2019 Ards and North Down Borough Council election

The second election to Ards and North Down Borough Council, part of the Northern Ireland local elections on 2 May 2019, returned 40 members to the council via Single Transferable Vote.^[1][2] The Democratic Unionist Party once again won a plurality of seats.

2019 Ards and North Down Borough Council election

← 2014 2 May 2019 2023 →
All 40 council seats 21 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Arlene Foster Naomi Long Robin Swann Party DUP Alliance UUP Seats before 17 7 9 Seats won 14 10 8 Seat change 3 3 1   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Clare Bailey Jim Allister Colum Eastwood Party Green (NI) TUV SDLP Seats before 3 1 1 Seats won 3 1 1 Seat change 0 0 0   Seventh party   Party Independent Seats before 2 Seats won 3 Seat change 1
Ards and North Down 2019 Council Election Results by DEA (Shaded by plurality of FPVs)

Election results

Ards and North Down Borough Council Election Result 2019^[3]

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	DUP	14	0	3	3	35.0	33.4	16,759	2.0
	Alliance	10	3	0	3	25.0	22.2	11,162	8.8
	UUP	8	1	2	1	20.0	17.8	8,943	0.4
	Green (NI)	3	0	0	0	7.5	10.2	5,106	5.8
	Independent	3	2	1	1	7.5	8.6	4,321	1.1
	SDLP	1	0	0	0	2.5	3.2	1,621	1.0
	TUV	1	0	0	0	2.5	1.4	695	3.4
	UKIP	0	0	0	0	0.0	1.3	672	1.2
	NI Conservatives	0	0	0	0	0.0	1.3	660	2.0
	Sinn Féin	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.5	267	0.3

Note: "Votes" are the first preference votes.

The overall turnout was 43.80% with a total of 50,206 valid votes cast. A total of 660 ballots were rejected.

Districts summary

Results of the Ards and North Down Borough Council election, 2019
by district

Ward	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	Total Cllrs
	DUP		Alliance		UUP		Green		SDLP		Sinn Féin		Others
Ards Peninsula	47.8	3	10.6	1	10.6	1	4.1	0	20.7	1	2.5	0	3.7	0	6
Bangor Central	26.1	2	18.3	1	17.7	1	14.2	1	0.0	0	0.0	0	23.8	1	6
Bangor East and Donaghadee	31.2	2	17.1	1	30.1	2	9.7	0	0.0	0	0.0	0	11.9	0	6
Bangor West	30.5	1	32.5	2	17.2	1	16.6	1	0.0	0	1.2	0	2.0	0	5
Comber	37.9	2	23.2	1	21.4	1	5.7	0	0.0	0	0.0	0	11.7	0	5
Holywood and Clandeboye	26.6	1	38.7	2	13.5	1	19.2	1	0.0	0	0.0	0	2.1	0	5
Newtownards	32.4	3	20.0	2	14.6	1	4.5	0	0.0	0	0.0	0	28.6	1	7
Total	33.4	14	22.2	10	17.8	8	10.2	3	3.2	1	0.5	0	12.6	4	40

District results

Ards Peninsula

2014: 3 x DUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x UUP, 1 x Alliance
2019: 3 x DUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x UUP, 1 x Alliance
2014-2019 Change: No change

Ards Peninsula - 6 seats^[3]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	DUP	Robert Adair*	27.93%	2,189
	SDLP	Joe Boyle*	20.68%	1,621
	DUP	Nigel Edmund*	9.38%	735	1,511.5
	DUP	Eddie Thompson*	10.48%	821	931	934.15	1,273.15
	UUP	Angus Carson*	10.62%	832	943.5	968.7	995.45	1,020.2	1,132
	Alliance	Lorna McAlpine*	10.62%	832	849	1,079.65	1,083.9	1,085.75	1,088.95	1,124.95
	Green (NI)	Michele Strong	4.07%	319	333	372.9	375.9	383.25	388.25	434.25
	Sinn Féin	Murdoch McKibbin	2.50%	196	197.5	380.9	381.4	382.4	382.6	384.6
	UKIP	Matt Davey	2.98%	234	267.5	274.15	279.15	291.15	322.55
	NI Conservatives	Tim Mullen	0.74%	58	61	62.05	63.05
Electorate: 17,582   Valid: 7,837 (44.57%)   Spoilt: 119   Quota: 1,120   Turnout: 7,956 (45.25%)

Bangor Central

2014: 2 x DUP, 2 x UUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x Greens
2019: 2 x DUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x Greens, 1 x UUP, 1 x Independent
2014-2019 Change: Independent gain from UUP

