Belfast West (Assembly constituency)

Belfast West is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Belfast West
Parliamentary constituency for the Northern Ireland Assembly
West Belfast shown within Northern Ireland
Current constituency
Created	1973
Seats	6 (1998–2016) 5 (2017–)
MLAs	Danny Baker (SF)   Gerry Carroll (PBP)   Órlaithí Flynn (SF)   Aisling Reilly (SF)   Pat Sheehan (SF)
City council	Belfast City Council
Boundaries

It was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election in 1973, which elected the then Northern Ireland Assembly. It usually shares boundaries with the Belfast West UK Parliament constituency. However, the boundaries of the two constituencies were slightly different from 1973 to 1974, 1983 to 1986 and 2010 to 2011 (because 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.

For further details of the history and boundaries of the constituency, see Belfast West (UK Parliament constituency).

Members

Election	MLA (party)		MLA (party)		MLA (party)		MLA (party)		MLA (party)		MLA (party)
1973		Paddy Devlin (SDLP)		Desmond Gillespie (SDLP)		Hugh Smyth (Independent Unionist)		Bob Cooper (Alliance Party)		John Laird (UUP)		Jean Coulter (Vanguard/UUP)
1975				Joe Hendron (SDLP)
1982	4 seats 1982–1996					Gerry Adams (Sinn Féin)		Will Glendinning (Alliance)		Thomas Passmore (UUP)	4 seats 1982–1996
1996	5 seats 1996–1998							Alex Maskey (Sinn Féin)		Dodie McGuinness (Sinn Féin)		Annie Armstrong (Sinn Féin)
1998		Alex Attwood (SDLP)								Bairbre de Brún (Sinn Féin)		Sue Ramsey (Sinn Féin)
2003				Diane Dodds (DUP)				Fra McCann (Sinn Féin)				Michael Ferguson (Sinn Féin)
November 2004 co-option										Sue Ramsey (Sinn Féin)
2007				Paul Maskey (Sinn Féin)								Jennifer McCann (Sinn Féin)
December 2010 co-option						Pat Sheehan (Sinn Féin)
2011
July 2012 co-option				Rosie McCorley (Sinn Féin)
November 2014 co-option										Alex Maskey (Sinn Féin)
2016				Gerry Carroll (PBP)
December 2016 co-option												Órlaithí Flynn (Sinn Féin)
2017	5 seats 2017–present
October 2021 co-option								Aisling Reilly (Sinn Féin)
2022										Danny Baker (Sinn Féin)

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

2022 Assembly election: Belfast West – 5 seats^[1]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
	Sinn Féin	Danny Baker	20.64%	9,011
	Sinn Féin	Órlaithí Flynn	15.44%	6,743	7,087	7,093	7,109	7,136	7,159	7,159	7,160	7,228	7,407
	Sinn Féin	Aisling Reilly	13.01%	5,681	6,709	6,720	6,727	6,745	6,759	6,761	6,761	6,812	7,131	7,664
	Sinn Féin	Pat Sheehan	14.59%	6,370	6,422	6,426	6,431	6,440	6,449	6,449	6,450	6,447	6,735	7,186
	People Before Profit	Gerry Carroll	7.51%	3,279	3,394	3,414	3,492	3,563	3,667	3,688	3,698	3,936	4,479	6,023
	DUP	Frank McCoubrey	9.54%	4,166	4,167	4,174	4,174	4,176	4,180	4,396	5,199	5,275	5,429	5,490
	SDLP	Paul Doherty	5.79%	2,528	2,616	2,619	2,648	2,684	2,727	2,744	2,754	3,232	3,636
	Aontú	Gerard Herdman	4.01%	1,753	1,761	1,793	1,802	1,820	1,823	1,829	1,837	1,871
	Irish Republican Socialist	Dan Murphy	2.53%	1,103	1,115	1,123	1,130	1,144	1,152	1,152	1,152	1,159
	Alliance	Donnamarie Higgins	2.08%	907	924	926	932	940	1,027	1,109	1,135
	TUV	Jordan Doran	1.84%	802	802	805	806	809	810	918
	UUP	Linsey Gibson	1.09%	474	475	477	478	480	484
	Green (NI)	Stevie Maginn	0.70%	307	310	313	323	333
	Independent	Gerard Burns	0.44%	192	209	237	244
	Workers' Party	Patrick Crossan	0.44%	193	198	205
	Independent	Tony Mallon	0.30%	129	131
	Independent	Declan Hill	0.06%	26	26
Electorate: 68,727   Valid: 43,664 (63.53%)   Spoilt: 776   Quota: 7,278   Turnout: 44,440 (64.66%)

