A by-election was held in the UK Parliament constituency of
West Tyrone on 3 May 2018, following the resignation of
Barry McElduff
Columba Barry McElduff
(; born 16 August 1966) is an Irish Sinn Féin politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the West Tyrone UK parliament constituency. He was also a Member of the Legislative Assembly in the Northern Ireland A ...
, who had been the
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 of ...
(MP) since 2017.
McElduff had become embroiled in a social media controversy which had resulted in his suspension from
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...
on 8 January. He announced his resignation on 15 January 2018.
This was the first by-election held during the
57th UK Parliament, which was elected in the
2017 general election. It was the first Parliamentary by-election held in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
since the
Mid Ulster by-election in 2013. Sinn Féin candidate
Órfhlaith Begley held the seat with a slightly reduced majority, compared to the June 2017 snap election.
Background
On 5 January 2018, sitting MP
Barry McElduff
Columba Barry McElduff
(; born 16 August 1966) is an Irish Sinn Féin politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the West Tyrone UK parliament constituency. He was also a Member of the Legislative Assembly in the Northern Ireland A ...
tweeted
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
a video of himself in a shop with a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head, asking where the shop kept its bread. As it coincided with the 42nd anniversary of the
Kingsmill massacre
The Kingsmill massacre was a mass shooting that took place on 5 January 1976 near the village of Whitecross in south County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Gunmen stopped a minibus carrying eleven Protestant workmen, lined them up alongside it and s ...
—where
republicans murdered ten Protestant civilians—
unionists accused him of mocking the massacre and the video was widely criticised, including by nationalists.
Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist, loyalist, and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who led the party for the next 37 years. Currently led by J ...
(DUP) leader
Arlene Foster
Arlene Isobel Foster, Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (née Kelly; born 17 July 1970), is a British broadcaster and politician from Northern Ireland who served as First Minister of Northern Ireland from 2016 to 2017 and from 2020 to 2021 and ...
said "mocking is depraved" and called the video "inhuman".
McElduff deleted it and apologised, saying he was not alluding to the massacre and offering to meet the victims' families.
On 8 January, Sinn Féin apologised for McElduff's actions, condemned the video, and suspended him from Sinn Féin for three months. McElduff announced on 15 January that he was resigning his seat. He was appointed the
Steward and Bailiff of the Three Hundreds of Chiltern
Appointment to the position of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds is a procedural device to allow Members of Parliament to resign from the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. Since MPs are technically unable to resign, res ...
on 16 January 2018, a
mechanism by which an MP's resignation is formalised.
The constituency of
West Tyrone was created for the
1997 election and has been held by
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...
since 2001. The seat is overwhelmingly
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
, with nationalist parties consistently winning over 50% of the vote since the seat was created. Despite this, the nationalist vote has traditionally been split between the
Social Democratic and Labour Party
The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) ( ga, Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is a social-democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland ...
(SDLP) and
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...
, whilst the
unionist parties have been more willing to make pacts to increase their chances of victory.
Ordinarily, the
writ of election
A writ of election is a writ issued ordering the holding of an election. In Commonwealth countries writs are the usual mechanism by which general elections are called and are issued by the head of state or their representative. In the United S ...
for a vacant seat is moved by the party of the outgoing MP, but as Sinn Féin do not take their seats in the House of Commons they were unable to do so. In their absence, the writ was instead moved by the Government
Chief Whip
The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes.
United Kingdom
...
,
Julian Smith. On 28 March, the writ of election was passed by the House of Commons. The election was scheduled for 3 May, coinciding with the
scheduled local elections in England.
Unity candidate
After the election was called, these was discussion about the possibility of a non-partisan victims' candidate standing against Sinn Féin. As Sinn Féin won a majority of the vote at the last election, a unity candidate would be unlikely to win without support across both the nationalist and unionist communities. Potential candidates included Kevin Skelton and Sharon Gault, both of whom lost relatives in terrorist attacks during
the Troubles
The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...
.
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 movem ...
leader
Robin Swann
Robin Swann (born 24 September 1971) is a politician from Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland's
Minister of Health from Jan 2020 to Oct 2022, he was the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party from 2017 to 2019. endorsed the proposal, calling for a "non-partisan candidate who will be a voice for victims to contest this seat against Sinn Féin".
Local
Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist, loyalist, and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who led the party for the next 37 years. Currently led by J ...
MLA
Tom Buchanan suggested that a cross-community candidate was unlikely, given that his party had not been approached about standing down.
Further criticism of the idea was levelled by Alan McBride – a relative of two
Shankill Road bombing
The Shankill Road bombing was carried out by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) on 23 October 1993 and is one of the most well-known incidents of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The IRA aimed to assassinate the leadership of the loy ...
victims – describing the idea of an agreed victims' candidate as "potentially toxic".
By late March the chances of a unity candidate being nominated were described as 'remote'. Kevin Skelton – who had earlier expressed his willingness to stand as a unity candidate – noted that he had not been approached by any party to stand. The Ulster Unionists, who had originally called for a non-partisan candidate, were understood to have unsuccessfully approached a different person to ask them to be a 'victims candidate'.
Omagh bomb campaigner Michael Gallagher also voiced his disappointment, and acknowledged that there had not been a positive response to the idea.
Ultimately, no unity candidate was nominated and each of Northern Ireland's major parties fielded a candidate instead.