Bangor Central - 6 seats^[3]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
	Alliance	Karen Douglas*	18.29%	1,346
	Green (NI)	Stephen Dunlop	14.22%	1,046	1,220.9
	DUP	Alistair Cathcart*	10.70%	787	789.86	789.86	789.86	816.86	832.86	1,052.08
	UUP	Craig Blaney	10.29%	757	774.38	777.38	788.16	818.04	862.24	871.46	903.76	1,324.76
	DUP	Wesley Irvine* ‡	11.93%	878	879.1	879.1	880.42	915.42	926.42	956.64	966.08	1,047.84	1,191.84
	Independent	Ray McKimm	6.84%	503	517.08	526.74	553.36	572.36	603.46	608.46	783.76	827.98	903.98	933.98
	Independent	Noelle Robinson*	5.75%	423	446.76	461.3	491.88	513.1	543.2	544.2	681.46	723.62	769.62	788.62
	UUP	Ian Henry	7.37%	542	555.86	556.86	568.74	588.96	635.6	641.6	664.8
	Independent	Maria Lourenço	4.92%	362	389.6	392.5	441.78	454.32	472.2	473.42
	DUP	James Cochrane	3.47%	255	255.66	256.66	256.88	273.88	277.88
	NI Conservatives	Frank Shivers	2.85%	210	215.06	215.06	221.66	238.1
	UKIP	John Montgomery	2.92%	215	217.42	217.42	220.06
	Independent	Gavan Reynolds	0.45%	33	35.86
Electorate: 18,166   Valid: 7,357 (40.50%)   Spoilt: 93   Quota: 1,052   Turnout: 7,450 (41.01%)

Bangor East and Donaghadee

2014: 3 x DUP, 1 x UUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x Independent
2019: 2 x UUP, 2 x DUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x Independent
2014-2019 Change: UUP gain from Independent, Independent leaves DUP

Bangor East and Donaghadee - 6 seats^[3]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
	UUP	Mark Brooks*	17.47%	1,327
	Alliance	Gavin Walker*	17.15%	1,303
	UUP	David Chambers*	12.67%	963	1,006	1,144.78
	DUP	Peter Martin* †	11.87%	902	905	908.24	913.28	916.97	1,413.97
	DUP	Bill Keery* ‡	10.06%	764	775	784	787.6	799.12	965.2	1,280.72
	Independent	Tom Smith*	10.06%	765	805	844.06	904.9	922.27	966.31	973.79	1,056.75
	Green (NI)	Hannah McNamara	9.67%	735	752	772.88	915.62	929.3	947.44	950.16	986.2
	DUP	Janice MacArthur	9.24%	702	711	733.14	737.28	746.82
	NI Conservatives	Paul Leeman	1.80%	137
Electorate: 17,416   Valid: 7,598 (43.63%)   Spoilt: 98   Quota: 1,086   Turnout: 7,696 (44.19%)

Bangor West

2014: 2 x DUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x UUP, 1 x Green
2019: 2 x Alliance, 1 x DUP, 1 x UUP, 1 x Green
2014-2019 Change: Alliance gain from DUP

Bangor West - 5 seats^[3]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3
	Alliance	Connie Egan †	20.16%	1,151
	DUP	Jennifer Gilmour	17.34%	990
	UUP	Marion Smith*	17.20%	982
	Green (NI)	Barry McKee	16.62%	949	1,022
	Alliance	Scott Wilson*	12.32%	703	746	930.79
	DUP	Alan Graham*	13.12%	749	787	791.42
	NI Conservatives	Ben English	2.00%	114
	Sinn Féin	Kieran Maxwell	1.24%	71
Electorate: 13,585   Valid: 5,709 (42.02%)   Spoilt: 85   Quota: 952   Turnout: 5,794 (42.65%)

Comber

2014: 2 x DUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x UUP, 1 x TUV
2019: 2 x DUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x UUP, 1 x TUV
2014-2019 Change: No change

Comber - 5 seats^[3]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	Alliance	Deborah Girvan* †	23.23%	1,516
	UUP	Philip Smith	16.58%	1,082	1,178.3
	DUP	Trevor Cummings*	12.91%	843	856.8	895.5	901.8	1,298.8
	DUP	Robert Gibson*	15.09%	985	992.5	1,024.5	1,028.7	1,201.7
	TUV	Stephen Cooper* ‡	10.65%	695	716	819.3	828	887	1,065
	Green (NI)	Ricky Bamford	5.70%	372	582.3	737.4	780.6	797.6	816.6
	DUP	John Montgomery	9.85%	643	648.7	689.5	693.1
	UUP	Michael Palmer	4.87%	318	361.8
	Independent	John Sloan	1.12%	73	100
Electorate: 14,244   Valid: 6,527 (45.82%)   Spoilt: 60   Quota: 1,088   Turnout: 6,587 (46.24%)

Holywood and Clandeboye

2014: 2 x DUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x Green, 1 x UUP
2019: 2 x Alliance, 1 x Green, 1 x DUP, 1 x UUP
2014-2019 Change: Alliance gain from DUP

