# Belfast Willowfield (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)

54°35′13″N 5°53′56″W﻿ / ﻿54.587°N 5.899°W﻿ / 54.587; -5.899
Belfast Willowfield was a constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland.

## Boundaries

Belfast Willowfield was a borough constituency comprising part of southern 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 Willowfield was created by the division of Belfast South 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

In common with other seats in south Belfast, the constituency was strongly unionist. The seat was generally held by Unionist candidates, although labour movement candidates often performed well and sometimes took the seat.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 1929 | Arthur Black | Ulster Unionist |
| | 1941(b) | Harry Midgley | Northern Ireland Labour Party |
| | 1941 | Harry Midgley | Commonwealth Labour Party |
| | 1947 | Harry Midgley | Ulster Unionist |
| | 1958 | William Hinds | Ulster Unionist |
| | 1969 | Tom Caldwell | Independent Unionist |
| 1973 | 1973 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Election results

General Election 1929: Belfast Willowfield :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | UUP | Arthur Black | 4,691 | 53.9 | |
| | Town Tenants' Association | Alexander McConnell | 4,015 | 46.1 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 676 | 7.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,706 | 69.4 | |
| | UUP win (new seat) | UUP win (new seat) | UUP win (new seat) | UUP win (new seat) | UUP win (new seat) |
    At the 1933 Northern Ireland general election, Arthur Black was elected unopposed.
General Election 1938: Belfast Willowfield :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | UUP | Arthur Black | 7,615 | 65.1 | N/A |
| | Ulster Protestant League | Arthur Cleland | 4,086 | 34.9 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,530 | 30.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,701 | 74.1 | N/A |
| | UUP hold | UUP hold | Swing | N/A | |
Belfast Willowfield by-election, 1941 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | NI Labour | Harry Midgley | 7,209 | 74.8 | New |
| | UUP | Fred Lavery | 2,435 | 25.2 | −39.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,774 | 49.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,644 | 60.0 | N/A |
| | NI Labour gain from UUP | NI Labour gain from UUP | Swing | | |
General Election 1945: Belfast Willowfield :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Commonwealth Labour | Harry Midgley | 7,072 | 55.9 | N/A |
| | UUP | George Irvine Finlay | 4,488 | 35.5 | −29.6 |
| | NI Labour | Robert McBrinn | 1,082 | 8.6 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,584 | 20.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,560 | 75.1 | +1.0 |
| | Commonwealth Labour gain from UUP | Commonwealth Labour gain from UUP | Swing | | |
General Election 1949: Belfast Willowfield :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | UUP | Harry Midgley | 11,304 | 87.5 | +52.0 |
| | NI Labour | William Leeburn | 1,611 | 12.5 | +3.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,693 | 75.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,915 | 77.3 | +2.2 |
| | UUP gain from Commonwealth Labour | UUP gain from Commonwealth Labour | Swing | | |
General Election 1953: Belfast Willowfield :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | UUP | Harry Midgley | 6,539 | 68.8 | −18.7 |
| | NI Labour | Norman Searight | 2,966 | 31.2 | +18.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,573 | 37.6 | −37.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,505 | 59.5 | −17.8 |
| | UUP hold | UUP hold | Swing | | |
General Election 1958: Belfast Willowfield :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | UUP | William Hinds | 4,017 | 41.6 | −27.2 |
| | NI Labour | Norman Searight | 2,847 | 29.5 | −1.7 |
| | Ind. Unionist | Alfred Walker Shaw | 2,785 | 28.9 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,170 | 12.1 | −25.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,649 | 66.6 | +7.1 |
| | UUP hold | UUP hold | Swing | | |
General Election 1962: Belfast Willowfield :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | UUP | William Hinds | 4,931 | 58.5 | +16.9 |
| | NI Labour | Norman Searight | 3,497 | 41.5 | +12.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,434 | 17.0 | +4.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,428 | 62.0 | −4.6 |
| | UUP hold | UUP hold | Swing | | |
General Election 1965: Belfast Willowfield :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | UUP | William Hinds | 4,918 | 64.9 | +6.4 |
| | NI Labour | Martin McBirney | 2,654 | 35.1 | −6.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,264 | 29.8 | +12.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,572 | 57.1 | −4.9 |
| | UUP hold | UUP hold | Swing | | |
General Election 1969: Belfast Willowfield :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Ind. Unionist | Tom Caldwell | 4,613 | 54.3 | New |
| | UUP | William Hinds | 2,134 | 25.1 | −39.8 |
| | NI Labour | Billy Boyd | 1,747 | 20.6 | −14.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,479 | 29.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,494 | 68.4 | +11.3 |
| | Ind. Unionist gain from UUP | Ind. Unionist gain from UUP | Swing | | |