Strangford (Assembly constituency)

Strangford
Strangford
Northern Ireland Assembly; Parliamentary constituency
	Strangford shown within Northern Ireland
Current constituency
Created	1996
Seats	6 (1996–2016); 5 (2017–)
MLAs	Kellie Armstrong (APNI); Harry Harvey (DUP); Nick Mathison (APNI); Michelle McIlveen (DUP); Mike Nesbitt (UUP);
Districts	Ards and North Down Borough Council
Boundaries

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54°27′22″N 5°32′35″W / 54.456°N 5.543°W / 54.456; -5.543

Strangford (Irish: Loch Cuan, Ulster Scots: Strangfurd) is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Forum in 1996. Since 1998, it has elected members to the current Assembly.

For Assembly elections before 1996, the constituency was largely part of the North Down constituency with smaller sections being added from Belfast East constituency and Belfast South constituency. From 1997 until 2024, it shared boundaries with the Strangford UK Parliament constituency until the Parliamentary constituency's boundaries changed for the 2024 United Kingdom general election.

For further details of the history and boundaries of the Parliamentary constituency, see Strangford (UK Parliament constituency).

Members

Election		MLA (party)					MLA (party)
1996	Kieran McCarthy (Alliance Party)		Tom Benson (UUP)	Jim Shannon (DUP)	John Taylor (UUP)	Iris Robinson (DUP)	5 seats 1996–1998
1998			Tom Benson (UUP)					Cedric Wilson (UKUP)
January 2001 co-option			Tom Hamilton (UUP)					Cedric Wilson (UKUP)
2003			David McNarry (UUP/UKIP)					George Ennis (DUP)
2007					Simon Hamilton (DUP)			Michelle McIlveen (DUP)
January 2010 co-option						Jonathan Bell (DUP)
August 2010 co-option				Simpson Gibson (DUP)
2011				Mike Nesbitt (UUP)
October 2012 defection
2016	Kellie Armstrong (Alliance Party)		Philip Smith (UUP)
2017		5 seats 2017–present				Peter Weir (DUP)
September 2019 co-option					Harry Harvey (DUP)	Peter Weir (DUP)
2022					Harry Harvey (DUP)	Nick Mathison (Alliance Party)

Note: The columns in this table are used only for presentational purposes, and no significance should be attached to the order of columns. For details of the order in which seats were won at each election, see the detailed results of that election.

Elections

Northern Ireland Assembly

2022

2022 Assembly election: Strangford – 5 seats^[1]
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
	Alliance	Kellie Armstrong	17.17%	7,015
	DUP	Michelle McIlveen	16.15%	6,601	6,643	6,645	6,779	8,344
	DUP	Harry Harvey	11.51%	4,704	4,728	4,737	4,788	6,140	7,488
	UUP	Mike Nesbitt	9.04%	3,693	3,763	3,775	5,822	6,034	6,124	6,471	6,478	6,707
	Alliance	Nick Mathison	6.91%	2,822	3,279	3,568	3,670	3,697	3,707	3,735	3,842	6,174
	TUV	Stephen Cooper	12.69%	5,186	5,233	5,240	5,327	5,502	5,570	5,866	5,868	5,924
	SDLP	Conor Houston	5.97%	2,440	2,563	3,715	3,759	3,772	3,778	3,781	3,802
	DUP	Peter Weir	8.12%	3,313	3,330	3,335	3,392
	UUP	Philip Smith	6.20%	2,535	2,556	2,567
	Sinn Féin	Róisé McGivern	3.93%	1,607	1,644
	Green (NI)	Maurice Macartney	2.03%	831
	Ind. Unionist	Ben King	0.29%	118
Electorate: 70,775 Valid: 40,865 (57.74%) Spoilt: 480 Quota: 6,811 Turnout: 41,345 (58.42%)

