Parliament Buildings in Northern Ireland
The seat of the House of Commons from 1932 to 1972.

The House of Commons of Northern Ireland was the lower house of the Parliament of Northern Ireland created under the Government of Ireland Act, 1920. The upper house in the bicameral parliament was called the Senate. This work is copyrighted. ... This work is copyrighted. ... The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which existed from June 7, 1921 to March 30, 1972, when it was suspended. ... An Act to Provide for the Better Government of Ireland, more usually the Government of Ireland Act 1920 (this is its official short title; the formal citation is 10 & 11 Geo. ... In government, bicameralism is the practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers. ... The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which existed from June 7, 1921 to March 30, 1972, when it was suspended. ...

Membership

The House of Commons had a membership of 52. Until 1969, 48 were from constituencies and 4 were for graduates of Queen's University, Belfast; in that year the Queen's University seats were abolished and four extra constituencies created on the outskirts of Belfast where the population had grown. For the electoral constituencies used see this list. 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday For other uses, see Number 1969. ... Queens University, Belfast - or officially The Queens University of Belfast (QUB; in Irish, Ollscoil na Banríona, Béal Feirste) - is a university in Belfast, Northern Ireland. ... Belfast (Béal Feirste in Irish) is a city in the United Kingdom. ... The Northern Ireland House of Commons existed from 1921 to 1973 as the lower House of the devolved legislature of the part of the United Kingdom called Northern Ireland. ...

Functions

The House of Commons fulfilled the normal lower house functions to be found in the Westminster System of Government. Its roles were The Westminster System - also called Parliamentary System is a democratic system of government modelled after that of the United Kingdom system, as used in the Palace of Westminster, the location of the British parliament. ...

• to grant Supply to the Government;

• to grant to or withdraw confidence from the Government;

Prime Ministers of Northern Ireland
Sir James Craig. (1922—1940)
John Millar Andrews (1940—1943).
Sir Basil Brooke (1943—1963)
CaptainTerence O'Neill (1963—1969)
James Chichester-Clark (1969—1971)
Brian Faulkner (1971—1972)

• to provide a talent bank from which members of the Government could be chosen. The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland was chosen from its ranks by the Governor of Northern Ireland

The supply and demand model describes how prices vary as a result of a balance between product availability at each price (supply) and the desires of those with purchasing power at each price (demand). ... Image File history File links Sir James Craig, Lord Craigavon — first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. ... Image File history File links Sir James Craig, Lord Craigavon — first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. ... Sir James Craig, later Viscount Craigavon 1st Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. ... Image File history File links John Miller Andrews, — second Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. ... Image File history File links John Miller Andrews, — second Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. ... John Millar Andrews (July 17, 1871 - August 5, 1956) was the second Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. ... Image File history File links Basil Brookeborough, — third Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. ... Image File history File links Basil Brookeborough, — third Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. ... The Right Honourable Sir Basil Stanlake Brooke, 1st Viscount Brookeborough, Bt, KG, CBE, MC, PC (June 9, 1888-August 18, 1973) was an Irish Unionist politician. ... Image File history File links Terence ONeill, — fourth Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. ... Image File history File links Terence ONeill, — fourth Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. ... The Right Honourable Captain Terence ONeill, Baron ONeill of the Maine (September 10, 1914 - June 12, 1990), was the fourth Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. ... Image File history File links James Chicester Clarke, Lord Loyola, — fifth Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. ... Image File history File links James Chicester Clarke, Lord Loyola, — fifth Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. ... The Right Honourable James Dawson Chichester-Clark, Baron Moyola, PC, DL (February 12, 1923–May 17, 2002) was the fifth Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. ... Image File history File links Brian Faulkner, Northern Ireland Prime Minister This image is protected by British Crown copyright. ... Image File history File links Brian Faulkner, Northern Ireland Prime Minister This image is protected by British Crown copyright. ... The Right Honourable Arthur Brian Deane Faulkner, Baron Faulkner of Downpatrick (February 18, 1922 - March 3, 1977) was the sixth and last Prime Minister of Northern Ireland from 1971 until 1972. ... The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland was the head of the Government of Northern Ireland, appointed by the Governor of Northern Ireland under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. ... The Governor of Northern Ireland was the Crown representative in Northern Ireland. ...