2017

2017 Assembly election: Belfast West – 5 seats^[2]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4
	Sinn Féin	Órlaithí Flynn	17.15%	6,918
	People Before Profit	Gerry Carroll	12.15%	4,903	6,514	8,252
	Sinn Féin	Alex Maskey	15.73%	6,346	6,451	7,036
	Sinn Féin	Fra McCann	15.37%	6,201	6,314	6,636	7,067
	Sinn Féin	Pat Sheehan	13.55%	5,466	5,515	5,739	5,903
	DUP	Frank McCoubrey	10.07%	4,063	4,372	4,490	4,521
	SDLP	Alex Attwood	8.56%	3,452	4,019
	People Before Profit	Michael Collins	2.72%	1,096
	Alliance	Sorcha Eastwood	1.85%	747
	UUP	Fred Rogers	1.20%	486
	Workers' Party	Conor Campbell	1.03%	415
	Green (NI)	Ellen Murray	0.62%	251
Electorate: 61,309   Valid: 40,344 (65.80%)   Spoilt: 586   Quota: 6,725   Turnout: 40,930 (66.76%)

2016

2016 Assembly election: Belfast West – 6 seats^[3]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
	People Before Profit	Gerry Carroll	22.88%	8,299
	Sinn Féin	Alex Maskey	13.15%	4,769	5,360.8
	Sinn Féin	Pat Sheehan	9.69%	3,516	3,761.08	3,829.2	6,393.2
	Sinn Féin	Fra McCann	11.11%	4,028	4,283.2	4,479.48	4,756.68	5,891.73
	Sinn Féin	Jennifer McCann	12.09%	4,386	4,648.68	4,755.04	4,988.88	5,044.81	5,750.11
	SDLP	Alex Attwood	7.30%	2,647	3,407.76	4,161.36	4,234.52	4,242.98	4,245.38	4,299.08	4,430.2
	DUP	Frank McCoubrey	10.38%	3,766	3,780.52	4,332.28	4,336.28	4,337.69	4,337.69	4,337.69	4,341.21
	Sinn Féin	Rosie McCorley	8.42%	3,053	3,244.4	3,303.24
	Workers' Party	Conor Campbell	1.47%	532	766.54
	Green (NI)	Ellen Murray	0.90%	327	705.84
	UUP	Gareth Martin	1.80%	654	668.96
	Alliance	Jemima Higgins	0.80%	291	427.4
Electorate: 63,993   Valid: 36,268 (56.67%)   Spoilt: 722   Quota: 5,182   Turnout: 36,990 (57.80%)

