1955 Belfast Corporation election

Elections to Belfast Corporation were held on 18 May 1955, alongside elections to Northern Ireland's other municipal councils. The Ulster Unionists maintained their dominance of the 60-seat corporation, gaining 3 seats to bring their total number of seats to 50.[1]

Map of results by ward.

Council results

Belfast Corporation election, 1955
Total vote: 194,838

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	UUP	50	3		3	91.67	76.19	148,446
	Labour	8				13.33	0.28	551
	NI Labour	1				1.67	12.65	24,656
	Independent Unionist	1				1.67	6.64	12,931
	Dock Labour Party	0	0	2	2	0.00	3.63	7,063
	Communist (NI)	0				0.00	0.61	1,191

Ward results

Alderman

Clifton Ward[1]
1 Alderman
Electorate: 21,839

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	R. G. C. Kinahan (incumbent Alderman)	6,339
	NI Labour	W. Harris	1,732
Majority			4,607
Turnout

Councillors

Clifton Ward[1]
3 Councillors
Electorate: 21,839
Spoiled papers: 349

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	J. F. Cairns (incumbent)	5,959
	UUP	F. R. A. Hynds	5,929
	UUP	F. W. Watson	5,823
	NI Labour	W. J. Blease	1,774
	NI Labour	R. R. Hanna	1,735
	NI Labour	T. G. Kitchen	1,400
	Communist (NI)	Betty Sinclair	503
Turnout			8,456	38.7%

Councillors

Court Ward[1]
3 Councillors
Electorate: 5,938

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	J. D. Barbour	1,708
	UUP	S. H. Walsh (incumbent)	1,677
	NI Labour	W. R. Boyd	1,299
	NI Labour	C. Scott (incumbent)	1,107
	Independent Unionist	T. Meekin (incumbent)	1,054
	Independent Unionist	B. Horan	579
	Irish Labour	E. Carlin	551
Turnout			3,778	63.62%

Councillors

Cromac Ward[1]
3 Councillors
Electorate: 9,949

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	S. K. Henry (incumbent)	2,827
	UUP	T. Rea (incumbent)	2,787
	UUP	W. J. Lawther (incumbent)	2,767
	NI Labour	W. J. Alexander	507
Turnout			3,287	33%

Alderman

Dock Ward[1][2]
1 Alderman
Electorate: 5,773

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	William Oliver (incumbent Alderman)	2,276	55.65
	Dock Labour Party	P. Kelly	1,814	44.35
Majority			462	11.30
Turnout			4,090	70.85

Councillors

Dock Ward[1][2]
3 Councillors
Electorate: 16,510

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	W. Atcheson	2,203
	UUP	Dorothy Williamson (incumbent)	2,202
	UUP	J. Cardwell	2,196
	Dock Labour Party	M. Ferran (incumbent)	1,782
	Dock Labour Party	Gerry Fitt	1,735
	Dock Labour Party	J. A. Toner	1,732
Turnout			4,186	72.51%

Alderman

Duncairn Ward[1]
1 Alderman
Electorate: 16,823

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	S. W. Neill (incumbent Alderman)	5,069
	NI Labour	T. Williamson	1,178
Majority			3,891
Turnout

Councillors

Duncairn Ward[1]
3 Councillors
Electorate: 16,823

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	W. D. Geddis (incumbent)	5,124
	UUP	J. W. Lindsay (incumbent)	5,092
	UUP	J. L. Cunningham (incumbent)	4,956
	NI Labour	Bessie McKeown	1,260
Turnout				%

Alderman

Falls Ward[1]
1 Alderman
Electorate:

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Labour	J. McKearney	Unopposed

Councillors

Falls Ward[1]
3 Councillors
Electorate:

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Labour	J. Macgougan	Unopposed
	Irish Labour	J. G. McAllister	Unopposed
	Irish Labour	F. C. Hughes	Unopposed
Turnout

