# 2019 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland

The 2019 United Kingdom general election was held on 12 December 2019 to elect all 650 members of the House of Commons, including 18 seats in Northern Ireland. 1,293,971 people were eligible to vote, up 51,273 from the 2017 general election. 62.09% of eligible voters turned out, down 3.5 percentage points from the last general election. For the first time in history, nationalist parties won more seats than unionist parties.

## Electoral system

MPs were elected in 18 Single Member constituencies by first-past-the-post.

## Background

The election was called on 29 October 2019 under the Early Parliamentary General Election Act 2019. At the 2017 election, the nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) lost all of their seats. The DUP won 10 seats, Sinn Féin won 7 seats, and Independent Unionist Sylvia Hermon was also elected. The election ended in a hung parliament, and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) signed a confidence and supply agreement with the Conservative Party.
In 2018, Sinn Féin MP for West Tyrone, Barry McElduff, resigned after a social media post he made caused controversy regarding perceived sectarianism on the Kingsmill massacre. The party won a by-election later, but with a plurality instead of a majority.
In the 2019 European Parliament election, Sinn Féin, the DUP, and the Alliance Party each won a seat.

## Participating parties

102 candidates stood in the general election. The Alliance Party was the only party standing in all 18 seats. The DUP stood in 17 seats, the UUP in 16, and both Sinn Féin and the SDLP in 15 seats. Aontú stood in 7 seats, the Northern Ireland Conservatives in 4, the Green Party of Northern Ireland in 3, and People Before Profit and the UK Independence Party in 2. Traditional Unionist Voice did not stand in this election. There were also three independent candidates. Sylvia Hermon did not contest this election.
Sinn Féin operates on an all-Ireland basis. Their MPs in Westminster practice abstentionism, meaning they do not take their seats in the House of Commons. Aontú, who like Sinn Féin are an abstentionist all-Ireland party, was formed in January 2019.

## Opinion polling

| Pollster/client(s) | Date(s) conducted | Sample size | DUP | SF | SDLP | UUP | Alliance | Green | Other | Lead |
| 2019 general election | 12 Dec 2019 | – | 30.6% | 22.8% | 14.9% | 11.7% | 16.8% | 0.2% | 3.1% | 7.8% |
| Lucid Talk/Remain United | 27–30 Nov 2019 | 2,422 | 30% | 25% | 13% | 11% | 16% | 0% | 5% | 5% |
| | 9 November 2019 | Steve Aiken officially becomes leader of the Ulster Unionist Party | Steve Aiken officially becomes leader of the Ulster Unionist Party | Steve Aiken officially becomes leader of the Ulster Unionist Party | Steve Aiken officially becomes leader of the Ulster Unionist Party | Steve Aiken officially becomes leader of the Ulster Unionist Party | Steve Aiken officially becomes leader of the Ulster Unionist Party | Steve Aiken officially becomes leader of the Ulster Unionist Party | Steve Aiken officially becomes leader of the Ulster Unionist Party | Steve Aiken officially becomes leader of the Ulster Unionist Party |
| Lucid Talk/Remain United | 30 Oct–1 Nov 2019 | 2,386 | 28% | 24% | 14% | 9% | 16% | 1% | 8% | 4% |
| Lucid Talk | 9–12 Aug 2019 | 2,302 | 29% | 25% | 8% | 9% | 21% | 1% | 7% | 4% |
| | 21 November 2018 | Clare Bailey officially becomes leader of NI Green Party | Clare Bailey officially becomes leader of NI Green Party | Clare Bailey officially becomes leader of NI Green Party | Clare Bailey officially becomes leader of NI Green Party | Clare Bailey officially becomes leader of NI Green Party | Clare Bailey officially becomes leader of NI Green Party | Clare Bailey officially becomes leader of NI Green Party | Clare Bailey officially becomes leader of NI Green Party | Clare Bailey officially becomes leader of NI Green Party |
| Survation/Channel 4 | 20 Oct–2 Nov 2018 | 555 | 31% | 27% | 11% | 15% | 12% | – | 4% | 4% |
| | 3 May 2018 | West Tyrone by-election | West Tyrone by-election | West Tyrone by-election | West Tyrone by-election | West Tyrone by-election | West Tyrone by-election | West Tyrone by-election | West Tyrone by-election | West Tyrone by-election |
| | 10 Feb 2018 | Mary Lou McDonald becomes leader of Sinn Féin | Mary Lou McDonald becomes leader of Sinn Féin | Mary Lou McDonald becomes leader of Sinn Féin | Mary Lou McDonald becomes leader of Sinn Féin | Mary Lou McDonald becomes leader of Sinn Féin | Mary Lou McDonald becomes leader of Sinn Féin | Mary Lou McDonald becomes leader of Sinn Féin | Mary Lou McDonald becomes leader of Sinn Féin | Mary Lou McDonald becomes leader of Sinn Féin |
| 2017 general election | 8 Jun 2017 | – | 36.0% | 29.4% | 11.7% | 10.3% | 7.9% | 0.9% | 3.7% | 6.6% |