2017

2017 Assembly election: Strangford – 5 seats^[2]
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
	Alliance	Kellie Armstrong	14.99%	5,813	5,845	6,372	6,610
	DUP	Simon Hamilton	16.04%	6,221	6,234	6,259	6,262	6,531
	DUP	Michelle McIlveen	14.77%	5,728	5,737	5,746	5,747	5,963	5,963.75	6,013.25	6,330	6,762
	UUP	Mike Nesbitt	13.72%	5,323	5,362	5,419	5,432	5,644	5,653	5,657	6,112	6,540
	DUP	Peter Weir	9.13%	3,543	3,552	3,556	3,556	3,636	3,636	3,639.5	3,877.75	4,191.25	5,101.5	5,392.38
	SDLP	Joe Boyle	7.85%	3,045	3,049	3,120	3,878	3,900	4,020.75	4,021	4,115	4,229.25	5,163.25	5,167.09
	UUP	Philip Smith	6.32%	2,453	2,480	2,507	2,507	2,648	2,648	2,651	2,800	3,079.25
	Independent	Jimmy Menagh	4.19%	1,627	1,634	1,683	1,689	1,842	1,845	1,846.5	2,189.75
	Independent	Jonathan Bell	3.81%	1,479	1,489	1,549	1,578	1,782	1,791.75	1,794
	TUV	Stephen Cooper	3.43%	1,330	1,350	1,370	1,373
	Sinn Féin	Dermot Kennedy	2.86%	1,110	1,110	1,129
	Green (NI)	Ricky Bamford	2.37%	918	930
	NI Conservatives	Scott Benton	0.50%	195
Electorate: 64,393 Valid: 38,785 (60.23%) Spoilt: 454 Quota: 6,465 Turnout: 39,239 (60.94%)

2016

2016 Assembly election: Strangford – 6 seats^[3]
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
	UUP	Mike Nesbitt	14.32%	4,673
	DUP	Michelle McIlveen	14.29%	4,663
	DUP	Jonathan Bell	10.40%	3,393	3,411	3,416	3,517	3,540	3,774	5,164
	DUP	Simon Hamilton	12.14%	3,964	3,994	3,996	4,099	4,129	4,468	4,983
	Alliance	Kellie Armstrong	10.72%	3,499	3,563	3,656	3,720	4,313	4,368	4,393	4,412.84	4,643.46	4,662.46
	UUP	Philip Smith	5.19%	1,694	1,805	1,805	1,905	1,963	2,335	2,475	2,904.04	3,676.88	3,957.88
	SDLP	Joe Boyle	8.35%	2,724	2,738	3,152	3,176	3,276	3,293	3,311	3,320.3	3,367.92	3,387.92
	Independent	Jimmy Menagh	5.64%	1,840	1,898	1,905	1,972	2,048	2,249	2,276	2,312.58
	DUP	Harry Harvey	6.18%	2,017	2,031	2,033	2,067	2,072	2,226
	TUV	Stephen Cooper	4.31%	1,407	1,418	1,419	1,590	1,606
	Green (NI)	Georgia Grainger	2.83%	924	946	993	1,043
	UKIP	Stephen Crosby	2.33%	759	796	807
	Sinn Féin	Dermot Kennedy	2.03%	661	662
	NI Conservatives	Bill McKendry	0.96%	314
	Independent	Rab McCartney	0.33%	107
Electorate: 65,695 Valid: 32,639 (49.68%) Spoilt: 375 Quota: 4,663 Turnout: 33,014 (50.25%)

2011

2011 Assembly election: Strangford – 6 seats^[4]
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6
	DUP	Michelle McIlveen	15.41%	4,573
	Alliance	Kieran McCarthy	14.44%	4,284
	DUP	Jonathan Bell	14.38%	4,265
	DUP	Simon Hamilton	11.65%	3,456	3,672.58	3,778.93	3,960.4	5,745.4
	UUP	Mike Nesbitt	11.03%	3,273	3,286.93	3,371.93	3,595.28	3,780.92	4,069.92
	UUP	David McNarry	9.35%	2,773	2,790.01	2,875.29	3,076.43	3,259.88	3,766.88
	SDLP	Joe Boyle	8.51%	2,525	2,527.03	2,579.03	3,245.24	3,281.36	3,308.36
	DUP	Billy Walker	7.33%	2,175	2,231.49	2,282.84	2,449.33
	TUV	Terry Williams	2.83%	841	844.01	963.01
	Sinn Féin	Mickey Coogan	3.04%	902	902.28	913.28
	UKIP	Cecil Andrews	2.03%	601
Electorate: 62,178 Valid: 29,668 (47.71%) Spoilt: 518 Quota: 4,239 Turnout: 30,186 (48.55%)