2011

2011 Assembly election: Belfast West – 6 seats^[4]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
	Sinn Féin	Paul Maskey	15.42%	5,343
	Sinn Féin	Jennifer McCann	15.12%	5,239
	Sinn Féin	Fra McCann	12.93%	4,481	4,587.96	4,604.96	4,613.08	4,645.5	4,682.6	4,735.84	4,837.22	4,838.34	5,167.34
	SDLP	Alex Attwood	10.87%	3,765	3,776.69	3,780.09	3,787.09	3,890.45	3,939.62	4,083.74	4,719.58	4,780.65	5,151.65
	Sinn Féin	Sue Ramsey	11.88%	4,116	4,340.28	4,350.88	4,358.19	4,377.4	4,394.47	4,407.47	4,423.94	4,433.99	4,683.9	4,823.06
	Sinn Féin	Pat Sheehan	10.75%	3,723	3,737.35	3,960.5	3,971.78	3,996.39	4,016.61	4,029.73	4,051.85	4,054.9	4,249.77	4,327.19
	DUP	Brian Kingston	7.47%	2,587	2,587.28	2,587.33	2,587.33	2,600.45	2,604.45	2,607.45	2,617.57	3,834.57	3,866.57	3,866.57
	People Before Profit	Gerry Carroll	4.79%	1,661	1,664.85	1,665.85	1,701.85	1,732.85	1,853.97	1,939.09	1,977.31	1,999.31
	UUP	Bill Manwaring	4.25%	1,471	1,471.21	1,471.36	1,473.36	1,503.41	1,512.41	1,517.41	1,526.41
	SDLP	Colin Keenan	2.31%	802	803.26	804.41	807.41	853.58	878.63	981.82
	Workers' Party	John Lowry	1.69%	586	586.63	587.03	590.1	607.24	644.38
	Socialist Party	Pat Lawlor	1.11%	384	384.42	384.92	399.92	408.92
	Alliance	Dan McGuinness	1.05%	365	367.66	368.76	370.76
	Independent	Brian Pelan	0.35%	122	122.77	122.92
Electorate: 61,520   Valid: 34,645 (56.32%)   Spoilt: 973   Quota: 4,950   Turnout: 35,618 (57.90%)

2007

2007 Assembly election: Belfast West – 6 seats^[5]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	Sinn Féin	Gerry Adams	17.84%	6,029
	Sinn Féin	Sue Ramsey	13.95%	4,715	5,266.6
	Sinn Féin	Paul Maskey	12.93%	4,368	4,758.6	4,774.05	4,783.95	4,821.8	5,074.8
	Sinn Féin	Jennifer McCann	12.62%	4,265	4,294.8	4,665.75	4,667.7	4,693.5	4,848.5
	SDLP	Alex Attwood	8.98%	3,036	3,148.8	3,149.7	3,196.9	3,234.9	4,779.1
	Sinn Féin	Fra McCann	12.59%	4,254	4,323.8	4,344.95	4,353.8	4,378	4,646.85
	DUP	Diane Dodds	10.83%	3,661	3,661	3,661.15	3,671.15	3,677.15	4,166
	SDLP	Margaret Walsh	3.18%	1,074	1,086.2	1,087.1	1,110.3	1,156.5
	People Before Profit	Seán Mitchell	2.29%	774	789	789.6	830.4	968.8
	UUP	Louis West	1.65%	558	558.8	558.8	579.8	581.8
	Workers' Party	John Lowry	1.28%	434	440	440.45	452.65	452.65
	Republican Sinn Féin	Geraldine Taylor	1.26%	427	429	429.45	437.05
	Alliance	Dan McGuinness	0.38%	127	132.4	133.3
	Make Politicians History	Rainbow George	0.20%	68	69	69
Electorate: 50,792   Valid: 33,790 (66.53%)   Spoilt: 448   Quota: 4,828   Turnout: 34,238 (67.41%)

Note: All Republican Sinn Féin candidates appeared as Independent on the ballot paper.