## Results

| Party | Party | Seats | Seats | Seats | Seats | Seats | Votes | Votes | Votes |
| Party | Party | Total | Gains | Losses | Net +/- | % of seats | Total votes | % of votes | % change |
| | DUP | 8 | 0 | – 2 | 2 | 44.4% | 244,128 | 30.6% | 5.4% |
| | Sinn Féin | 7 | + 1 | – 1 | | 38.9% | 181,853 | 22.8% | 6.7% |
| | SDLP | 2 | + 2 | 0 | 2 | 11.1% | 118,737 | 14.9% | 3.1% |
| | Alliance | 1 | + 1 | 0 | 1 | 5.6% | 134,115 | 16.8% | 8.8% |
| | UUP | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0% | 93,123 | 11.7% | 1.4% |
| | Aontú | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0% | 9,814 | 1.2% | New |
| | People Before Profit | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0% | 7,526 | 0.9% | 0.2% |
| | NI Conservatives | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0% | 5,433 | 0.7% | 0.2% |
| | Green (NI) | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0% | 1,996 | 0.2% | 0.7% |
| | Independent | 0 | 0 | – 1 | 1 | 0% | 1,687 | 0.2% | 1.8% |
| | UKIP | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0% | 623 | 0.1% | New |
| | Totals & turnout % | 18 | + 4 | – 4 | | 100% | 799,035 | 61.8% | 3.6% |

### Results by constituency

| Constituency | 2017 result | 2017 result | 2019 winning party | 2019 winning party | 2019 winning party | 2019 winning party | 2019 winning party | Turnout | Votes | Votes | Votes | Votes | Votes | Votes | Votes | Votes | Votes |
| Constituency | 2017 result | 2017 result | Party | Party | Votes | Share | Majority | Turnout | DUP | SF | APNI | SDLP | UUP | Con | Grn | Other | Total |
| Belfast East | | DUP | | DUP | 20,874 | 49.2% | 1,819 | 64.1% | 20,874 | | 19,055 | | 2,516 | | | | 42,445 |
| Belfast North | | DUP | | SF | 23,078 | 47.1% | 1,943 | 67.9% | 21,135 | 23,078 | 4,824 | | | | | | 49,037 |
| Belfast South | | DUP | | SDLP | 27,079 | 57.2% | 15,401 | 67.7% | 11,678 | | 6,786 | 27,079 | 1,259 | | | 550 | 47,352 |
| Belfast West | | SF | | SF | 20,866 | 53.8% | 14,672 | 59.1% | 5,220 | 20,866 | 1,882 | 2,985 | | | | 7,829 | 38,782 |
| East Antrim | | DUP | | DUP | 16,871 | 45.3% | 6,706 | 57.5% | 16,871 | 2,120 | 10,165 | 902 | 5,475 | 1,043 | 685 | | 37,261 |
| East Londonderry | | DUP | | DUP | 15,765 | 40.1% | 9,607 | 56.8% | 15,765 | 6,128 | 5,921 | 6,158 | 3,599 | | | 1,731 | 39,302 |
| Fermanagh and South Tyrone | | SF | | SF | 21,986 | 43.3% | 57 | 69.7% | | 21,986 | 2,650 | 3,446 | 21,929 | | | 751 | 50,762 |
| Foyle | | SF | | SDLP | 26,881 | 57.0% | 17,110 | 63.4% | 4,773 | 9,771 | 1,267 | 26,881 | 1,088 | | | 3,364 | 47,143 |
| Lagan Valley | | DUP | | DUP | 19,586 | 43.1% | 6,499 | 60.0% | 19,586 | 1,098 | 13,087 | 1,758 | 8,606 | 955 | | 315 | 45,405 |
| Mid Ulster | | SF | | SF | 20,473 | 45.9% | 9,537 | 63.3% | 10,936 | 20,473 | 3,526 | 6,384 | 2,611 | | | 690 | 44,620 |
| Newry and Armagh | | SF | | SF | 20,287 | 40.0% | 9,287 | 62.5% | 11,000 | 20,287 | 4,211 | 9,449 | 4,204 | | | 1,628 | 50,779 |
| North Antrim | | DUP | | DUP | 20,860 | 47.4% | 12,721 | 57.1% | 20,860 | 5,632 | 6,231 | 2,943 | 8,139 | | | 246 | 44,051 |
| North Down | | Ind | | APNI | 18,358 | 45.2% | 2,968 | 60.6% | 15,390 | | 18,358 | | 4,936 | 1,959 | | | 40,643 |
| South Antrim | | DUP | | DUP | 15,149 | 35.3% | 2,689 | 59.9% | 15,149 | 4,887 | 8,190 | 2,288 | 12,460 | | | | 42,974 |
| South Down | | SF | | SF | 16,137 | 32.4% | 1,620 | 62.9% | 7,619 | 16,137 | 6,916 | 14,517 | 3,307 | | | 1,266 | 49,762 |
| Strangford | | DUP | | DUP | 17,705 | 47.2% | 7,071 | 56.0% | 17,705 | 555 | 10,634 | 1,994 | 4,023 | 1,476 | 790 | 308 | 37,485 |
| Upper Bann | | DUP | | DUP | 20,501 | 41.0% | 8,210 | 60.4% | 20,501 | 12,291 | 6,433 | 4,623 | 6,197 | | | | 50,045 |
| West Tyrone | | SF | | SF | 16,544 | 40.2% | 7,478 | 62.2% | 9,066 | 16,544 | 3,979 | 7,330 | 2,774 | | 521 | 972 | 41,186 |
| Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Turnout | | | | | | | | | Total |
| Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Turnout | DUP | SF | APNI | SDLP | UUP | Con | Grn | Other | Total |
| Votes |||||||||
| Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | 61.8% | 244,128 | 181,853 | 134,115 | 118,737 | 93,123 | 5,433 | 1,996 | 19,650 | 799,035 |
| Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | 61.8% | 30.6% | 22.8% | 16.8% | 14.9% | 11.7% | 0.7% | 0.2% | 2.5% | 100.0% |
| Seats |||||||||
| Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | 61.8% | 8 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | Total for all constituencies | 61.8% | 44% | 39% | 6% | 11% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 100.0% |
Parliamentary seats
DUP
44.4%
Sinn Féin
38.9%
SDLP
11.1%
Alliance
5.6% :