Newry and Armagh (UK Parliament constituency)

Template:Short description Script error: No such module "For". Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox UK constituency Newry and Armagh is a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons. The current MP is Dáire Hughes of Sinn Féin who was first elected at the 2024 election. Template:Maplink

History

The constituency is majority nationalist, though on its creation at the 1983 general election, Jim Nicholson of the Ulster Unionist Party won the seat due to the nationalist vote being divided between the Social Democratic and Labour Party and Sinn Féin. In 1986, Nicholson, along with all the other unionist MPs, resigned his seat in protest over the Anglo-Irish Agreement and stood in a by-election to provide voters the opportunity to decide on it. However, the nationalist parties contested the seat and Seamus Mallon of the SDLP gained sufficient votes to outpoll Nicholson and win the seat. Mallon held it until his retirement in 2005.

The main attention has been upon the rise of the Sinn Féin vote. In the 2001 general election, they surged forward, cutting Mallon's majority, and outpolling the SDLP in the equivalent area local elections held on the same day. Then in the 2003 Assembly election Sinn Féin won three seats to the SDLP's one. Mallon stood down at the 2005 general election; as was widely predicted among political pundits, the seat fell to Sinn Féin with Murphy outpolling the SDLP by almost 8,000 votes.

Newry is overwhelmingly nationalist, and was one of two districts in Northern Ireland to return a numerical majority of people identifying themselves as "Irish" at the 2011 census at 52.1% Irish.

Armagh is more unionist, though it does have a larger proportion of people identifying as "Irish" in comparison to the Northern Ireland average at 44.4% "British" and 32.4% "Irish".^[1]

Boundaries

The seat was created after boundary changes in 1983, as part of an expansion of Northern Ireland's constituencies from 12 to 17, from areas which had been part of the Armagh and South Down constituencies. In 1995, the Boundary Commission originally proposed to abolish the seat with the Armagh district joining most of Dungannon in a new 'Blackwater' constituency with the rest becoming part of a new Newry and Mourne constituency. This was strongly opposed during the local enquiries and the eventual boundary review did not implement it.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

1983–1997	The district of Armagh; and in the district of Newry and Mourne, the wards of Ballybot, Belleek, Bessbrook, Camlough, Creggan, Crossmaglen, Daisy Hill, Derrymore, Drumalane, Drumgullion, Fathom, Forkhill, Newtownhamilton, St Mary's, St Patrick's, Tullyhappy, and Windsor Hill.^[2]
1997–2024	The district of Armagh; and in the district of Newry and Mourne, the wards of Ballybot, Bessbrook, Camlough, Creggan, Crossmaglen, Daisy Hill, Derrymore, Drumalane, Drumgullion, Fathom, Forkhill, Newtownhamilton, St Mary's, St Patrick's, Silver Bridge, Tullyhappy and Windsor Hill.^[3]^[4]
2024–	In Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, the wards of Cathedral, Demesne, Hamiltonsbawn, Keady, Markethill, Navan, Richhill, Seagahan, Tandragee, and The Mall; and in Newry, Mourne and Down, the wards of Abbey, Ballybot, Bessbrook, Camlough, Crossmaglen, Damolly, Drumalane, Fathom, Forkhill, Mullaghbane, Newtownhamilton, St. Patricks, and Whitecross.^[5]

Members of Parliament

Seamus Mallon, the MP from 1986 to 2005, served as deputy leader of the SDLP from 1979 to 2001 and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2001.

Election	Member^[6]	Party
1983	Jim Nicholson	REDIRECT Template:Party name with color Template:Redirect category shell
1986 b	Seamus Mallon	REDIRECT Template:Party name with color Template:Redirect category shell
1987
1992
1997
2001
2005	Conor Murphy	REDIRECT Template:Party name with color Template:Redirect category shell
2010	Conor Murphy
2015	Mickey Brady
2017
2019
2024	Dáire Hughes