2003

2003 Assembly election: Belfast West – 6 seats^[6]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
	Sinn Féin	Gerry Adams	18.87%	6,199
	SDLP	Alex Attwood	11.16%	3,667	3,796.60	3,901.04	3,956.28	6,096.28
	Sinn Féin	Bairbre de Brún	12.39%	4,069	4,476.52	4,494.96	4,504.20	4,665.68	5,229.68
	Sinn Féin	Fra McCann	12.98%	4,263	4,337.16	4,360.88	4,363.36	4,525.00	4,905.00
	Sinn Féin	Michael Ferguson	11.72%	3,849	3,912.84	3,921.56	3,945.12	4,000.00	4,117.00	4,346.00	4,448.60
	DUP	Diane Dodds	7.74%	2,544	2,544.00	2,631.00	4,144.24	4,256.24	4,272.24	4,274.24	4,277.09
	Sinn Féin	Sue Ramsey	9.09%	2,988	3,673.20	3,699.68	3,705.92	3,768.84	3,923.84	4,084.84	4,190.29
	SDLP	Joe Hendron	7.86%	2,583	2,654.28	2,849.72	3,108.72
	UUP	Chris McGimpsey	3.56%	1,170	1,174.56	1,298.56
	PUP	Hugh Smyth	2.47%	813	814.68	862.68
	Workers' Party	John Lowry	1.24%	407	410.84
	Independent	John MacVicar	0.64%	211	211.24
	Alliance	Mary Ayers	0.23%	75	78.12
	Independent	David Kerr	0.05%	16	16.00
Electorate: 50,861   Valid: 32,854 (64.60%)   Spoilt: 673   Quota: 4,694   Turnout: 33,527 (65.92%)

Note: David Kerr sought election as an Ulster Third Way candidate, and appeared as such on the ballot paper.

1998

1998 Assembly election: Belfast West – 6 seats^[7]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
	Sinn Féin	Gerry Adams	21.72%	9,078
	SDLP	Joe Hendron	14.69%	6,140
	Sinn Féin	Sue Ramsey	9.44%	3,946	5,223.15	5,235	5,236.44	5,253.27	5,262.62	5,276.34	7,371.34
	Sinn Féin	Bairbre de Brún	11.27%	4,711	5,341	5,381.35	5,383.83	5,405.11	5,409.11	5,421.89	5,705.26	6,993.67
	Sinn Féin	Alex Maskey	10.36%	4,330	4,831.2	4,852.35	4,856.41	4,889.2	4,901.27	4,909.82	5,242.2	5,324.61	6,328.43
	SDLP	Alex Attwood	10.24%	4,280	4,647.85	4,738.25	4,838.85	5,117.87	5,127.22	5,234.49	5,327.61	5,343.69	5,349.52
	UUP	Chris McGimpsey	3.92%	1,640	1,641.4	1,674.4	1,675.58	1,808.99	2,757.44	4,827.29	4,837.64	4,837.64	4,837.64
	Sinn Féin	Michael Ferguson	6.19%	2,585	2,791.85	2,838.45	2,840.71	2,867.12	2,871.84	2,896.95
	PUP	Hugh Smyth	5.22%	2,180	2,186.65	2,206.75	2,208.63	2,342.94	2,716.06
	DUP	Margaret Ferris	3.22%	1,345	1,347.8	1,354.5	1,354.8	1,784.22
	UK Unionist	Thomas Dalzell-Sheridan	1.59%	666	671.25	677.25	677.37
	Workers' Party	John Lowry	1.45%	607	630.1	658.8	660.68
	Alliance	Dan McGuinness	0.31%	129	165.4
	Independent	Mary Cahillane	0.31%	128	151.8
	Natural Law	Michael Kennedy	0.07%	29	31.45
Electorate: 60,669   Valid: 41,794 (68.89%)   Spoilt: 960   Quota: 5,971   Turnout: 42,754 (70.47%)

Note: Mary Cahillane sought election as a Pro-Agreement Socialist candidate, and appeared as such on the ballot paper.