2007

2007 Assembly election: Strangford – 6 seats^[5]
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13
	DUP	Iris Robinson	16.43%	5,917
	DUP	Jim Shannon	13.29%	4,788	5,013.68	5,085.46	5,119.59	5,138.02	5,178.02
	Alliance	Kieran McCarthy	11.34%	4,085	4,095.92	4,110.31	4,206.57	4,255.09	4,418.48	4,540.74	4,689.74	5,206.74
	UUP	David McNarry	10.30%	3,709	3,737.08	3,754.08	3,842.08	4,110.6	4,204.12	4,356.51	4,360.51	4,469.29	6,036.29
	DUP	Simon Hamilton	10.80%	3,889	3,959.85	3,975.85	4,002.37	4,026.32	4,059.36	4,284.79	4,286.79	4,359.83	4,663.73	4,982.73	4,986.73	4,997.73
	DUP	Michelle McIlveen	9.63%	3,468	3,858.91	3,887.69	3,903.95	3,932.99	4,002.37	4,148.06	4,149.06	4,215.23	4,377.39	4,560.39	4,568.39	4,579.39
	SDLP	Joe Boyle	8.52%	3,068	3,068.78	3,071.78	3,082.78	3,096.04	3,122.3	3,132.3	3,937.43	4,088.56	4,294.34	4,512.34	4,547.34	4,548.34
	UUP	Angus Carson	5.91%	2,128	2,138.27	2,157.66	2,207.79	2,487.22	2,571.74	2,723.26	2,733.26	2,818.65
	Green (NI)	Stephanie Sim	2.41%	868	871.64	887.77	942.16	951.16	1,092.55	1,166.81	1,251.81
	Sinn Féin	Dermot Kennedy	3.02%	1,089	1,089.13	1,089.13	1,090.13	1,095.13	1,099.13	1,099.13
	UK Unionist	George Ennis	2.42%	872	876.16	953.68	987.94	998.2	1,039.33
	Independent	Martin Gregg	1.80%	650	657.15	676.28	724.28	733.28
	UUP	Michael Henderson	1.87%	675	682.67	686.67	719.67
	NI Conservatives	Robert Little	1.41%	508	509.95	518.08
	Ind. Unionist	Cedric Wilson	0.85%	305	308.77
Electorate: 66,648 Valid: 36,019 (54.04%) Spoilt: 321 Quota: 5,146 Turnout: 36,340 (54.53%)

2003

2003 Assembly election: Strangford – 6 seats^[6]
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
	DUP	Iris Robinson	22.95%	8,548
	UUP	John Taylor	15.19%	5,658
	DUP	George Ennis	12.37%	4,606	6,138.54
	DUP	Jim Shannon	12.63%	4,703	6,105.67
	UUP	David McNarry	8.05%	3,000	3,055.5	3,169.46	3,304.1	3,394.34	3,413.81	3,449.14	3,589.01	3,884.5	5,610.5
	Alliance	Kieran McCarthy	7.36%	2,741	2,763.57	2,791.32	2,835.87	2,847.03	2,968.36	3,146.42	3,211.03	3,612.93	4,232.62	4,451.48
	SDLP	Joe Boyle	7.80%	2,906	2,909.33	2,910.07	2,916.01	2,920.69	2,990.39	3,047.13	3,072.1	3,950.67	4,093.71	4,160.05
	UUP	Bob Little	5.70%	2,123	2,172.21	2,372.01	2,594.76	2,813.28	2,834.38	2,893.98	3,063.46	3,377.83
	Sinn Féin	Dermot Kennedy	2.97%	1,105	1,106.11	1,107.59	1,110.89	1,111.61	1,172.61	1,186.35	1,189.05
	NI Unionist	Cedric Wilson	1.55%	576	618.55	983.74	1,265.89	1,269.67	1,277.54	1,314.82	1,425.63
	PUP	Colin Neill	1.45%	540	558.87	620.29	668.8	672.16	676.01	697.1
	Green (NI)	Philip Orr	1.14%	425	437.58	461.63	482.75	483.77	501.97
	Independent	Danny McCarthy	0.86%	319	320.48	335.65	349.51	351.61
Electorate: 66,308 Valid: 37,250 (56.18%) Spoilt: 588 Quota: 5,322 Turnout: 37,838 (57.06%)

