Boundaries
The county constituency was first created in 1885 from the northern part of Down. From the dissolution of Parliament in 1922, it was merged back into that constituency.
The seat was re-created in 1950 when the old two MP Down constituency was abolished as part of the move to single member seats. Originally the seat consisted of most of the northern parts of County Down, with the south included in South Down. In January 1980, the Boundary Commission's original proposals suggested significantly reducing the size of the constituency and renaming it 'Loughside' on the grounds that this would avoid confusion in the event of borough council elections being held on the same day. As a result, in 1983 the seat was radically cut down as part of an expansion of Northern Ireland's constituencies from 12 to 17, although the name remained unaltered. Significant parts of the constituency were transferred to the new Strangford constituency. In boundary changes proposed by a review in 1995, the seat exchanged territory with Strangford, losing the Dundonald area from Castlereagh and gaining a part of Ards.
The seat now contains the entirety of North Down district as well as Donaghadee and Millisle in Ards.
In 2005, the Boundary Commission published provisional recommendations for modifying the boundaries of constituencies in Northern Ireland. No changes were proposed for North Down. This proved acceptable at the public enquiries and the Assistant Commissioner also recommended no change to the constituency meaning that the constituency is to remain unchanged.
Read more about this topic: North Down (UK Parliament Constituency)
Famous quotes containing the word boundaries:
“We must be generously willing to leave for a time the narrow boundaries in which our individual lives are passed ... In this fresh, breezy atmosphere ... we will be surprised to find that many of our familiar old conventional truths look very queer indeed in some of the sudden side lights thrown upon them.”
—Bertha Honore Potter Palmer (18491918)
“We love to overlook the boundaries which we do not wish to pass.”
—Samuel Johnson (17091784)
“Ideas are not thoughts; the thought respects the boundaries that the idea ignores thereby failing to realize itself.”
—Franz Grillparzer (17911872)