1996 forum

Successful candidates are shown in bold.^[8]

Party		Candidate(s)	Votes	Percentage
	Sinn Féin	Gerry Adams Dodie McGuinness Alex Maskey Annie Armstrong Marie Moore	22,355	53.4
	SDLP	Joe Hendron Alex Attwood Margaret Walsh Patricia Lewsley Mary Muldoon	11,087	26.5
	PUP	Hugh Smyth Mina Wardle	1,982	4.7
	DUP	Eric Smyth Margaret Ferris	1,769	4.2
	UUP	Fred Parkinson John McDonald	1,489	3.6
	Workers' Party	John Lowry Jim Pollock	984	2.4
	Ulster Democratic	Frank McCoubrey Delwyn Williams	848	2.0
	Alliance	Dan McGuinness Patricia Mallon Glyn Roberts	340	0.8
	Labour coalition	Mary Cahillane Isabel Cowan Barbara Lynn Brian McDermott Terence McDonagh	319	0.8
	NI Women's Coalition	Vera McKee Mary Catney Ann Hall Julie Cullen	252	0.6
	Green (NI)	Jude Stephens Philip Kearney David Taylor	156	0.4
	NI Conservatives	Charles Balmer David Munster	60	0.1
	Independent DUP	Florence Baxter William Clements	36	0.1
	Ulster Independence	Kenneth McClinton Clifford Peoples	43	0.1
	Democratic Left	Mary McMahon Freddie Rea	37	0.1
	Natural Law	Michael Kennedy Vivien Martin	30	0.1
	Communist	Barry Bruton Daniella Egerton	28	0.1
	Independent Voice	Bernard McGrath Susan McGrath	26	0.1
	Independent Chambers	Ruth Patty Richard Stewart	12	0.0

1982

1982 Assembly election: Belfast West – 4 seats^[9]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
	Sinn Féin	Gerry Adams	28.43%	9,740
	SDLP	Joe Hendron	15.20%	5,207	5,309.3	6,003.3	7,965.3
	UUP	Thomas Passmore	13.15%	4,505	4,505	4,509	5,128	5,130	5,131.86	5,151.79	5,165.55
	Alliance	Will Glendinning	7.98%	2,733	2,764.5	2,805.1	2,847.1	3,072.7	3,651.16	4,525.99	5,163.2
	DUP	Billy Dickson	12.83%	4,394	4,396.1	4,399.1	4,849.4	4,866.4	4,869.09	4,892.81	4,918.6
	Sinn Féin	Alex Maskey	1.83%	627	3,240	3,326.2	3,326.2	3,397.6	3,565.93	3,824.22
	Workers' Party	Mary McMahon	7.28%	2,493	2,512.8	2,566.9	2,580.9	2,662.8	3,017.13
	SDLP	Cormac Boomer	6.26%	2,145	2,204.4	2,452.5	2,454.5
	PUP	Hugh Smyth	3.66%	1,255	1,255.3	1,256.3
	SDLP	Mary Muldoon	2.97%	1,016	1,024.1
	People's Democracy	John McAnulty	0.42%	144	161.1
Electorate: 57,726   Valid: 34,259 (59.35%)   Spoilt: 1,819   Quota: 6,852   Turnout: 36,078 (62.50%)

