Post by therealriga on Dec 24, 2023 9:09:46 GMT
East Londonderry was one of the new constituencies created in 1983, when Northern Ireland’s representation was increased from 12 to 17 seats. As the name suggests, it includes the eastern part of the county of the same name, though excluding the county’s southern part while including a small part of County Antrim around the town of Portrush. Despite a substantial Nationalist minority, it has been a safe Unionist seat since its creation.
When first created, the constituency consisted of the whole of Coleraine and Limavady councils, which had previously been in Londonderry constituency, except for the area around Portrush, which came from North Antrim. To this was added most of Magherafelt council, including the town itself, all of which had been in Mid Ulster. In common with the other four constituencies in the west it had become oversized in the 1990s and the boundary review before the 1997 election removed all 13 Magherafelt council wards that it contained, returning them to Mid Ulster. For the 2010 election the now slightly undersized constituency gained two wards of Derry council. Following local government reorganisation in 2014, it now consists of the western section of Causeway Coast & Glens council plus the two wards added for 2010, now in Derry City & Strabane council.
The main population centre is Coleraine and the nearby built-up area around the twin resort towns of Portrush and Portstewart, both popular day trips for Belfast residents in the summer months. A smaller population centre is found at Limavady, with the remaining population scattered across numerous villages. Coleraine was controversially chosen as the site of Northern Ireland’s second University in the 1960s, sparking Nationalist complaints that it was being situated there in a mainly Protestant town rather than in the second city, the mainly Catholic Derry. The town occupies a good position on the Belfast-Derry route and provides a tourist base, given its position close to the nearby Giant’s Causeway and Bushmills whiskey distillery.
Socio-economically, the constituency lies around the Northern Ireland average. House prices are slightly below the regional average, though with some more expensive properties in the north coastal areas, a popular golfing destination. Unemployment levels are slightly above the regional average and in 2015 ranged from 1% in Portstewart’s Strand ward to 13% in Limavady’s Greystone ward. The latter area in the south-western third of Limavady includes one of the constituency’s few pockets of poverty. The town’s Greystone and Coolessan estates were two of the constituency’s three super output areas (SOA) which ranked in the 10% most deprived wards in Northern Ireland. Coolessan actually ranked as the 10th poorest ward in Northern Ireland. The third area was Coleraine’s Ballysally estate.
In the 2011 census, 41.7% had a Catholic community background, a figure just below the NI average. While spread across the constituency, the towns of Greysteel and Dungiven are almost entirely Catholic. The rural areas south of Limavady and those around Kilrea are also mostly Catholic. The figure in Limavady nears half the town’s population, while it is below 30% in Coleraine and below 15% in Castlerock and Macosquin.
The former Limavady council was Unionist controlled until 1993, remaining under Nationalist control thereafter. Coleraine was always Unionist dominated, with Nationalists winning no more than 4 of the 22 seats throughout its existence, while the centrist Alliance party maintained a councillor base, usually polling 8-10% of the vote. Until 2005, the UUP were the dominant Unionist party, winning an absolute majority in 1973 and 1993. However, by 2005, in common with the constituency as a whole, they were usurped by the DUP. The SDLP remained the main Nationalist party in the constituency until 2010 when they were overtaken by Sinn Féin. The SDLP regained the lead in 2019.
The first election in 1983 saw former Londonderry MP William Ross of the UUP win a comfortable victory, with a majority of 7,282 over the DUP. The subsequent Unionist pact in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement left Ross without Unionist opposition and he was able to win easily. However, the DUP reappeared in 1997, standing Gregory Campbell, who had previously contested elections in the neighbouring Foyle constituency. Campbell cut Ross’ majority to under 4,000. Across NI, the DUP gained further ground across NI in subsequent years, benefitting from Unionist opposition to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. Although Ross also opposed the Agreement, this did not help him and Campbell deposed him in 2001, by 1,901 votes. Thereafter, the UUP fell away with their vote share declining at every election until 2017, when they barely saved their deposit. A modest recovery in 2019 still left them below 10%. Ross quit the party to become party president of the Traditional Unionist Voice and made a reappearance at the 2010 election, but was only able to take 7% of the vote.
Though Campbell’s vote has usually been in the 35 to 40% range, the division of the opposition between UUP, Alliance and the SDLP and Sinn Féin has usually resulted in relatively comfortable majorities. In 2019, for example, despite an 8% drop in his vote share, he won his largest majority to date: 9,607 votes, 40.1% of the total with Alliance and the two Nationalist parties all well behind on just over 15%. The only threats have come from the Boundary Commission. East Londonderry is one of the smaller constituencies and the zombie review suggested abolishing it, with Coleraine being linked with North Antrim and the remainder forming part of a new Glenshane constituency, which observers noted would be the first time a former highwayman had been honoured in a constituency title. The current review sees only a minor change, with Eglinton ward added from Foyle. In the 2022 Assembly election Sinn Féin were less than 600 votes behind the DUP and in the 2023 locals, SF were ahead. However, this was mainly due to the presence of a number of smaller unionist groups, including the TUV and Clare Sugden, an Independent Unionist who has won an Assembly seat at the last 2 elections. These are unlikely to stand in a Westminster election and unless they do, the DUP is likely to continue to win against divided opposition.
