Northern Ireland votes in UK general election

The people of Northern Ireland will go to the polls on Thursday 4 July in the UK general election.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced on May 22 that the UK will hold a general election on July 4 and dissolve Parliament on May 30.

Northern Ireland has 18 seats (one in each constituency) to fill in the UK House of Commons. This year’s election has 136 candidates standing, an increase from 102 in 2019.

In the last general election in 2019, eight DUP MPs, seven Sinn Fein MPs, two SDLP MPs and one Alliance Party MP won seats in the House of Commons. (Sinn Fein does not hold any seats in the British Parliament, however.)

This year, the Alliance Party and the Social Democratic and Labour Party have 18 candidates each, the United Unionist Party has 17, the Democratic Unionist Party has 16, Sinn Fein and the German Socialist Party have 14 each, the Northern Ireland Green Party has 11, Aontú has 10 and People First has three.

In addition, there are nine independent candidates, one Conservative and Fine Gael candidate and one cross-community Labour alternative candidate.

Polls in Northern Ireland opened at 7 a.m. local time on Thursday. The election is based on a “first past the post” system, where voters vote for the candidate they want to be elected, and the candidate with the most votes wins.

According to the BBC, the number of registered voters in Northern Ireland has reached 1,363,961, the highest number in any general election.

To be eligible to vote, a person must be listed Voter Registration Rollas of 4 July and aged 18 or over and are a British, Irish or eligible Commonwealth citizen. (“Eligible Commonwealth citizen” means that the applicant must have leave to remain in the UK or not require such leave, i.e. they must be lawfully resident in the UK.)

After polling stations close at 10pm on Thursday, counting will begin at three locations – one in Belfast, one in Craigavon ​​and one in Magherafelt – and will continue throughout the night.

The first results from Northern Ireland are expected to be announced around 2am on Friday, with final results expected around 5.30am, but there could be delays as the election is so close.

Want to know who’s running where? Read on to find out which party candidates are running in each of Northern Ireland’s 18 constituencies in the 2024 general election:

East Belfast

• Alliance: Naomi Long
• Democratic Unionist Party – DUP: Gavin Robinson
• Northern Ireland Green Party: Brian Smith
• Independent: Ryan North
• SDLP (Social Democratic Labour Party): James Defart
• TUV – Sea Without Borders: John Ross
• Ulster Unionist Party: Ryan Warren

Belfast North

• Coalition: Nuala McAllister
• Democratic Unionist Party – DUP: Philip Brett
• Northern Ireland Green Party: Mal O’Hara
• People First: Fiona Ferguson
• SDLP (Social Democratic Labour Party): Karl White
• Sinn Fein: John Finucane
• TUV – Sea Without Borders: David Clarke

South Belfast and Mid-Down

• Coalition: Kate Nicoll
• Democratic Unionist Party – DUP: Tracy Kelly
• Northern Ireland Green Party: Áine Groogan
• SDLP: Claire Hanna
• TUV – Sea without Borders: Dan Boucher
• Ulster Unionist Party: Michael Henderson

Belfast West End

• Coalition: Eoin Millar
• Aontú fight for life, solidarity, economic justice: Gerard Herdman
• Democratic Unionist Party – DUP: Frank McCubrey
• Northern Ireland Green Party: Ash Jones
• Independent: Tony Malone
• Gerry Carroll
• SDLP (Social Democratic Labour Party): Paul Doherty
• Sinn Fein: Paul Muskie
• TUV – Sea Without Borders: Ann McClure
• Ulster Unionist Party: Ben Sharkey

East Antrim

• Alliance: Danny Donnelly
• Democratic Unionist Party – DUP: Sammy Wilson
• Northern Ireland Green Party: Mark Francis Bailey
• SDLP (Social Democratic Labour Party): Margaret Anne McKillop
• Sinn Fein: Oliver McMullan
• TUV – Sea Without Borders: Matthew Warwick
• Ulster Unionist Party: John Stewart

East Derry/Londonderry

• Alliance Party: Richard John Stewart
• United for life, solidarity, economic justice: Gemma Brolly
• Conservative and Unionist Party: Claire Louise Scarr
• Democratic Unionist Party – DUP: Gregory Campbell
• Northern Ireland Green Party: Jen McCahon
• Sdlp (Social Democratic Labour Party): Cara Hunter
• Sinn Fein: Catherine McGurk
• TUV – No Sea Boundaries: Alister Kell
• Ulster Unionist Party: Glenn Alexander Miller

Fermanagh and South Tyrone

• Alliance: Eddie Ruff
• Aontú Fight for life, solidarity, economic justice: Karl Duffy
• Cross-Community Labour Alternatives: Gerry Cullen
• SDLP (Social Democratic Labour Party): Paul Patrick Black
• Sinn Fein: Pat Cullen
• Ulster Unionist Party: Diana Maureen Armstrong