Electoral system

The Government of Ireland Act required that elections to the House of Commons be by the Single Transferable Vote (STV) electoral system first introduced in Ireland in the Local Government Act 1898. Its inclusion in the Government of Ireland Act was deliberate. It was intended to provide electoral opportunities for the minority Nationalist community, given that the boundaries of Northern Ireland had deliberately been constructed to produce a Unionist majority. (A similar legal requirement had been set for Northern Ireland's sister state, the non-operative Southern Ireland, and also existed in the Irish Free State. This STV ballot for the Australian Senate illustrates group voting tickets. ... In the Irish context, Unionists form a group of largely (though not exclusively) Protestant people in Ireland, of all social classes, who wish to see the continuation of the Act of Union, as amended by the Government of Ireland Act 1920, under which the Northern Ireland provincial state created in... Southern Ireland was the twenty-six county Irish state envisaged by the Government of Ireland Act 1920. ... The Irish Free State (Irish: Saorstát Éireann) was (1922–1937) the name of the state comprising the 26 of Irelands 32 counties which were separated from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Irish Free State Agreement (or Anglo-Irish Treaty) signed by British and...

Under the Act the Parliament of Northern Ireland was given the legislative power to alter the electoral system from three years after its first meeting. The use of STV was criticised strongly among the grassroots of the governing Ulster Unionist Party, who viewed it as "unbritish" (the United Kingdom used First Past the Post). The loss of eight seats by the UUP in the second parliamentary election caused a major row within the party. Rather than deal with questions as to why it faced declining popularity the party replaced STV by the less-proportional (and so less helpful to minorities) First Past the Post. However STV was retained for the election of the 4 MPs from Queens University. The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP, sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or OUP or, in a historic sense, simply the Unionist Party ) is a moderate unionist political party in Northern Ireland, which formed its government between 1921 and 1972 and was supported by most unionists throughout the Troubles. ... The plurality voting system, also known as first past the post, is a voting system used to elect a single winner in a given election. ...

The Opposition

The creation of Northern Ireland had been opposed both by many Unionists and all Nationalists, all of whom, like Unionist Leader Edward Carson, were opposed to the partition of the island. While Unionists within Northern Ireland became reconciled to their form of home rule Nationalists remained alienated from the structures of the state. The Nationalist Party, the main Nationalist party in Northern Ireland, which claimed descent from the pre-partition Irish Parliamentary Party, boycotted the parliament entirely for most of the parliament's existence. Other parties, notably the Northern Ireland Labour Party did however take their seats. The absence of the main opposition party from parliament led to accusations of in effect "one party rule". Edward Carson HMSO image The Right Honourable Edward Henry Carson, Baron Carson, PC (February 9, 1854 – October 22, 1935) was a leader of the Irish Unionists, a Barrister and a Judge. ... Devolution or Home rule is the pooling of powers from central government to government at regional or local level. ... The Nationalist Party existed under various froms from 1874 to 1973. ... In 1882 Charles Stewart Parnell, the leader of the Nationalist Party, formed the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP), replacing the Home Rule League, as a parliamentary party with strict rules. ... The Northern Ireland Labour Party was a political party which operated from 1924 until the 1980s. ...

Procedure

The House of Commons of Northern Ireland followed the same rituals as the British House of Commons. Parliament met midweek. Ministers spoke from a dispatch box in a chamber modelled on the British House of Commons chamber. The Governor presented a Speech from the Thone in the Senate chamber, to which MPs were summoned by Black Rod. The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and is now the dominant branch of Parliament. ... Sergeant-at-arms Gus Cloutier holding the ceremonial mace to open a sitting of the 38th Canadian parliament with Prime Minister Paul Martin in background (10/4/04) In the United Kingdom, the State Opening of Parliament is an annual event held usually in October or November that marks the... The Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, generally shortened to just Black Rod, is an official of a figure in the parliaments of a number of Commonwealth countries. ...

However the miminal workload of parliament, and the small number of bills that required passage, meant that parliament could hold short sessions and meet for short working hours. The workload was so small that future Prime Minister Terence O'Neill later revealed that then Prime Minister Lord Brookeborough did not even have a desk in his de-facto residence, Stormont House. (Stormont House was nominally the residence of the Speaker of the House of Commons, but as speakers chose to live elsewhere, Prime Ministers used it as their residence, and turned their official residence, Stormont Castle into an office for their senior civil servants.) The Right Honourable Captain Terence ONeill, Baron ONeill of the Maine (September 10, 1914 - June 12, 1990), was the fourth Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. ... Basil Stanlake Brooke, 1st Viscount Brookeborough, KG, CBE, MC (June 9, 1888-August 18, 1973) was an Irish Unionist politician. ... Stormont House served as the official residence of the Speaker of the House of Commons of Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972. ... Stormont Castle is now the official residence of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and was previously the location of the Cabinet Room of the Government of Northern Ireland from 1921-1972. ...

Venue

The State opening of the first Parliament
King George and Queen Mary in the background. Belfast City Hall. June 1921.