When first created, the constituency consisted of the whole of Coleraine and Limavady councils, which had previously been in Londonderry constituency, except for the area around Portrush, which came from North Antrim. To this was added most of Magherafelt council, including the town itself, all of which had been in Mid Ulster. In common with the other four constituencies in the west it had become oversized in the 1990s and the boundary review before the 1997 election removed all 13 Magherafelt council wards that it contained, returning them to Mid Ulster. For the 2010 election the now slightly undersized constituency gained two wards of Derry council. Following local government reorganisation in 2014, it now consists of the western section of Causeway Coast & Glens council plus the two wards added for 2010, now in Derry City & Strabane council.
The main population centre is Coleraine and the nearby built-up area around the twin resort towns of Portrush and Portstewart, both popular day trips for Belfast residents in the summer months. A smaller population centre is found at Limavady, with the remaining population scattered across numerous villages. Coleraine was controversially chosen as the site of Northern Ireland’s second University in the 1960s, sparking Nationalist complaints that it was being situated there in a mainly Protestant town rather than in the second city, the mainly Catholic Derry. The town occupies a good position on the Belfast-Derry route and provides a tourist base, given its position close to the nearby Giant’s Causeway and Bushmills whiskey distillery.
Socio-economically, the constituency lies around the Northern Ireland average. House prices are slightly below the regional average, though with some more expensive properties in the north coastal areas, a popular golfing destination. Unemployment levels are slightly above the regional average and in 2015 ranged from 1% in Portstewart’s Strand ward to 13% in Limavady’s Greystone ward. The latter area in the south-western third of Limavady includes one of the constituency’s few pockets of poverty. The town’s Greystone and Coolessan estates were two of the constituency’s three super output areas (SOA) which ranked in the 10% most deprived wards in Northern Ireland. Coolessan actually ranked as the 10th poorest ward in Northern Ireland. The third area was Coleraine’s Ballysally estate.
In the 2011 census, 41.7% had a Catholic community background, a figure just below the NI average. While spread across the constituency, the towns of Greysteel and Dungiven are almost entirely Catholic. The rural areas south of Limavady and those around Kilrea are also mostly Catholic. The figure in Limavady nears half the town’s population, while it is below 30% in Coleraine and below 15% in Castlerock and Macosquin.
The former Limavady council was Unionist controlled until 1993, remaining under Nationalist control thereafter. Coleraine was always Unionist dominated, with Nationalists winning no more than 4 of the 22 seats throughout its existence, while the centrist Alliance party maintained a councillor base, usually polling 8-10% of the vote. Until 2005, the UUP were the dominant Unionist party, winning an absolute majority in 1973 and 1993. However, by 2005, in common with the constituency as a whole, they were usurped by the DUP. The SDLP remained the main Nationalist party in the constituency until 2010 when they were overtaken by Sinn Féin. The SDLP regained the lead in 2019.
The first election in 1983 saw former Londonderry MP William Ross of the UUP win a comfortable victory, with a majority of 7,282 over the DUP. The subsequent Unionist pact in opposition to the Anglo-Irish Agreement left Ross without Unionist opposition and he was able to win easily. However, the DUP reappeared in 1997, standing Gregory Campbell, who had previously contested elections in the neighbouring Foyle constituency. Campbell cut Ross’ majority to under 4,000. Across NI, the DUP gained further ground across NI in subsequent years, benefitting from Unionist opposition to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. Although Ross also opposed the Agreement, this did not help him and Campbell deposed him in 2001, by 1,901 votes. Thereafter, the UUP fell away with their vote share declining at every election until 2017, when they barely saved their deposit. A modest recovery in 2019 still left them below 10%. Ross quit the party to become party president of the Traditional Unionist Voice and made a reappearance at the 2010 election, but was only able to take 7% of the vote.
Though Campbell’s vote has usually been in the 35 to 40% range, the division of the opposition between UUP, Alliance and the SDLP and Sinn Féin has usually resulted in relatively comfortable majorities. In 2019, for example, despite an 8% drop in his vote share, he won his largest majority to date: 9,607 votes, 40.1% of the total with Alliance and the two Nationalist parties all well behind on just over 15%. The only threats have come from the Boundary Commission. East Londonderry is one of the smaller constituencies and the zombie review suggested abolishing it, with Coleraine being linked with North Antrim and the remainder forming part of a new Glenshane constituency, which observers noted would be the first time a former highwayman had been honoured in a constituency title. The current review sees only a minor change, with Eglinton ward added from Foyle. In the 2022 Assembly election Sinn Féin were less than 600 votes behind the DUP and in the 2023 locals, SF were ahead. However, this was mainly due to the presence of a number of smaller unionist groups, including the TUV and Clare Sugden, an Independent Unionist who has won an Assembly seat at the last 2 elections. These are unlikely to stand in a Westminster election and unless they do, the DUP is likely to continue to win against divided opposition.