Councillors

Cromac Ward[1]
3 Councillors
Electorate: 21,653
Spoiled papers: 53

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	W. S. Hinds	5,948
	UUP	Irene McAlery (incumbent)	5,921
	UUP	T. McMullan (incumbent)	5,855
	NI Labour	A. Holmes	1,336
	NI Labour	N. Searight	1,213
	NI Labour	C. Allen	1,190
Turnout			7,455	34.4%

Councillors

Pottinger Ward[1]
3 Councillors
Electorate: 20,774
Spoiled papers: 85

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	G. Kelso (incumbent)	4,982
	UUP	J. C. McIntyre	4,946
	UUP	A. E. Quinn	4,705
	Communist (NI)	A. Barr	688
Turnout			5,785	27.8%

Alderman

Shankill Ward[1]
1 Alderman
Electorate: 15,194

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Unionist	T. G. Henderson (incumbent Alderman)	4,649
	NI Labour	S. Cree	1,379
Majority			3,270
Turnout

Councillors

Shankill Ward[1]
3 Councillors
Electorate: 15,194
Spoiled papers: 1,388

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	R. Armstrong	4,755
	UUP	J. Ross (incumbent)	4,541
	UUP	Sir James Norritt (incumbent)	4,524
	NI Labour	J. McAllister	1,763
	NI Labour	I. Johnston	1,744
Turnout			6,959	45.2

Alderman

Smithfield Ward[1]
1 Alderman
Electorate:

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Labour	Jack Beattie	Unopposed

Councillors

Smithfield Ward[1]
3 Councillors
Electorate:

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Irish Labour	D. P. Marrinan	Unopposed
	Irish Labour	T. Carragher	Unopposed
	Irish Labour	B. Murray	Unopposed
Turnout

Alderman

St Anne's Ward[1]
1 Alderman
Electorate:

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	William Cecil McKee	Unopposed

Councillors

St Anne's Ward[1]
3 Councillors
Electorate:

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	Florence E. Breakie	Unopposed
	UUP	J. D. E. Cheyne	Unopposed
	UUP	J. S. R. Harcourt	Unopposed
Turnout

Councillors

St George's Ward[1]
3 Councillors
Electorate: 5,593
Spoiled papers: 27

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	J. G. Armstrong (incumbent)	1,988
	UUP	Mrs E. Armstrong	1,865
	UUP	J. R. McClurg	1,850
	Independent Unionist	A. H. Duff (incumbent)	1,599
	NI Labour	J. E. Gilmore	588
Turnout			3,433	61.1%

Alderman

Victoria Ward[1]
1 Alderman
Electorate: 16,510

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	T. L. Cole Alderman	Unopposed as Alderman

Councillors

Victoria Ward[1]
3 Councillors
Electorate: 16,510

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	H. Jefferson	5,209
	UUP	H. Fair	5,063
	UUP	W. J. McCracken	5,022
	NI Labour	W. D. Purdy	1,815
	NI Labour	Victoria Dunlop	1,697
	NI Labour	G. Hooley	1,671
Turnout			7,118	43.11

Alderman

Windsor Ward[1]
1 Alderman
Electorate:

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	A. Scott	Unopposed

Councillors

Windsor Ward[1]
3 Councillors
Electorate:

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	M. Wallace	Unopposed
	UUP	J. Dixon	Unopposed
	UUP	H. V. Kirk	Unopposed
Turnout

Alderman

Woodvale Ward[1]
1 Alderman
Electorate: 11,133

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	Hilda Wilson (incumbent Alderman)	3,018
	Independent Unionist	N. Porter	2,533
Majority			485
Turnout

Councillors

Woodvale Ward[1]
3 Councillors
Electorate: 11,133
Spoiled papers: 332

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UUP	A. F. Wilson	3,180
	UUP	A. T. Hill	2,864
	UUP	W. Boucher	2,627
	Independent Unionist	W. M. Wilton	2,475
	Independent Unionist	W. S. McVea	2,382
	Independent Unionist	A. Miller	2,309
Turnout			6,023	54%

References

1. "Municipal election result". Belfast News-Letter. 19 May 1955. p. 5 & 6.
2. "The results at a glance". Belfast Telegraph. Belfast. 19 May 1955.