Foyle

• Alliance: Rachel Louise Ferguson
• Aontú Fight for life, solidarity, economic justice: John Boyle
• Democratic Unionist Party – DUP: Gary Middleton
• The Independent: Anne McCloskey
• People first, profits first: Sean Harkin
• SDLP (Social Democratic Labour Party): Colen Eastwood
• Sinn Fein: Sandra Duffy
• Ulster Unionist Party: Janice Melissa Montgomery

Lagan Valley

• Coalition: Sorcha-Lucy Eastwood
• Democratic Unionist Party – DUP: Jonathan Buckley
• Northern Ireland Green Party: Patricia Denver
• Sdlp (Social Democratic Labour Party): Simon Lee
• TUV – Sea Without Borders: Rona Smith
• Ulster Unionist Party: Robbie Butler

Mid-Ulster

• Coalition: Patrick Farrell
• Aontú fight for life, solidarity, economic justice: Alixandra Halliday
• Democratic Unionist Party – DUP: Keith Alexander Buchanan
• The Independent: John Kelly
• SDLP (Social Democratic Labour Party): Denis Johnston
• Sinn Fein: Kassar Sean Mallaghan
• TUV – Sea Without Borders: Glenn Keith Moore
• Ulster Unionist Party: Jay Basra

Newry and Armagh

• Coalition: Helena Marie Young
• Aontú fight for life, solidarity, economic justice: Liam Reichenberg
• Conservative and Unionist Party: Samantha Rayner
• Democratic Unionist Party – DUP: Gareth Wilson
• SDLP (Social Democratic Labour Party): Pete Byrne
• Sinn Fein: Dale Hughes
• TUV – Sea Without Borders: Keith Ratcliffe
• Ulster Unionist Party: Sam Nicholson

North Antrim

• Coalition: Sian Mulholland
• Love of life, solidarity, economic justice: Ráichéal MacNicol
• Democratic Unionist Party – DUP: Ian Richard Kyle Paisley
• The Independent: Tristan Moreau
• SDLP (Social Democratic Labour Party): Helen Maher
• Sinn Fein: Philip McGuigan
• TUV – Sea Without Borders: Jim Allister
• Ulster Unionist Party: Jackson Minford

Bei Tang

• Alliance Party: Stephen Anthony Farry
• Northern Ireland Green Party: Barry McKee
• The Independent: Chris Carter
• The Independent: Alex Easton
• SDLP: Deirdre Vaughan
• Ulster Unionist Party: Tim Collins

South Antrim

• Alliance: John Blair
• Anútú For life, solidarity, economic justice: Siobhan McErlean
• Democratic Unionist Party – Paul Girvan
• Northern Ireland Green Party: Lesley Veronica
• SDLP (Social Democratic Labour Party): Roisin Lynch
• Sinn Fein: Declan Kearney
• TUV – Sea Without Borders: Mel Lucas
• Ulster Unionist Party: Robin Swann

Southern Tang

• Alliance: Andrew McMurray
• Aontú fight for life, solidarity, economic justice: Rosemary McGlone
• Conservative and Unionist Party: Hannah Westrop
• Democratic Unionist Party – DUP: Diane Forsythe
• Northern Ireland Green Party: Declan Paul Walsh
• Social Democratic Labour Party (SDLP): Colin Paul McGrath
• Sinn Fein: Chris Hazzard
• TUV – Sea Without Borders: Jim Wells
• Ulster Unionist Party: Michael O’Loan

Strangford

• Alliance: Michelle Guy
• Conservative and Unionist Party: Barry Heatherington
• Democratic Unionist Party – DUP: Jim Shannon
• Northern Ireland Green Party: Alexandra Braidner
• The Independent: Gareth Burns
• The Independent: Garreth Falls
• SDLP (Social Democratic Labour Party): Will Bollard
• Sinn Fein: Noel Sands
• TUV – Sea Without Borders: Ron McDowell
• Ulster Unionist Party: Richard Smart

Go to work

• Unionist: Eoin Tennyson
• Democratic Unionist Party – DUP: Carla Lockhart
• Social Democratic Labour Party (SDLP): Malachy Quinn
• Sinn Fein: Katherine Nelson
• Ulster Unionist Party: Kate Evans

West Tyrone

• Coalition: Stephen Donnelly
• Aontú Fight for Life, Solidarity, Economic Justice: Leza Marie Houston
• Conservative and Unionist Party: Stephen Gerard Lynch
• Democratic Unionist Party – DUP: Tom Buchanan
• SDLP (Social Democratic Labour Party): Daniel McCrosson
• Sinn Fein: Offrayth Begley
• TUV – Without Borders: Steven Patterson
• Ulster Unionist Party: Matthew Bell