1998

1998 Assembly election: Strangford – 6 seats^[7]
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
	DUP	Iris Robinson	22.08%	9,479
	UUP	John Taylor	21.44%	9,203
	UUP	Tom Benson	3.78%	1,623	1,638.75	2,222.19	2,222.19	2,231.52	2,240.52	2,257.2	2,297.84	2,319.76	2,545.66	3,010	3,072.33	3,252.96	3,257.99	4,599.04	4,719.41	6,327.41
	Alliance	Kieran McCarthy	6.87%	2,947	2,953.65	3,043.41	3,043.41	3,076.41	3,131.76	3,159.76	3,184.09	3,259.79	3,307.09	3,353.93	3,366.71	3,546.30	3,661.29	3,796.85	6,095.15	6,202.15
	DUP	Jim Shannon	3.30%	1,415	3,682.3	3,742.03	3,743.03	3,750.08	3,755.08	3,777.87	3,795.62	3,827.21	3,971.23	3,995.87	5,141.05	5,267.1	5,271.45	5,403.97	5,435.41	5,862.79	5,932.54
	UK Unionist	Cedric Wilson	7.17%	3,078	3,350.65	3,502.78	3,506.44	3,513.12	3,521.47	3,540.49	3,573.14	3,593.55	3,699.24	3,740.23	3,871.12	3,978.89	3,981.59	4,141.92	4,178.61	4,720.04	4,804.04
	SDLP	Danny McCarthy	4.62%	1,982	1,985.85	2,001.36	2,001.36	2,004.36	2,014.36	2,020.69	2,027.37	2,364.06	2,376.71	2,385.03	2,393.41	2,430.42	4,282.09	4,315.01	4,439.28	4,609.97	4,644.97
	Ind. Unionist	John Beattie	5.24%	2,247	2,280.95	2,682.89	2,685.22	2,686.55	2,698.89	2,706.59	2,753.97	2,783.64	2,880.32	3,081.28	3,171.91	3,422.55	3,438.2	3,965.4	4,087.26
	Alliance	Peter Osborne	5.29%	2,269	2,276	2,391.5	2,394.5	2,434.82	2,465.82	2,480.82	2,495.8	2,513.81	2,556.11	2,604.2	2,615.69	2,783.24	2,850.88	2,982.86
	UUP	David McNarry	2.50%	1,073	1,103.8	1,947.61	1,948.94	1,962.3	1,969.3	1,978.28	1,994.93	2,042.56	2,138.23	2,431.45	2,477.3	2,771.54	2,782.21
	SDLP	Brian Hanvey	4.39%	1,883	1,884.4	1,891.66	1,892.66	1,898.99	1,914.34	1,916.34	1,920.34	2,092	2,097.35	2,107.99	2,108.34	2,124.69
	PUP	Ricky Johnston	3.13%	1,342	1,362.3	1,428.63	1,429.63	1,446.64	1,458.64	1,468.63	1,477.33	1,593.42	1,662.44	1,715.34	1,778.87
	DUP	Tommy Jeffers	2.35%	1,007	1,544.95	1,564.75	1,564.75	1,568.5	1,570.85	1,580.26	1,593.62	1,624.06	1,677.28	1,713.68
	UUP	Tom Hamilton	1.43%	615	628.3	1,094.26	1,095.59	1,101.24	1,109.24	1,119.91	1,146.92	1,184.78	1,316.63
	Ind. Unionist	Wilbert McGill	2.22%	951	975.15	1,060.95	1,060.95	1,068.63	1,075.98	1,125.33	1,147	1,167.36
	Sinn Féin	Paddy McGreevy	1.43%	614	614	614.33	614.33	615.66	618.66	619.99	619.99
	Ulster Democratic	Blakely McNally	0.75%	322	348.25	391.81	391.81	393.14	394.14	400.19	410.52
	NI Conservatives	Thomas Beattie	0.61%	263	270.7	292.15	292.15	298.15	302.15	312.48
	Independent	Nancy Orr	0.47%	201	210.1	223.63	223.63	235.96	255.31
	Green (NI)	Andrew Frew	0.47%	200	203.15	204.14	217.14	233.14
	Labour Party NI	Jonathan Stewart	0.42%	181	186.95	195.86	196.86
	Natural Law	Sarah Mullins	0.06%	27	27	28.65
Electorate: 70,868 Valid: 42,922 (60.57%) Spoilt: 729 Quota: 6,132 Turnout: 43,651 (61.59%)

