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 3 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 3 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 0 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 0 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 20.0 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 85,239 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 14.6 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 5.5 , - , data-sort-value="Social Democratic and Labour Party" , style="border: 1px solid #aaa; text-align: left;" scope="row" , , style="border: 1px solid #aaa; text-align: left;" , , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , Pro-agreement , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 4 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 1 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 1 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 0 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 1 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 6.7 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 70,917 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 12.1 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 3.1 , - , data-sort-value="Sinn Féin" , style="border: 1px solid #aaa; text-align: left;" scope="row" , , style="border: 1px solid #aaa; text-align: left;" , , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , Anti-agreement , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 4 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 0 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 0 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 0 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 0.0 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 38,848 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 6.6 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 4.7 , - , data-sort-value="Alliance Party of Northern Ireland" , style="border: 1px solid #aaa; text-align: left;" scope="row" , , style="border: 1px solid #aaa; text-align: left;" , , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , Pro-agreement , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 5 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 0 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 0 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 0 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 0.0 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 32,095 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 5.5 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 3.5 , - , data-sort-value="Ulster Popular Unionist Party" , style="border: 1px solid #aaa; text-align: left;" scope="row" , , style="border: 1px solid #aaa; text-align: left;" , , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , Anti-agreement , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 1 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 1 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 0 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 0 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 6.7 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 30,793 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 5.3 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 1.3 , - , data-sort-value="Workers' Party (Ireland)" , style="border: 1px solid #aaa; text-align: left;" scope="row" , , style="border: 1px solid #aaa; text-align: left;" , , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , Pro-agreement , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 9 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 0 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 0 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 0 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 0.0 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 18,148 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 3.1 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 1.3 , - , , For the Anglo-Irish Agreement , style="border: 1px solid #aaa; text-align: left;" ,

running as ' Peter Barry' , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , Pro-agreement , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 4 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 0 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 0 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 0 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 0.0 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 6,379 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 1.1 , style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , N/A , - , - class="unsortable" ! style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" colspan=4 , Blank and invalid votes !colspan=6 , ! style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , ! style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , — ! style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , — , - class="unsortable" style="background-color:#F2F2F2 ! style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" colspan=4 , Total ! style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 41 ! style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 15 ! style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , ! style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , ! style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 0 ! style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 100 ! style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 584,617 ! style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 100 ! style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 0.0 , - class="unsortable" ! style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" colspan=4 , Registered voters, and turnout !colspan=6 , ! style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 951,571 ! style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , 61.44 ! style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" , All but one of the Unionists were re-elected, many with extremely large majorities. The largest of all went to Ian Paisley in North Antrim. He won 97.4% of the vote, the highest percentage polled by any candidate in a UK by-election since the

1940 Middleton and Prestwich by-election The 1940 Middleton and Prestwich by-election was held for the Middleton and Prestwich constituency on 22 May 1940, after the death of the sitting MP, Nairne Sandeman. It was held during World War II, and five of the largest political parties – ...

. The sole exception to this pattern was the Newry and Armagh by-election, where

Seamus Mallon Seamus Frederick Mallon (; 17 August 1936 – 24 January 2020) was an Irish politician who served as deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2001 and Deputy Leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) from 1979 to 20 ...

of the SDLP was able to take the seat. Former Cabinet Minister

Enoch Powell John Enoch Powell, (16 June 1912 – 8 February 1998) was a British politician, classical scholar, author, linguist, soldier, philologist, and poet. He served as a Conservative Member of Parliament (1950–1974) and was Minister of Health (1 ...

was able to narrowly survive a strong challenge from the SDLP in South Down and was subsequently defeated at the following year's general election. In the western constituencies of Mid Ulster and Fermanagh and South Tyrone the Unionist candidates were able to survive with less than 50% of the vote due to a split Nationalist vote and both seats were gained by Sinn Féin in later elections. The results of the fifteen by-elections were cited by Unionists as a rejection of the Agreement by the Northern Irish electorate, but did not succeed in repealing it.

Antrim

Belfast

Down

Newry and Armagh

Other constituencies

References

CAIN: Westminster By-Elections (NI) - Thursday 23 January 1986
{{DEFAULTSORT:Northern Ireland By-Elections, 1986 1986 elections in the United Kingdom 1986 elections in Northern Ireland January 1986 events in the United Kingdom