The Armagh by-election was held on 20 November 1954, following the resignation of
Ulster Unionist Party
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule m ...
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
James Harden
James Edward Harden Jr. (born August 26, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Harden is regarded as one of the greatest scorers and shooting guards in NBA ...
.
Harden had held the seat of
Armagh since a by-election in
1948, and had not faced a contest since then. The seat had been held continually by Ulster Unionists since its recreation for the
1922 general election.
Candidates
The Ulster Unionists stood
C. W. Armstrong, the son of former
Mid Armagh MP
Henry Bruce Armstrong
Henry Bruce Wright Armstrong (27 July 1844 – 4 December 1943) was a Northern Irish barrister and politician, Unionist Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Armagh from June 1921 until 1922.
Born in Sholden, Henry Bruce Armstrong was the second ...
. He had served in the British Army and been involved in the oil industry in
Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
, serving from 1940 to 1942 in that country's
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
.
The two main opposition groups, the
Northern Ireland Labour Party
The Northern Ireland Labour Party (NILP) was a political party in Northern Ireland which operated from 1924 until 1987.
Origins
The roots of the NILP can be traced back to the formation of the Belfast Labour Party in 1892. William Walker stoo ...
and the
Nationalist Party, had both fared poorly at the
1953 Northern Ireland general election
The 1953 Northern Ireland general election was held on 22 October 1953. Like all previous elections to the Parliament of Northern Ireland, it produced a large majority for the Ulster Unionist Party.
Results
''All parties show ...
, and decided not to contest the by-election.
Result
With only one candidate for the seat, Armstrong was declared elected unopposed. This was the last unopposed election in any Westminster seat. Armstrong held the seat until the
1959 general election, when he stood down.
Armagh 1950-1970
Northern Ireland Elections
References
1954 elections in the United Kingdom
20th century in County Armagh
November 1954 events in the United Kingdom
By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in County Armagh constituencies
Unopposed by-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Northern Irish constituencies
1954 elections in Northern Ireland
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