1996 forum

Successful candidates are shown in bold.^[8]

	Candidates	Votes	Percentage
UUP	John Taylor Tom Benson William Biggerstaff Jack Beattie	12,547	31.3
DUP	Iris Robinson Jim Shannon Sandy Geddis William Morrison	11,584	28.9
Alliance	Kieran McCarthy Geraldine Rice Kathleen Coulter Jim McBriar Alan McDowell	4,614	11.6
UK Unionist	Cedric Wilson Elizabeth Roche	3,112	7.8
SDLP	John Moffat Joanne Murphy	2,927	7.3
PUP	Georgina McCrory Alfred McCrory	2,017	5.0
Ulster Democratic	James McCurrie Blakely McNally	1,080	2.7
Sinn Féin	Garret O'Fachtna Patrick McGreevy	709	1.8
NI Women's Coalition	Donna Davis Victoria Moore Gerry Gribben Miriam Titterton	410	1.0
NI Conservatives	Thomas Beattie Duncan Shipley-Dalton	380	0.9
Green (NI)	David Langley Robert Huey Sue Miles	213	0.5
Labour coalition	Andrew Snoddy Stephen Baker	202	0.5
Workers' Party	Tom Devlin Colum Feenan	73	0.2
Independent Voice	Edward Philips Trevor Richards	66	0.2
Ulster Independence	Joyce Cowden Francis Hynds	57	0.1
Democratic Left	Deidre Dunphy Imelda Hynds	53	0.1
Independent Chambers	Pearl Brown Heather Magowan	13	0.0
Natural Law	Christine Bowen Lewis Walch	13	0.0

References

^ "Statement of Persons Nominated – Strangford". Retrieved 8 April 2022.
^ "NI Assembly Election 2017". EONI. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
^ "NI Assembly Election 2016". EONI. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
^ "NI Assembly Election 2011" (PDF). EONI. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
^ "NI Assembly Election 2007". EONI. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
^ "NI Assembly Election 2003". EONI. Archived from the original on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
^ "NI Assembly Election 1998". EONI. Archived from the original on 20 March 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
^ 1996 Candidates – Strangford Archived 7 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Northern Ireland Elections

[1] "Statement of Persons Nominated – Strangford". Retrieved 8 April 2022.

[2] "NI Assembly Election 2017". EONI. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.

[3] "NI Assembly Election 2016". EONI. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.

[4] "NI Assembly Election 2011" (PDF). EONI. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2021.

[5] "NI Assembly Election 2007". EONI. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.

[6] "NI Assembly Election 2003". EONI. Archived from the original on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2021.

[7] "NI Assembly Election 1998". EONI. Archived from the original on 20 March 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.

[8] 1996 Candidates – Strangford Archived 7 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Northern Ireland Elections

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v t e Northern Ireland Assembly
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Procedure	Cross-community vote
See also	Sunningdale Agreement Anglo-Irish Agreement Good Friday Agreement St Andrews Agreement Hillsborough Castle Agreement Stormont House Agreement New Decade, New Approach