Created 1973 | Founded 1973 | |
 | ||
Seats 6 (1998–2016)5 (2017–) MLAs Alex Attwood (SDLP) Gerry Carroll (PBP) Alex Maskey (SF) Fra McCann (SF) Órlaithí Flynn (SF) Pat Sheehan (SF) | ||
Belfast West (Irish: Béal Feirste Thiar, Ulster Scots: Bilfawst Wast) is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Contents
The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973. It usually shares boundaries with the Belfast West UK Parliament constituency, however the boundaries of the two constituencies were slightly different from 1973 to 1974, 1983 to 1986 and 2010-2011 as the Assembly boundaries had not caught up with Parliamentary boundary changes and from 1996 to 1997 when members of the Northern Ireland Forum had been elected from the newly drawn Parliamentary constituencies but the 51st Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected in 1992 under the 1983–95 constituency boundaries, was still in session.
Members were then elected from the constituency to the 1975 Constitutional Convention, the 1982 Assembly, the 1996 Forum and then to the current Assembly from 1998.
For further details of the history and boundaries of the constituency, see Belfast West (UK Parliament constituency).
Members
Note: The columns in this table are used only for presentational purposes, and no significance should be attached to the order of columns. For details of the order in which seats were won at each election, see the detailed results of that election.
2007
Note: All Republican Sinn Féin candidates appeared as Independent on the ballot paper.
2003
Note: David Kerr sought election as an Ulster Third Way candidate, and appeared as such on the ballot paper.
1998
Note: Mary Cahillane sought election as a Pro-Agreement Socialist candidate, and appeared as such on the ballot paper.
1996 Forum
Successful candidates are shown in bold.
1975 Constitutional Convention
Note: John Laird, Jean Coulter and Edith Goligher were all UUUC endorsed candidates.
1973
Note: John Laird, Hugh Smyth, Jean Coulter and William Spence used the label "West Belfast Loyalist Coalition" simultaneously whilst standing under different party affiliations.