# Belfast Shankill (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)

54°36′14″N 5°57′00″W﻿ / ﻿54.604°N 5.950°W﻿ / 54.604; -5.950
Belfast Shankill was a constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland.

## Boundaries

Belfast Shankill was a borough constituency comprising part of northern 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 Shankill was created by the division of Belfast North 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 North Belfast, the seat had little nationalist presence. The seat was strongly Unionist, but there was some labour movement strength. For the first twenty-four years of its existence, the seat was held by an independent Unionist.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 1929 | Tommy Henderson | Independent Unionist |
| | 1937 | Tommy Henderson | Independent Unionist Association |
| | 1940s | Tommy Henderson | Independent Unionist |
| | 1953 | Henry Holmes | Ulster Unionist |
| | 1960 | Desmond Boal | Ulster Unionist |
| | 1961 | Desmond Boal | Independent Unionist |
| | 1961 | Desmond Boal | Ulster Unionist |
| | 1970 | Desmond Boal | Independent Unionist |
| | 1971 | Desmond Boal | Democratic Unionist |
| 1973 | 1973 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Election results

General Election 1929: Belfast Shankill :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Ind. Unionist | Tommy Henderson | 6,525 | 51.1 | |
| | UUP | Samuel McGuffin | 6,244 | 48.9 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 281 | 2.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,769 | 74.8 | |
| | 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 Shankill :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Ind. Unionist | Tommy Henderson | 6,451 | 50.5 | −0.6 |
| | UUP | James Norman Fulton | 6,335 | 49.5 | +0.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 116 | 1.0 | −1.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,786 | 76.4 | +1.6 |
| | Ind. Unionist hold | Ind. Unionist hold | Swing | | |
General Election 1938: Belfast Shankill :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Ind. Unionist Party | Tommy Henderson | 7,518 | 51.4 | +0.9 |
| | UUP | James Norman Fulton | 7,095 | 48.6 | −0.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 423 | 2.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 14,613 | 83.6 | +7.2 |
| | Ind. Unionist Party gain from Ind. Unionist | Ind. Unionist Party gain from Ind. Unionist | Swing | | |
    At the 1945 and 1949 general elections, Tommy Henderson was elected unopposed.
General Election 1953: Belfast Shankill :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | UUP | Henry Holmes | 5,485 | 47.3 | N/A |
| | Ind. Unionist | Tommy Henderson | 3,215 | 27.7 | N/A |
| | NI Labour | Norman Branagh Fullerton | 2,897 | 25.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,270 | 19.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,597 | 65.6 | N/A |
| | UUP gain from Ind. Unionist | UUP gain from Ind. Unionist | Swing | N/A | |
General Election 1958: Belfast Shankill :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | UUP | Henry Holmes | 6,411 | 56.2 | +8.9 |
| | NI Labour | Samuel Cree | 4,995 | 43.8 | +18.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,416 | 12.4 | −7.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,406 | 61.5 | −4.1 |
| | UUP hold | UUP hold | Swing | | |
1960 Belfast Shankill by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | UUP | Desmond Boal | 4,320 | 64.2 | +8.0 |
| | NI Labour | Samuel Cree | 2,414 | 35.8 | −8.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,906 | 28.4 | +16.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,734 | 28.4 | −33.1 |
| | UUP hold | UUP hold | Swing | | |
    At the 1962 Northern Ireland general election, Desmond Boal was elected unopposed.
General Election 1965: Belfast Shankill :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | UUP | Desmond Boal | 6,289 | 67.4 | N/A |
| | NI Labour | David Overend | 3,035 | 32.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,254 | 34.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,324 | 50.5 | N/A |
| | UUP hold | UUP hold | Swing | N/A | |
General Election 1969: Belfast Shankill :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | UUP | Desmond Boal | 6,384 | 49.4 | −18.0 |
| | Ind. Unionist | Samuel Walsh | 4,545 | 35.2 | New |
| | NI Labour | David Overend | 1,997 | 15.4 | −17.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,839 | 14.2 | −20.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,926 | 71.1 | +20.6 |
| | UUP hold | UUP hold | Swing | | |