1973 Northern Ireland Assembly election

The 1973 elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly took place following the publication of the British government's white paper Northern Ireland Constitutional Proposals which proposed a 78-member Northern Ireland Assembly, elected by proportional representation. The proposals for a Northern Ireland Assembly contained in the White Paper were put into effect through the Northern Ireland Assembly Act 1973 in May 1973.^[1]

1973 Northern Ireland Assembly election

← 1969 28 June 1973 1975 →
← outgoing members MLAs elected →
All 78 seats to the Northern Ireland Assembly 40 seats were needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   SDL Leader Brian Faulkner Gerry Fitt Ian Paisley Party UUP SDLP DUP Leader since 23 March 1971 21 August 1970 30 September 1971 Leader's seat South Down Belfast North North Antrim Seats won 31[a] 19 8 Popular vote 258,790 159,773 78,228 Percentage 35.8% 22.1% 10.8%   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Oliver Napier William Craig Party Alliance Vanguard Leader since 1972 9 February 1972 Leader's seat Belfast East North Antrim Seats won 8 7 Popular vote 66,541 75,709 Percentage 9.2% 10.5%
Percentage of seats gained by each of the parties
Chief Executive before election Brian Faulkner as Prime Minister of Northern Ireland Chief Executive after election Brian Faulkner

A cross-community coalition of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) under Brian Faulkner, the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland was agreed in November, and following the Sunningdale Agreement, a Power Sharing Executive was established from 1 January 1974. After opposition from within the UUP and the Ulster Workers Council Strike, the executive and assembly collapsed in May 1974.

Result

The election results were:

Party		Votes	Vote %	Seats	Seats %
	Ulster Unionist Party	258,790	35.8	31[a]	39.8
	SDLP	159,773	22.1	19	24.4
	DUP	78,228	10.8	8	10.3
	Vanguard	75,709	10.5	7	9.0
	Alliance	66,541	9.2	8	10.3
	NI Labour	18,675	2.6	1	1.3
	West Belfast Loyalist Coalition	16,869	2.3	3	3.8
	Ind. Unionist	13,755	1.9	1	1.3
	Republican Clubs	13,064	1.8	0	—
	Nationalist	6,270	0.9	0	—
	Independent	4,091	0.6	0	—
	Loyalist	2,752	0.4	0	—
	Independent pro-White Paper	2,008	0.3	0	—
	Ind. Nationalist	2,000	0.3	0	—
	Republican Labour	1,750	0.2	0	—
	Ulster Liberal	811	0.1	0	—
	National Front	591	0.1	0	—
	Ulster Constitution	202	0.0	0	—
	Independent Loyalist	189	0.0	0	—
	Communist	123	0.0	0	—
	Total	722,151	100.0	78	100.0

All parties listed.

↓

31	19	8	8	7	3	1	1
UUP	SDLP	DUP	APNI	Vanguard

Votes summary

Popular vote Ulster Unionist   35.8% SDLP   22.1% Democratic Unionist   10.8% Vanguard   10.5% Alliance   9.2% NI Labour   2.6% West Belfast Loyalist   2.3% Independent Unionist   1.9% Republican Clubs   1.8% Nationalist   0.9% Independent   0.6% Other   1.5%

Seats summary

Parliamentary seats Ulster Unionist   39.8% SDLP   24.4% Democratic Unionist   10.3% Alliance   10.3% Vanguard   9.0% West Belfast Loyalist   3.8% NI Labour   1.3% Independent Unionist   1.3%

See also

• Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly elected in 1973