1975 Constitutional Convention

1975 Constitutional Convention: Belfast West – 6 seats^[10]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
	UUP	John Laird	23.61%	8,433
	SDLP	Paddy Devlin	17.54%	6,267
	UUP	Jean Coulter	6.51%	2,325	4,209.48	4,209.48	4,226.65	4,235.65	5,710.65
	Alliance	Bob Cooper	9.22%	3,293	3,362.81	3,495.11	3,679.76	4,341.58	4,428.25	4,472.89	4,915.13
	SDLP	Joe Hendron	7.95%	2,840	2,841.56	3,058.82	3,180.76	3,607.5	3,611.04	3,611.66	4,901.95
	Ind. Unionist	Hugh Smyth	7.40%	2,644	3,235.63	3,236.35	3,252.92	3,256.31	4,127.8	4,684.56	4,693.55
	SDLP	Desmond Gillespie	5.56%	1,986	1,988.73	2,506.59	2,652.23	3,254.1	3,257.1	3,257.72	4,513.76
	SDLP	Paschal O'Hare	6.86%	2,452	2,453.95	2,578.87	2,691.07	3,115.67	3,118.63	3,121.11
	DUP	Edith Goligher	5.48%	1,958	2,668.19	2,669.63	2,686.41	2,688.59
	Ind. Nationalist	Thomas Conaty	5.74%	2,052	2,052.78	2,133.96	2,302.18
	Republican Clubs	John Sullivan	1.85%	660	661.17	676.29
	Republican Clubs	John Brady	1.17%	418	418.78	432.82
	Republican Clubs	Bernard McDonagh	0.73%	262	263.17	268.21
	Communist	John Morris	0.24%	86	86	87.62
	Communist	Peter Kerrins	0.12%	44	44.78	45.5
Electorate: 63,869   Valid: 35,720 (55.93%)   Spoilt: 1,794   Quota: 5,103   Turnout: 37,514 (58.74%)

Note: John Laird, Jean Coulter and Edith Goligher were all UUUC endorsed candidates.

1973

1973 Assembly election: Belfast West – 6 seats^[11]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
	UUP	John Laird	27.74%	11,479
	SDLP	Paddy Devlin	18.71%	7,743
	Ind. Unionist	Hugh Smyth	8.76%	3,625	5,997.09
	Vanguard	Jean Coulter	4.27%	1,765	3,606.42	3,606.42	3,634.31	3,638.3	3,704.33	3,707.56	5,610.71	6,281.71
	Alliance	Bob Cooper	7.64%	3,160	3,262.9	3,374.22	3,374.89	3,382.61	3,637.01	3,810.76	3,866.68	5,042.61	5,221.61	5,378.06	5,597.46
	SDLP	Desmond Gillespie	4.69%	1,940	1,940	2,520.29	2,520.3	2,527.93	2,590.38	2,953	2,953.49	2,993.58	2,994.58	3,404.51	4,961.35
	SDLP	Gerry Campbell	4.26%	1,764	1,764.49	2,269.34	2,268.35	2,277.35	2,325.48	2,698.95	2,699.95	2,835.67	2,837.67	3,320.88	4,399.77
	SDLP	Desmond O'Donnell	5.10%	2,112	2,113.47	2,341.17	2,321.17	2,353.40	2,394.93	2,734.28	2,734.78	2,763.39	2,764.39	3,037.25
	Republican Clubs	Raymond O'Hagan	3.36%	1,389	1,389	1,438.91	1,438.91	1,465.37	2,134.58	2,537.47	2,538.47	2,563.1	2,564.1
	NI Labour	Billy Boyd	4.69%	1,942	2,204.15	2,214.73	2,216.67	2,237.9	2,333.56	2,388.08	2,538.1
	DUP	William Spence	3.30%	1,366	2,270.05	2,270.05	2,286.85	2,293.62	2,236.4	2,239.4
	Republican Labour	Paddy Kennedy	4.23%	1,750	1,750.49	1,970.37	1,970.37	1,984.6	2,036.94
	Republican Clubs	John O'Hare	1.70%	702	703.47	715.43	715.44	725.44
	Alliance	Reginald Donnelly	0.47%	194	202.33	223.49	223.51	225
	Alliance	Maureen Smyth	0.41%	169	232.7	238.22	238.67	242.67
	NI Labour	Patrick Doherty	0.36%	151	152.47	172.02	172.03	174.03
	Communist	James Stewart	0.30%	123	130.35	131.96	132.2
Electorate: 70,791   Valid: 41,374 (58.45%)   Spoilt: 2,834   Quota: 5,911   Turnout: 44,208 (62.45%)

Note: John Laird, Hugh Smyth, Jean Coulter and William Spence used the label "West Belfast Loyalist Coalition" simultaneously whilst standing under different party affiliations.