# Belfast Woodvale (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)

54°36′36″N 5°57′47″W﻿ / ﻿54.610°N 5.963°W﻿ / 54.610; -5.963
Belfast Woodvale was a constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland.

## Boundaries

Belfast Woodvale was a borough constituency comprising part of western Belfast. It was created in 1929, when the House of Commons (Method of Voting and Redistribution of Seats) Act (Northern Ireland) 1929 introduced first past the post elections throughout Northern Ireland.
Belfast Woodvale was created by the division of Belfast West into four new constituencies. It survived unchanged, returning one member of Parliament, until the Parliament of Northern Ireland was temporarily suspended in 1972, and then formally abolished in 1973.

## Politics

The seat was strongly Unionist, but there was a strong local labour movement, and for much of its history, the seat was held by the Northern Ireland Labour Party or independent Unionists.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 1929 | John William Nixon | Independent Unionist |
| | 1950(b) | Robert Harcourt | Ulster Unionist |
| | 1955(b) | Neville Martin | Ulster Unionist |
| | 1958 | Billy Boyd | Northern Ireland Labour Party |
| | 1965 | John McQuade | Ulster Unionist Party |
| | 1970 | John McQuade | Independent Unionist |
| | 1971 | John McQuade | Democratic Unionist Party |
| 1973 | 1973 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Election results

General Election 1929: Belfast Woodvale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Ind. Unionist | John William Nixon | 9,904 | 58.4 | |
| | UUP | William Beattie | 6,465 | 41.6 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,439 | 16.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 16,369 | 75.2 | |
| | Ind. Unionist win (new seat) | Ind. Unionist win (new seat) | Ind. Unionist win (new seat) | Ind. Unionist win (new seat) | Ind. Unionist win (new seat) |
General Election 1933: Belfast Woodvale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Ind. Unionist | John William Nixon | 8,709 | 56.6 | −1.8 |
| | UUP | Alexander Dalzell | 6,676 | 43.4 | +1.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,033 | 13.2 | −13.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 15,385 | 76.4 | +0.8 |
| | Ind. Unionist hold | Ind. Unionist hold | Swing | | |
General Election 1938: Belfast Woodvale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Ind. Unionist | John William Nixon | 9,335 | 59.0 | +2.4 |
| | UUP | John William Dickson | 6,479 | 41.0 | −2.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,856 | 18.0 | +4.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 15,814 | 79.5 | +3.1 |
| | Ind. Unionist hold | Ind. Unionist hold | Swing | | |
General Election 1945: Belfast Woodvale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Ind. Unionist | John William Nixon | 9,274 | 66.4 | +7.4 |
| | UUP | Samuel Lyness Megraw | 4,686 | 33.6 | −7.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,588 | 32.8 | +14.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 13,960 | 69.3 | −10.2 |
| | Ind. Unionist hold | Ind. Unionist hold | Swing | | |
    At the 1949 Northern Ireland general election, John William Nixon was elected unopposed.
1950 Belfast Woodvale by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | UUP | Robert Harcourt | 3,939 | 33.1 | N/A |
| | Ind. Unionist | Robert Hill | 3,529 | 29.7 | N/A |
| | NI Labour | Charles Hull | 2,893 | 29.7 | New |
| | Ind. Unionist | David H. Walker | 1,533 | 12.9 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 410 | 3.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,894 | 57.9 | N/A |
| | UUP gain from Ind. Unionist | UUP gain from Ind. Unionist | Swing | N/A | |
General Election 1953: Belfast Woodvale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | UUP | Robert Harcourt | 6,085 | 40.1 | N/A |
| | Ind. Unionist | James Brennan Docherty | 5,786 | 38.2 | N/A |
| | NI Labour | Billy Boyd | 3,286 | 21.7 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 299 | 1.9 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 15,157 | 69.3 | N/A |
| | UUP gain from Ind. Unionist | UUP gain from Ind. Unionist | Swing | N/A | |
1955 Belfast Woodvale by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | UUP | Neville Martin | 5,609 | 52.0 | +11.9 |
| | NI Labour | Billy Boyd | 5,173 | 48.0 | +26.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 436 | 4.0 | +2.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,782 | 50.0 | −19.3 |
| | UUP hold | UUP hold | Swing | | |
General Election 1958: Belfast Woodvale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | NI Labour | Billy Boyd | 7,529 | 50.3 | +28.6 |
| | UUP | Neville Martin | 7,449 | 49.7 | +9.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 80 | 0.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 14,978 | 71.8 | +2.5 |
| | NI Labour gain from UUP | NI Labour gain from UUP | Swing | | |
General Election 1962: Belfast Woodvale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | NI Labour | Billy Boyd | 8,389 | 57.4 | +7.1 |
| | UUP | James Frazer Kerr | 6,232 | 42.6 | −7.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,157 | 14.8 | +14.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 14,621 | 71.9 | +0.1 |
| | NI Labour hold | NI Labour hold | Swing | | |
General Election 1965: Belfast Woodvale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | UUP | John McQuade | 6,791 | 57.3 | +14.7 |
| | NI Labour | Billy Boyd | 5,067 | 42.7 | −14.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,724 | 14.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,858 | 57.3 | −14.6 |
| | UUP gain from NI Labour | UUP gain from NI Labour | Swing | | |
General Election 1969: Belfast Woodvale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | UUP | John McQuade | 7,209 | 50.7 | −6.6 |
| | NI Labour | Billy Boyd | 3,878 | 26.9 | −15.8 |
| | Ind. Unionist | Leslie Bell | 3,231 | 22.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,331 | 23.8 | +9.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 14,318 | 71.6 | +14.3 |
| | UUP hold | UUP hold | Swing | | |