Foyle (UK Parliament constituency)

Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1983 onwards

Foyle

County constituency
for the House of Commons

Boundary of Foyle in Northern Ireland

Districts of Northern Ireland| Derry City and Strabane District Council
Electorate| 68,565 (March 2011)
Major settlements| Derry
Current constituency
Created| 1983
Member of Parliament| Colum Eastwood (SDLP)
Seats| 1
Created from| Londonderry
Mid Ulster (small parts of)[1]

Foyle is a constituency in Northern Ireland covering Derry/Londonderry, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. Its current Member of Parliament (MP) has been Colum Eastwood of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) since 2019.

## Constituency profile[edit]

The name comes from the River Foyle which the city lies on and is used to avoid the contentious names of Derry or Londonderry, as well as to cover the areas of County Tyrone that were originally in the constituency. The seat is nationalist-leaning and residents' wealth is below average for the UK.

The wards within the constituency are among the poorest in the UK with high unemployment, high welfare dependency and the lowest employment rate for Northern Ireland.

The seat has typically been an SDLP stronghold however in 2017 Sinn Féin gained the seat for the first time with the smallest majority in Northern Ireland of 169. In 2019 SDLP leader Colum Eastwood won the seat back with an 18% swing and 17,000 majority.

## Boundaries[edit]

Map of current boundaries

The seat was created in boundary changes in 1983, as part of an expansion of Northern Ireland's constituencies from 12 to 17, and was predominantly made up from the old Londonderry constituency. From further revisions in 1995 (when it lost parts of the district of Strabane to the West Tyrone constituency), and until the 2008 revision, it covered exactly the same area as Derry City Council.

The River Foyle at night

Prior to the 2010 general election the transfer of Claudy and Banagher wards to East Londonderry were approved through the passing of the Northern Ireland Parliamentary Constituencies Order[2] in 2008.

## History[edit]

For the history of the equivalent constituency prior to 1983, see Londonderry (UK Parliament constituency).

At the seat's creation at the 1983 general election, SDLP leader John Hume won the new seat, becoming the party's only MP after it lost Belfast West to Sinn Féin. Hume retained the seat until his retirement at the 2005 general election, when he was succeeded by the SDLP's Mark Durkan.

Durkan retained the seat in 2010. This seat also gave the Alliance Party their worst share of the vote in Northern Ireland, polling just 0.6% of the votes. Durkan was re-elected to a third term in 2015, increasing his share of the vote to 47.9% and winning a majority of 6,046 votes.

In the 2016 referendum to leave the European Union, the constituency was estimated to have voted remain by 78.3%. This was the sixth highest support for remain for a constituency, and the highest support for remain in Northern Ireland.[3]

In the 2017 election, the seat was won by Elisha McCallion of Sinn Féin, who won with a majority of just 169 votes over Mark Durkan. Following the election, concerns about electoral malpractice were raised with the Electoral Office by the SDLP and People Before Profit's Eamonn McCann.[4][5]

In the 2019 election, the seat was recaptured by SDLP leader Colum Eastwood. Sinn Féin's vote share dropped significantly from 39.7% in 2017 to 20.7% in 2019, which was the lowest percentage share that that party had won in any general election in the constituency since 1992.

## Members of Parliament[edit]

The Member of Parliament since the 2019 UK General Election is Colum Eastwood of the SDLP. He succeeded Elisha McCallion of Sinn Féin to regain the seat which the SDLP had held from its 1983 creation until 2017. The constituency was previously represented by John Hume, former leader of the SDLP and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Election | Member | Party

|
|

| 1983 | John Hume | SDLP
| 2005 | Mark Durkan
| 2017 | Elisha McCallion | Sinn Féin
| 2019 | Colum Eastwood | SDLP

## Elections[edit]

Westminster Elections Foyle - 1983-2019

### Elections in the 2010s[edit]

General election 2019: Foyle[6] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| SDLP | Colum Eastwood | 26,881  | 57.0  | +17.7
| Sinn Féin | Elisha McCallion | 9,771  | 20.7  | ―19.0
| DUP | Gary Middleton | 4,773  | 10.1  | ―6.0
| Aontú | Anne McCloskey  | 2,032  | 4.3  | New
| People Before Profit | Shaun Harkin  | 1,332  | 2.8  | ―0.2
| Alliance | Rachael Ferguson  | 1,267  | 2.7  | +0.9
| Ulster Unionist | Darren Guy  | 1,088  | 2.3  | New
Majority  | 17,110  | 36.3  | N/A
Turnout | 47,144  | 63.4  | ―2.0
Registered electors | 74,360  |  |
| SDLP gain from Sinn Féin | Swing | +18.4  |

