The 1929 Northern Ireland general election was held on 22 May 1929. Like all previous elections to the Parliament of Northern Ireland, it produced a large majority for the Ulster Unionist Party. It was the first held after the abolition of proportional representation and the redrawing of electoral boundaries to create single-seat constituencies. As with the rest of the United Kingdom, this has made it more difficult for independent and minor party candidates to win seats.
22 MPs (42%), mostly Ulster Unionists, were elected unopposed without any votes being cast. This began a trend which would continue for decades - until 1969, at least 20 MPs in every Northern Ireland general election would be elected unopposed.
Electorate: 775,307 (432,439 in contested seats); Turnout: 67.6% (292,218). Ulster Liberal Party result is compared to Unbought Tenants' Association in 1925.
Votes summary
Popular vote
Ulster Unionist
50.85%
Independent Unionist
14.30%
Nationalist Party
11.66%
Labour
7.99%
Ulster Liberal
6.23%
Independent
3.28%
Other
5.71%
Seats summary
Parliamentary seats
Ulster Unionist
71.15%
Nationalist Party
21.15%
Independent Unionist
5.77%
Labour
1.92%
Contested seats
Only 30 of the 52 seats (58%) were actually contested.
1929 Northern Ireland general election (contested seats)
In 22 of the 52 seats (42%), only one candidate stood and they were elected unopposed without any votes cast. The vast majority of the MPs elected without a contest were Ulster Unionists.
1929 Northern Ireland general election (uncontested seats)