# Belfast West (UK Parliament constituency)
**Belfast West** is a parliamentary constituency in [Northern Ireland](https://www.edgepedia.org/northern-ireland) that returns one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons at [Westminster](https://www.edgepedia.org/westminster). It covers the western quarter of the city of Belfast and a very small corner of the Lisburn and Castlereagh district, and it has been held by [Sinn Féin](https://www.edgepedia.org/sinn-fein) since 2011; the current MP, Paul Maskey, like all Sinn Féin MPs, does not take his seat at Westminster.[1](https://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/awb.htm) • [2](https://www.irishnews.com/news/who-has-been-elected-in-northern-ireland-rolling-results-from-westminster-election-USGSXIKWWJCZTCHNPM7Y3Q53AM/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Current MP | Paul Maskey (Sinn Féin), since June 2011; abstentionist[1](https://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/awb.htm) • [2](https://www.irishnews.com/news/who-has-been-elected-in-northern-ireland-rolling-results-from-westminster-election-USGSXIKWWJCZTCHNPM7Y3Q53AM/) |
| 2024 result | Maskey 21,009 votes (52.9%), majority 15,961 over Gerry Carroll of People Before Profit[3](https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/4424/election/422) |
| Electorate and turnout (2024) | 75,346 electors; turnout 52.7%[4](https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/4424/election-history) |
| Designation | Borough constituency[5](https://www.boundarycommission.org.uk/files/boundarycommission/publications/Boundary%20Commission%20for%20Northern%20Ireland%20-%20Initial%20Proposals%20%20-%20Report_0.pdf) |
| Origin | Established under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, taking in the western quarter of Belfast[6](https://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/ewb.htm) |
| New boundaries | First contested on revised boundaries on 4 July 2024, after the 2023 boundary review[4](https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/4424/election-history) |
| Community background | 73.8% Catholic and 19.4% Protestant on the new boundaries, from 80.1% and 16.7% on the old ones[7](https://brownoconnor.squarespace.com/blog/2024/6/28/ge24-brown-oconnor-general-election-constituency-profile-belfast-west) |
## Boundaries and status
The constituency was established under the terms of the Government of Ireland Act 1920, incorporating the western quarter of the city of Belfast.[6](https://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/ewb.htm) It is designated as a borough constituency.[5](https://www.boundarycommission.org.uk/files/boundarycommission/publications/Boundary%20Commission%20for%20Northern%20Ireland%20-%20Initial%20Proposals%20%20-%20Report_0.pdf)
**The 2023 review.** UK Parliamentary constituency boundaries changed following a review completed in 2023, and the constituency of Belfast West, which had existed from 1885 to 1918 and was re-established in 1922, first used the new boundaries at the general election of 4 July 2024.[4](https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/4424/election-history) • [6](https://ark.ac.uk/elections/ewb.htm) In its initial proposals the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland gave the proposed Belfast West an electorate of 71,921 and proposed no change of name.[5](https://www.boundarycommission.org.uk/files/boundarycommission/publications/Boundary%20Commission%20for%20Northern%20Ireland%20-%20Initial%20Proposals%20%20-%20Report_0.pdf) The revision was modest in area: 94.8% of the old constituency's residential premises were retained in the successor seat, with 4.3% moving to [Belfast North](https://www.edgepedia.org/belfast-north-uk-parliament-constituency), 0.7% to Belfast South and Mid Down, and 0.2% to South Antrim. The new seat draws 85.0% of its premises from the old Belfast West, 9.0% from Belfast North, and 6.0% from Lagan Valley.[8](https://www.electionmaps.co.uk/boundary-changes/constituency/N06000004/belfast-west)
The changes altered the constituency's demographic profile. On the new boundaries, 73.8% of the population were brought up in a Catholic community background, down from 80.1%, and 19.4% in a Protestant community background, up from 16.7%.[7](https://brownoconnor.squarespace.com/blog/2024/6/28/ge24-brown-oconnor-general-election-constituency-profile-belfast-west) Commentators noted that the reconfiguration was unlikely to affect the Westminster result but could improve unionism's prospects in the constituency at [Northern Ireland Assembly](https://www.edgepedia.org/northern-ireland-assembly) elections, where the DUP last won a seat here in 2003.[7](https://brownoconnor.squarespace.com/blog/2024/6/28/ge24-brown-oconnor-general-election-constituency-profile-belfast-west)
## Representation
In 1983 [Gerry Adams](https://www.edgepedia.org/gerry-adams), then leader of Sinn Féin, defeated the incumbent Gerry Fitt, a former SDLP leader who by then sat as an Independent Socialist, to take the seat.[1](https://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/awb.htm) Paul Maskey has held it since June 2011, succeeding Adams.[1](https://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/awb.htm) Maskey has been an abstentionist MP throughout, in line with Sinn Féin's policy of not sitting in the House of Commons.[2](https://www.irishnews.com/news/who-has-been-elected-in-northern-ireland-rolling-results-from-westminster-election-USGSXIKWWJCZTCHNPM7Y3Q53AM/)
## Elections under the former boundaries
On the boundaries in force from 2010, Sinn Féin held the seat at every contest, with majorities that varied with turnout and opposition strength:[9](https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/3317/election-history)
