Belfast South is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973. It usually shares boundaries with the Belfast South UK Parliament constituency, however the boundaries of the two constituencies were slightly different from 1983 to 1986 and 2010–2011 as the Assembly boundaries had not caught up with Parliamentary boundary changes and from 1996 to 1997 when members of the Northern Ireland Forum had been elected from the newly drawn Parliamentary constituencies but the 51st Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected in 1992 under the 1983–95 constituency boundaries, was still in session.
Members were then elected from the constituency to the 1975 Constitutional Convention, the 1982 Assembly, the 1996 Forum and then to the current Assembly from 1998.
The constituency is formed from the Belfast City Council districts of Balmoral and Botanic as well as one ward from Titanic and a number of wards from Lisnasharragh and Lisburn and Castlereagh. For further details of the history and boundaries of the constituency, see Belfast South (UK Parliament constituency).
Members
Election MLA (party) MLA (party) MLA (party) MLA (party) MLA (party) MLA (party) 1973Basil Glass(Alliance Party) Basil McIvor(UUP) Reginald Magee(UUP) Herbert Kirk(UUP) Nelson Elder(UUP)Edward Burns(DUP) 1975 Jim Hendron(Alliance) Jeremy Burchill(UUP)Martin Smyth(UUP) David Trimble(Vanguard) 1982David Cook(Alliance Party) Edgar Graham(UUP)Jim Kirkpatrick(UUP) 5 seats1982–1998Raymond McCrea(DUP) 1984by-election Frank Millar Jr(UUP) 1996 Steve McBride(Alliance Party)Alasdair McDonnell(SDLP) Jim Clarke(UUP) Bob Stoker(UUP) Joan Parkes(DUP) 1998 Monica McWilliams(NI Women's Coalition)Carmel Hanna(SDLP)Esmond Birnie(UUP)Michael McGimpsey(UUP)Mark Robinson(DUP) 2003Alex Maskey(Sinn Féin) 2007Anna Lo(Alliance Party)Jimmy Spratt(DUP) January 2010co-optionConall McDevitt(SDLP) 2011 September 2013co-optionFearghal McKinney(SDLP) October 2014co-optionMáirtín Ó Muilleoir(Sinn Féin) June 2015co-optionClaire Hanna(SDLP) September 2015co-optionEmma Little-Pengelly(DUP) 2016Clare Bailey(Green (NI))Paula Bradshaw(Alliance Party)Christopher Stalford(DUP) 2017 5 seats2017–present January 2020co-optionDeirdre Hargey(Sinn Féin)Matthew O'Toole(SDLP) February 2022co-option Edwin Poots(DUP)2022Kate Nicholl(Alliance Party)
Note: The columns in this table are used only for presentational purposes, and no significance should be attached to the order of columns. For details of the order in which seats were won at each election, see the detailed results of that election.
Elections
Northern Ireland Assembly
2022
2017
2016
2011
Note: Charles Smyth sought election as a Procapitalism candidate, and appeared as such on the ballot paper.
2007
2003
1998
1996 forum Successful candidates are shown in bold.1996 Candidates – South Belfast , Northern Ireland Elections
Party Candidate(s) Votes Percentage Bob StokerJim ClarkeMichael McGimpseyDrew NelsonGordon Lucy8,61722.8 Alasdair McDonnellPeter O'ReillyCarmel HannaDouglas Arthur HegneyRosaleen Hughes7,95621.0 Joan ParkesThomas ScottJohn Norris5,81815.4 Steve McBridePhilip McGarryMargaret Marshall4,68912.4 Sean HayesSean ClintonDeborah Moore2,4556.5 Dawn PurvisVictor Murphy2,3216.1 Patrick RocheKate Garrett1,7504.6 David AdamsPauline Gilmore1,6664.4 Kate FearonAnnie CampbellBarbara McCabeClare McLaughlinFidelma O'Gorman9472.5 Peter HaddenEleanor RogersNiall CusackNeil HouseMaeve Cross3330.9 Mary CarberryJane CarneyOwen ClarkeAndy Frew3140.8 Myrtle BoalAlan McKelvey2790.7 Paddy LynnIan Foster2700.7 Paul SmythAlison Wilson1330.4 Gordon SmythSamuel Stevenson1080.3 Jean CraigChris Skillen960.3Ulster Christian DemocraticAustin ScallanMartine McLaughlinJohn McLaughlinBrian McLaughlinMargaret Gibson310.1 James AndersonMorris Ahmed130.0 ChambersBertha BurleighMark Strain50.0
1984 by-election
1982
1975 Constitutional Convention
1973
References