The first assembly of the House of Commons occurred in Belfast City Hall in June 1921. King George V gave a famed address where he called for reconciliation between Irish people and for Northern Ireland to be free of discrimination against the minority. Image File history File links Connor_painting. ... Image File history File links Connor_painting. ... Belfast City Hall - Under Construction Belfast City Hall is the civic building of the Belfast City Council. ... June is the sixth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with a length of 30 days The month is named after the Roman goddess Juno, wife of Jupiter and equivalent to the Greek goddess Hera. ... 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert) (3 June 1865–20 January 1936) was the last British monarch of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, changing the name to the House of Windsor in 1917. ...

For its first decade parliament met in the Presbyterian College, close to City Hall, while a new parliament building was built in East Belfast at a place called Stormont. The foundation stone was laid by the Governor of Northern Ireland in the late 1920s. However the Wall Street Crash undermined the financial viability of the building project. Plans were scaled back, with plans for a ministerial building and a court building on site being abandoned. The main building was also changed, with plans for a United States Capitol-style dome being abandoned. The new parliament building was opened by Prince Edward, the Prince of Wales in 1932. For the protest against the Communications Decency Act, see Black World Wide Web protest. ... United States Capitol Capitol Hill redirects here. ... Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David Windsor), later The Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor (23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), was the second British monarch of the House of Windsor. ... 1932 (MCMXXXII) is a leap year starting on Friday. ...

The House of Commons and Senate chambers were located across the Great Hall from each other, replicating the link between the House of Commons and British House of Lords in Westminster. Between them, a large chandelier from Windsor Castle, which had been given to the King by his cousin, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany but had been put in storage during the First World War and remained so until given to Stormont, hung. Westminster is a district within the City of Westminster in London. ... Wilhelm II of Germany (born Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albrecht von Hohenzollern 27 January 1859–4 June 1941), was the last German Emperor (Kaiser) and the last King (König) of Prussia, ruling from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918. ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ...

The End

Northern Ireland was dogged by allegations of Unionist misrule, and political gerrymandering at local government level, during the 1960s. A demand for civil rights by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association, and allegations of police misbehaviour by the Royal Ulster Constabulary led to The Troubles. In 1972, using its legal powers under the Government of Ireland Act the British government prorogued (suspended) the Northern Ireland parliament and government, before in 1973 abolishing it entirely. Printed in 1812, this political cartoon illustrates the electoral districts drawn by the Massachusetts legislature to favor the incumbent Democratic-Republican party candidates of Governor Elbridge Gerry over the Federalists. ... The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association was an organization which campaigned for civil rights for Northern Irelands Catholic minority. ... The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. ... The neutrality of this article is disputed. ...

Parliament Buildings are now the seat of the Northern Ireland Assembly. The logo of the Northern Ireland Assembly is a six flowered linen or flax plant, chosen for the plants historical economic importance to the region. ...

State & Government in Northern Ireland 1922-1972
Executive of Northern Ireland Governor | Prime Minister | Cabinet | Privy Council of Northern Ireland | Royal Assent Image File history File links Northern_Ireland_flag. ... The Governor of Northern Ireland was the Crown representative in Northern Ireland. ... The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland was the head of the Government of Northern Ireland, appointed by the Governor of Northern Ireland under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. ... The Privy Council of Northern Ireland was a formal body of advisors to the Sovereign and was a vehicle for the monarchs prerogative powers in the province. ...
Legislature of Northern Ireland Stormont Parliament (made up of the House of Commons & the Senate) The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which existed from June 7, 1921 to March 30, 1972, when it was suspended. ... The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which existed from June 7, 1921 to March 30, 1972, when it was suspended. ...

Lower Houses of Irish Parliaments 1171-present
House of Commons mediæval - 1800 | House of Commons of Southern Ireland 1921-1922 | House of Commons of Northern Ireland 1922-1972 | Dáil Éireann (House of Assembly) 1919-1922 | Dáil Éireann (Chamber of Deputies) 1922-1937 | Dáil Éireann (House of Representatives) 1937-present Download high resolution version (1025x700, 252 KB)The Irish House of Commons, 1780 by Francis Wheatley This work is copyrighted. ... The Irish House of Commons by Francis Wheatley (1780). ... House of Commons of Southern Ireland was the lower house of the Irish parliament created by the Government of Ireland Act, passed in 1920, during the Irish War of Independence. ... Irish stamp comemorating the first meeting of Dáil Éireann in 1919. ... The Dáil Chamber The chamber was remodelled in the early 1920s. ... The Dáil Chamber Dáil Éireann is the lower house of the Oireachtas (parliament) of the Republic of Ireland. ...
See Also First Dáil | Second Dáil | Third Dáil The First Dáil (Irish: An Chéad Dáil) was Dáil Éireann as it convened from 1919–1921. ... The Second Dáil was Dáil Éireann as it convened from 16th August, 1921 until 8th June, 1922. ... The Third Dáil, also known as the Provisional Parliament or the Constituent Assembly, was the parliament of the post-partition twenty-six county Irish state which met from 9th September, 1922 until 9th August 1923. ...