This seat saw the largest decrease in vote share for Sinn Féin at the 2019 general election.[7]

General election 2017: Foyle[8] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| Sinn Féin | Elisha McCallion | 18,256  | 39.7  | +8.1
| SDLP | Mark Durkan | 18,087  | 39.3  | ―8.6
| DUP | Gary Middleton | 7,398  | 16.1  | +3.7
| People Before Profit | Shaun Harkin  | 1,377  | 3.0  | New
| Alliance | John Doherty  | 847  | 1.8  | ―0.5
Majority  | 169  | 0.4  | N/A
Turnout | 46,136  | 65.4  | +12.6
Registered electors | 70,324  |  |
| Sinn Féin gain from SDLP | Swing | +8.3  |
General election 2015: Foyle[9][10] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| SDLP | Mark Durkan | 17,725  | 47.9  | +3.2
| Sinn Féin | Gearóid Ó Heára  | 11,679  | 31.6  | ―0.3
| DUP | Gary Middleton | 4,573  | 12.4  | +0.6
| Ulster Unionist | Julia Kee  | 1,226  | 3.3  | +0.1
| Alliance | David Hawthorne  | 835  | 2.3  | +1.7
| UKIP | Kyle Thompson  | 832  | 2.2  | New
| NI Conservatives | Hamish Badenoch | 132  | 0.4  | New
Majority  | 6,046  | 16.3  | +3.5
Turnout | 37,002  | 52.8  | ―4.7
Registered electors | 70,036  |  |
| SDLP hold | Swing | +1.8  |
General election 2010: Foyle[11] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| SDLP | Mark Durkan[12] | 16,922  | 44.7  | ―1.7
| Sinn Féin | Martina Anderson[13] | 12,098  | 31.9  | ―1.4
| DUP | Maurice Devenney[14] | 4,489  | 11.8  | ―2.2
| People Before Profit | Eamonn McCann[15] | 2,936  | 7.7  | New
| UCU-NF | David Harding  | 1,221  | 3.2  | +0.9
| Alliance | Keith McGrellis[16] | 223  | 0.6  | New
Majority  | 4,824  | 12.8  | ―0.3
Turnout | 37,889  | 57.5  | ―12.5
Registered electors | 65,843  |  |
| SDLP hold | Swing | ―0.2  |

### Elections in the 2000s[edit]

General election 2005: Foyle[17] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| SDLP | Mark Durkan | 21,119  | 46.3  | ―3.9
| Sinn Féin | Mitchel McLaughlin | 15,162  | 33.2  | +6.6
| DUP | William Hay | 6,557  | 14.4  | ―0.8
| Socialist Environmental | Eamonn McCann | 1,649  | 3.6  | New
| Ulster Unionist | Earl Storey  | 1,091  | 2.4  | ―4.5
| Rainbow Dream Ticket | Ben Reel  | 31  | 0.1  | New
Majority  | 5,957  | 13.1  | ―10.5
Turnout | 45,609  | 65.9  | ―3.0
Registered electors | 68,758  |  |
| SDLP hold | Swing | ―5.3  |
General election 2001: Foyle[18] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| SDLP | John Hume | 24,538  | 50.2  | ―2.3
| Sinn Féin | Mitchel McLaughlin | 12,988  | 26.6  | +2.7
| DUP | William Hay | 7,414  | 15.2  | ―6.3
| Ulster Unionist | Andrew Davidson  | 3,360  | 6.9  | New
| Alliance | Colm Cavanagh  | 579  | 1.2  | ―0.5
Majority  | 11,550  | 23.6  | ―5.0
Turnout | 48,879  | 68.9  | ―1.5
Registered electors | 70,943  |  |
| SDLP hold | Swing | ―2.5  |