Holywood and Clandeboye - 5 seats^[3]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	Alliance	Andrew Muir* †	20.43%	1,397
	Green (NI)	Rachel Woods †††	19.18%	1,311
	Alliance	Gillian Greer	18.27%	1,249
	DUP	Stephen Dunne* †	16.66%	1,139	1,171.4
	UUP	Carl McClean ‡	7.42%	507	557.04	599.82	683.19	725.94	729.9	1,143.9
	DUP	Roberta Dunlop	9.90%	677	681.32	697.13	712.49	721.23	730.23	742.23
	UUP	Tim Lemon	6.08%	416	505.64	563.92	645.74	701.6	705.92
	NI Conservatives	Andrew Turner	2.06%	141	218.4	269.55
Electorate: 15,052   Valid: 6,837 (45.42%)   Spoilt: 67   Quota: 1,140   Turnout: 6,904 (45.87%)

Newtownards

2014: 3 x DUP, 2 x UUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x Independent
2019: 3 x DUP, 2 x Alliance, 1 x UUP, 1 x Independent
2014-2019 Change: Alliance gain from UUP

Newtownards - 7 seats^[3]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	Independent	Jimmy Menagh* †	25.63%	2,138
	DUP	Naomi Armstrong*	14.77%	1,232
	Alliance	Nick Mathison †	13.08%	1,091
	DUP	Stephen McIlveen*	10.77%	898	1,127.1
	DUP	Colin Kennedy –	6.83%	570	771.84	919.59	924.07	988.03	1,055.03
	UUP	Richard Smart*	8.82%	736	964.52	970.97	979.45	986.99	1,040.12	1,076.12
	Alliance	Alan McDowell*	6.88%	574	668.54	670.19	678.83	679.87	696.66	977.61
	UUP	Ian Dickson	5.77%	481	585.98	599.78	602.09	607.29	677.47	734.16
	Green (NI)	Maurice Macartney	4.49%	374	448.82	450.47	466.01	467.05	503.97
	UKIP	Paul Corry	2.67%	223	341.32	348.07	358.34	361.2
	Independent	Ben King	0.29%	24	61.12	61.42
Electorate: 20,491   Valid: 8,341 (40.71%)   Spoilt: 138   Quota: 1,043   Turnout: 8,479 (41.38%)

Changes during the term

† Co-options

Date co-opted	Electoral Area	Party		Outgoing	Co-optee	Reason
11 October 2019	Holywood and Clandeboye		Green (NI)	Rachel Woods	Kathryn McNickle	Woods was co-opted to the Northern Ireland Assembly.
30 January 2020	Holywood and Clandeboye		Alliance	Andrew Muir	Martin McRandal	Muir was co-opted to the Northern Ireland Assembly.
11 May 2020	Bangor East and Donaghadee		DUP	Peter Martin	Janice MacArthur	Martin resigned.
19 July 2021	Holywood and Clandeboye		DUP	Stephen Dunne	Peter Johnson	Dunne was co-opted to the Northern Ireland Assembly.
12 October 2021	Holywood and Clandeboye		Green (NI)	Kathryn McNickle	Lauren Kendall	McNickle resigned.
5 May 2022	Newtownards		Independent	Jimmy Menagh	Steven Irvine	Menagh died.
25 May 2022	Newtownards		Alliance	Nick Mathison	Vicky Moore	Mathison was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly.
25 May 2022	Bangor West		Alliance	Connie Egan	Hannah Irwin	Egan was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly.
22 September 2022	Holywood and Clandeboye		Green (NI)	Lauren Kendall	Rachel Woods	Kendall resigned.
6 January 2023	Comber		Alliance	Deborah Girvan	Patricia Morgan	Girvan resigned.
31 March 2023	Holywood and Clandeboye		Alliance	Gillian Greer	vacant	Greer resigned but was not replaced before May election.

‡ Changes in affiliation

Date	Electoral Area	Name	Previous affiliation		New affiliation		Circumstance
19 Apr 2021	Bangor East and Donaghadee	Bill Keery		DUP		Independent	Suspended from the DUP following controversial comments about Prince Philip.[4]
2 March 2022	Bangor Central	Wesley Irvine		DUP		Independent	Resigned from the DUP to support the re-election campaign of independent unionist MLA Alex Easton.[5]
4 January 2023	Holywood and Clandeboye	Carl McClean		UUP		Independent	Resigned from the UUP following criticisms of the party's candidate selection process.[6]
13 January 2023	Holywood and Clandeboye	Carl McClean		Independent		DUP	Joined the DUP following his period as an Independent.[7]
8 February 2023	Comber	Stephen Cooper		TUV		Independent	Left the TUV following an allegation of harassment from a female party member.[8]

– Suspensions

Colin Kennedy (DUP) was suspended from the council for six weeks from Friday 18 June 2021.^[9]

Last update 8 February 2023.

Current composition: see Ards and North Down Borough Council.