Belfast City Council election, 1973
Belfast City Council election, 1973
![](../I/m/Flag_of_Belfast.svg.png)
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![](../I/m/Belfast_in_Northern_Ireland.svg.png)
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Map showing the area of Belfast City Council |
Council control before election
Irish Unionist
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Council control after election
No overall control
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Elections to Belfast City Council were held on 30 May 1973 on the same day as the other Northern Irish local government elections. The election used eight district electoral areas to elect a total of 51 councillors.
The elections were the first following the reorganisation of local government in Northern Ireland, brought about by the Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971 & Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972, which replaced the previous FPTP ward system with a new system of proportional representation using multi-member district electoral areas.
The Ulster Unionist Party maintained its position as the largest party, winning just short of a majority, and William Christie continued as Lord Mayor.
Results by party[1]
Party |
Seats |
± |
First Pref. votes |
FPv% |
±% |
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UUP |
25 |
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83,658 |
50.7% |
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Alliance |
8 |
|
22,081 |
13.4% |
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SDLP |
7 |
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18,827 |
11.4% |
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NI Labour |
2 |
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9,046 |
5.5% |
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Republican Clubs |
2 |
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6,584 |
4.0% |
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United Loyalist |
2 |
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6,274 |
3.8% |
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Independent Unionist |
2 |
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4,997 |
3.0% |
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Loyalist Coalition |
2 |
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4,823 |
2.9% |
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DUP |
2 |
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3,860 |
2.3% |
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Republican Labour |
0 |
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2,594 |
1.6% |
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Independent Unionist Loyalist |
0 |
|
967 |
0.6% |
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Independent Ratepayer |
0 |
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610 |
0.4% |
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Communist Party |
0 |
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211 |
0.1% |
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Liberal |
0 |
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172 |
0.1% |
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Non-Party |
0 |
|
88 |
0.1% |
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Independent |
0 |
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180 |
0.1% |
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Totals |
51 |
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168,667 |
100% |
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References