### Elections in the 1990s[edit]

General election 1997: Foyle[19] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| SDLP | John Hume | 25,109  | 52.5  | +1.0
| Sinn Féin | Mitchel McLaughlin | 11,445  | 23.9  | +6.3
| DUP | William Hay | 10,290  | 21.5  | ―4.9
| Alliance | Helen-Marie Bell  | 817  | 1.7  | ―1.0
| Natural Law | Donn Brennan  | 154  | 0.3  | ―0.5
Majority  | 13,664  | 28.6  | +3.5
Turnout | 47,815  | 70.4  | +0.9
Registered electors | 67,905  |  |
| SDLP hold | Swing | ―4.0  |
General election 1992: Foyle[20] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| SDLP | John Hume | 26,710  | 51.5  | +2.7
| DUP | Gregory Lloyd Campbell | 13,705  | 26.4  | ―2.2
| Sinn Féin | Martin McGuinness | 9,149  | 17.6  | ―0.3
| Alliance | Lara McIlroy  | 1,390  | 2.7  | +0.1
| Workers' Party | Gordon McKenzie  | 514  | 1.0  | ―1.1
| Natural Law | John Burns  | 422  | 0.8  | New
Majority  | 13,005  | 25.1  | +4.9
Turnout | 51,890  | 69.5  | +0.5
Registered electors | 74,673  |  |
| SDLP hold | Swing | +2.5  |

### Elections in the 1980s[edit]

General election 1987: Foyle[21] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| SDLP | John Hume | 23,743  | 48.8  | +2.8
| DUP | Gregory Lloyd Campbell | 13,883  | 28.6  | ―1.9
| Sinn Féin | Martin McGuinness | 8,707  | 17.9  | ―2.4
| Alliance | Elizabeth Zammitt  | 1,276  | 2.6  | +0.5
| Workers' Party | Eamonn Melaugh | 1,022  | 2.1  | +1.0
Majority  | 9,860  | 20.2  | +4.7
Turnout | 48,631  | 69.0  | ―8.6
Registered electors | 70,519  |  |
| SDLP hold | Swing | +2.4  |
General election 1983: Foyle[22] Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| SDLP | John Hume | 24,071  | 46.0  |
| DUP | Gregory Lloyd Campbell | 15,923  | 30.5  |
| Sinn Féin | Martin McGuinness | 10,607  | 20.3  |
| Alliance | Gerard O'Grady  | 1,108  | 2.1  |
| Workers' Party | Eamonn Melaugh | 582  | 1.1  |
Majority  | 8,148  | 15.5  |
Turnout | 52,291  | 77.6  |
Registered electors | 66,976  |  |
| SDLP win (new seat)

## See also[edit]

* Foyle and City of Londonderry were neighbouring constituencies in the Northern Ireland Parliament from 1929 to 1973.
* Londonderry City was a borough constituency in the UK parliament from the Act of Union to 1922.

## External links[edit]

* 2017 Election House Of Commons Library 2017 Election report
* A Vision Of Britain Through Time (Constituency elector numbers)

## References[edit]

1. ^ "'Foyle', June 1983 up to May 1997". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
2. ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 No". Archived from the original on 5 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
3. ^ "Revised estimates of leave vote in Westminster constituencies". Retrieved 26 October 2016.
4. ^ "Foyle MLA to raise concerns over 'stolen votes' with election chief". News Letter. 13 June 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
5. ^ "Claims of Foyle vote theft mount - SDLP to meet with Electoral Office". Belfast Telegraph. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
6. ^ "Foyle Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
7. ^ "General Election 2019: results and analysis" (PDF). House of Commons Library. 28 January 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
8. ^ "Election of a Member of Parliament for the FOYLE Constituency – Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll". Electoral Office of Northern Ireland. 11 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
9. ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
10. ^ "The Electoral Office of Northern Ireland – EONI". www.eoni.org.uk.
11. ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
12. ^ "Durkan selected as Foyle Westminster candidate", SDLP
13. ^ Foyle, UKPollingReport
14. ^ Harding named UUP candidate in forthcoming election, Londonderry Sentinel, 1 April 2010
15. ^ Vote People Before Profit Alliance in May's Westminster Election[permanent dead link], People Before Profit Alliance, 24 March 2010
16. ^ Alliance List of Candidates Archived 4 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, 6 May 2010
17. ^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
18. ^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
19. ^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
20. ^ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
21. ^ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
22. ^ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

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