1946 Londonderry Borough Council election
1949 →
  Majority party Minority party Third party
 
Leader Sir Basil McFarland Patrick Fox
Party Ulster Unionist Nationalist Derry Labour Party
Seats won 12 4 4
Results by ward.
Mayor before election

Basil McFarland
Ulster Unionist

Elected Mayor

Basil McFarland
Ulster Unionist

Elections to Londonderry Borough Council were held on 16 October 1946. The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) retained their majority with Sir Basil McFarland continuing as Mayor of Londonderry. The elections were postponed from the original February date due to an unusually large number of objections to the list of electors.[1]

Background

The election was held following the passage of the 1946 Elections and Franchise Act (Northern Ireland) by the Parliament of Northern Ireland which limited the voting franchise to only ratepayers and their wives and granted business owners the rights to cast up to six business votes (depending on the size of their business.)[2] The boundaries for the election had also been reviewed by the Londonderry Corporation and drawn by the Parliament of Northern Ireland.[2]

Campaigns

Controversy arose during the calling of the election. On 20 January 1946, the Londonderry Corporation called the election to be held on 10 February and only gave candidates 11 days to file for candidacy. No reason was given for this by Sir Basil though it was speculated in the United States House of Representatives by the Montana 1st representative Mike Mansfield that it was only called so that the old electoral register with its unionist majority would be used rather than a new one that was due to come into effect six weeks later. This would have had the effect of disenfranchising younger nationalist voters which would have given nationalists a majority.[3]

Éamon de Valera, the Taoiseach of the Irish Free State, held a meeting at Mansion House, Dublin with nationalist party leaders from Northern Ireland as well as Irish Free State parties. Collectively, they released a statement condemning the move calling it "electoral manipulation" and encouraged nationalists in the Londonderry Borough Council area to legally object.[3] Owing to the controversies and challenges to the electors' eligibility, the election was delayed until 16 October.[1] During pre-election hustings, William Henry McLaughlin, who was standing for election for the UUP in Waterside, declared that he had only ever employed one Roman Catholic in forty-eight years and that was only due to a case of mistaken identity.[4]

Four parties ultimately contested the election:[5]

Council results

The election was won by the UUP with a majority of 12 seats. The Nationalist Party and the Derry Labour Party won 4 seats each. The UUP won 3 aldermen with the Nationalists and Derry Labour Party winning 1 each.[6] In the North Ward, the UUP won all 6 available seats while in the South Ward, the Nationalists and Derry Labour Party won 3 seats each. In Waterside, 3 UUP members were returned in an uncontested election for the ward.[6]

Results by ward

Elections were held in every ward for both alderman and councillors. No aldermen elections were contested, resulting in all candidates being returned:

North Ward

North Ward[6][5]
6 Councillors
Electorate: 5,622
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ulster Unionist James C. Hamilton 3,203 71.21
Ulster Unionist Gerald Stanley Glover 3,200 71.14
Ulster Unionist S. Dowds 3,195 71.03
Ulster Unionist J. J. Hill 3,188 70.88
Ulster Unionist Sir Basil McFarland 3,180 70.70
Ulster Unionist A. McGowan 3,148 69.99
NI Labour A. H. Halliday 1,247 27.72
NI Labour J. Campbell 1,220 27.12
NI Labour F. Moorehead 1,159 25.77
NI Labour M. T. Mulhearn 1,132 25.17
Turnout 4,498[1] 80.01

South Ward

South Ward[6][5]
6 Councillors
Electorate: 7,468
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Derry Labour Party W. Barr 3,751 73.23
Nationalist / Anti-Partition T. Doherty 3,730 72.82
Derry Labour Party James Deeney 3,727 72.76
Nationalist / Anti-Partition Daniel Barr 3,727 72.76
Nationalist / Anti-Partition Patrick J. Downey 3,675 71.75
Derry Labour Party W. Mullan 3,538 69.07
NI Labour Stephen McGonagle 1,236 24.13
NI Labour G. Hamill 1,233 24.08
NI Labour J. Sharkey 1,099 21.46
NI Labour W. McLeery 1,093 21.34
Turnout 5,122[2] 68.59

Waterside Ward

Only the UUP put up candidates in Waterside ward, resulting in all three being elected unopposed:[6]

References

  1. ^ a b "Local elections in Derry postponed". Irish Times. 10 August 1946.
  2. ^ a b Ranelagh, John (2012). A Short History of Ireland. Cambridge University Press. p. 305. ISBN 978-1139789264.
  3. ^ a b Congressional Record: Proceedings of the 81st Congress. Vol. 95, part 1. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1949. pp. 810–811.
  4. ^ Gallagher, Tom (1983). Contemporary Irish Studies. Manchester University Press. p. 18. ISBN 0719009197.
  5. ^ a b c "Official Labour beaten in two Derry wards - Thursday 17 October 1946". Londonderry Sentinel. p. 3. Retrieved 11 November 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.(subscription required)
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h "Londonderry Sentinel - Saturday 19 October 1946". Londonderry Sentinel. p. 4. Retrieved 5 August 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.(subscription required)

Notes

1.^ Voters in North and South wards could each vote for up to 6 candidates. As a result vote totals do not equal turnout.
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