Candidates and result
Nominations to stand in the by-election closed on 10 April 2018.
26-year-old local solicitor Órfhlaith Begley was selected as the
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...
candidate at a party convention on 25 February. She is the daughter of Seán Begley, a long-serving Sinn Féin councillor on
Omagh District Council
Omagh District Council was a local council in Northern Ireland. It merged with Fermanagh District Council in April 2015 under local government reorganisation to become Fermanagh and Omagh District Council.
Its headquarters was in the town ...
.
The
DUP announced local MLA
Thomas Buchanan was announced as the party's candidate on 9 April. He had previously contested the seat in the 2017 general election.
The
SDLP
The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) ( ga, Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is a social-democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Irelan ...
were understood to be preparing to contest the by-election.
Former candidate and local MLA
Daniel McCrossan
Daniel Christopher McCrossan (born 20 October 1988) is a Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) politician, who has been a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for West Tyrone since 2016.
Education
McCrossan attended Liverpool Jo ...
released a statement in March condemning the fact that two months had passed from McElduff's resignation without a by-election date being fixed. McCrossan stated in early April that the selection process for the by-election was underway.
He was announced as the SDLP candidate on 9 April.
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 movem ...
leader
Robin Swann
Robin Swann (born 24 September 1971) is a politician from Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland's
Minister of Health from Jan 2020 to Oct 2022, he was the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party from 2017 to 2019. repeatedly expressed a preference for a unity candidate instead of a candidate from his own party. Despite this, it was acknowledged that the party would have to explore "other options" in the event that such a candidate was not agreed upon.
They nominated
Omagh councillor Chris Smyth as their candidate. He accepted the nomination with "mixed emotions", expressing disappointment at the lack of a non-partisan and cross-community candidate.
The
Alliance Party declined to support a 'victims candidate', with party leader
Naomi Long
Naomi Rachel Long MLA (née Johnston; born 13 December 1971) is a Northern Irish politician who served as Minister of Justice in the Northern Ireland Executive from January 2020 to October 2022. She has served as leader of the Alliance Party ...
giving her reasons to victims campaigner Kevin Skelton in a letter.
Stephen Donnelly was subsequently announced as the Alliance candidate at the party conference on 24 March.
Cannabis legalisation campaigner Barry Brown had initially announced his intention to contest the by-election as the
Citizens Independent Social Thought Alliance (CISTA) candidate, having previously stood in the 2015 and 2017 elections.
He later decided not to stand, citing commitments by the SDLP and Alliance Party towards legalising
medicinal cannabis
Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana (MMJ), is cannabis and cannabinoids that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production and governmental restrictions ...
.
Campaign
Early in the campaign Sinn Féin candidate Órfhlaith Begley raised concerns at the proposed changes to the Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies that formed part of the
sixth periodic boundary review. In particular, she expressed her opposition to the proposed division of the town of
Dungiven
Dungiven () is a small town, townland and civil parish in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is near the main A6 Belfast to Derry road, which bypasses the town. It lies where the rivers Roe, Owenreagh and Owenbeg meet at the foot of the B ...
, which was to be split between the constituencies of
West Tyrone,
Mid Ulster and a newly created Causeway constituency. She argued that the new boundaries "blatantly advantages the DUP at the expense of the nationalist electorate." Sinn Féin furthermore claimed that a campaign of
voter suppression
Voter suppression is a strategy used to influence the outcome of an election by discouraging or preventing specific groups of people from voting. It is distinguished from political campaigning in that campaigning attempts to change likely voting ...
had been taking place, and urged local residents to confirm their eligibility to vote.
In mid-April an SDLP party worker claimed to have been verbally abused and attacked whilst putting up election posters in the constituency. According to the police report, the three men who assaulted the SDLP worker yelled
sectarian
Sectarianism is a political or cultural conflict between two groups which are often related to the form of government which they live under. Prejudice, discrimination, or hatred can arise in these conflicts, depending on the political status quo ...
abuse and threw his poster and ladder into the
River Strule
The River Strule is a small river in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The river has its source in the confluence of the rivers Camowen and Drumragh at Omagh. The Strule runs to north and meets the rivers Fairy Water and Owenkillew before joi ...
. Sinn Féin also claimed to have had posters stolen and destroyed in
Omagh
Omagh (; from ga, An Ómaigh , meaning 'the virgin plain') is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers River Drumragh, Drumragh and Camowen River, Camowen meet to form the River Strule, Strule. North ...
town centre. SDLP candidate Daniel McCrossan described the incidents as "an attack on democracy".
Previous result
Outgoing MP Barry McElduff
was elected at the General Election in 2017, following the retirement of fellow Sinn Féin politician
Pat Doherty. Sinn Féin won an absolute majority of the vote, their best ever result in the constituency. McElduff had previously served as an MLA for the
equivalent constituency in the
Northern Ireland Assembly
sco-ulster, Norlin Airlan Assemblie
, legislature = 7th Northern Ireland Assembly, Seventh Assembly
, coa_pic = File:NI_Assembly.svg
, coa_res = 250px
, house_type = Unicameralism, Unicameral
, hou ...
since 1998.
References
{{By-elections to the 57th UK Parliament, state=collapsed
2018 elections in the United Kingdom
2018 elections in Northern Ireland
By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in County Tyrone constituencies
May 2018 events in the United Kingdom
21st century in County Tyrone