| Election | Result | Majority | Turnout |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 general election | Sinn Féin hold | 17,579 | 54% |
| 2011 by-election (9 June 2011) | Sinn Féin hold | 13,123 | 37.4% |
| 2015 general election | Sinn Féin hold | 12,365 | 56.3% |
| 2017 general election | Sinn Féin hold | 21,652 | 65.1% |
| 2019 general election | Sinn Féin hold | 14,672 | 59.1% |
The 2011 by-election, held after Adams stood down, recorded the lowest turnout of the series at 37.4%.[9](https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/3317/election-history) The 2017 election, fought at a UK-wide level of engagement, produced both the highest turnout, 65.1%, and the largest majority, 21,652.[9](https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/3317/election-history)
## The 2024 general election
The 2024 general election, held on 4 July 2024, was the first fought on the new boundaries and the first in the United Kingdom as a whole to use them.[4](https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/4424/election-history) • [10](https://electionresults.parliament.uk/general-elections/6/countries/4/political-parties/25/elections?order=ascending&sort=electorate) Ten candidates stood. Paul Maskey retained the seat with 21,009 votes, 52.9% of the total and a 4.4% increase in share, for a majority of 15,961.[3](https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/4424/election/422)
The full breakdown was:[3](https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/4424/election/422)
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul Maskey | Sinn Féin | 21,009 | 52.9% | +4.4% |
| Gerry Carroll | People Before Profit Alliance | 5,048 | 12.7% | −1.4% |
| Paul Doherty | SDLP | 4,318 | 10.9% | +3.4% |
| Frank McCoubrey | DUP | 4,304 | 10.8% | −7.3% |
| Ann McClure | TUV | 2,010 | 5.1% | +5.1% |
| Eóin Millar | Alliance | 1,077 | 2.7% | −4.4% |
| Gerard Herdman | Aontú | 904 | 2.3% | −1.5% |
| Ben Sharkey | UUP | 461 | 1.2% | +0.3% |
| Ash Jones | Green Party NI | 451 | 1.1% | +1.1% |
| Tony Mallon | Independent | 161 | 0.4% | +0.4% |
Turnout was 52.7% of the 75,346 electorate.[4](https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/4424/election-history) The contest for second place was close: Gerry Carroll of People Before Profit held off the SDLP's Paul Doherty by 730 votes, with the DUP's Frank McCoubrey a further 14 votes behind.[2](https://www.irishnews.com/news/who-has-been-elected-in-northern-ireland-rolling-results-from-westminster-election-USGSXIKWWJCZTCHNPM7Y3Q53AM/)
## Political character
West Belfast is a stronghold for Sinn Féin, which at the 2022 Assembly election took 63.7% of first preference votes in the constituency, its largest haul in Northern Ireland.[7](https://brownoconnor.squarespace.com/blog/2024/6/28/ge24-brown-oconnor-general-election-constituency-profile-belfast-west) The constituency also carries a substantial left-nationalist vote beyond Sinn Féin: People Before Profit's Gerry Carroll, an MLA for West Belfast since 2016, has finished second here at Westminster elections.[3](https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/4424/election/422) • [11](https://elections.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/general-election-2024/belfast-west)
At the Assembly, the boundary changes may deliver the DUP a seat that first-past-the-post Westminster elections do not offer it; the party last won a seat in the constituency in 2003, when Diane Dodds was elected.[7](https://brownoconnor.squarespace.com/blog/2024/6/28/ge24-brown-oconnor-general-election-constituency-profile-belfast-west)
## References
1. [West Belfast, ARK (Northern Ireland Social and Political Archive)](https://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/awb.htm)
2. [Who are Northern Ireland's new MPs? Full results from Westminster general election, The Irish News](https://www.irishnews.com/news/who-has-been-elected-in-northern-ireland-rolling-results-from-westminster-election-USGSXIKWWJCZTCHNPM7Y3Q53AM/)
3. [2024 General Election result for Belfast West, UK Parliament](https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/4424/election/422)
4. [Election history of Belfast West, UK Parliament](https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/4424/election-history)
5. [Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland, Initial Proposals for the 2023 Parliamentary Constituency Boundary Review](https://www.boundarycommission.org.uk/files/boundarycommission/publications/Boundary%20Commission%20for%20Northern%20Ireland%20-%20Initial%20Proposals%20%20-%20Report_0.pdf)
6. [West Belfast 1922-1949, ARK](https://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/ewb.htm)
7. [GE24 Constituency Profile: Belfast West, Brown O'Connor Communications](https://brownoconnor.squarespace.com/blog/2024/6/28/ge24-brown-oconnor-general-election-constituency-profile-belfast-west)
8. [Belfast West: Old and New Constituency Boundaries, ElectionMaps](https://www.electionmaps.co.uk/boundary-changes/constituency/N06000004/belfast-west)
9. [Election history of Belfast West (former boundaries), UK Parliament](https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/3317/election-history)
10. [Results for the UK general election on 4 July 2024, Northern Ireland, electionresults.parliament.uk](https://electionresults.parliament.uk/general-elections/6/countries/4/political-parties/25/elections?order=ascending&sort=electorate)
11. [Belfast West results, General Election 2024, Belfast Telegraph](https://elections.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/general-election-2024/belfast-west)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Politics and government › Elections and representation › Constituencies and electoral divisions › UK and Irish constituencies*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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