1981 Antrim Borough Council election

Main article: Northern Ireland local elections, 1981

1981 Antrim Borough Council election

20 May 1981 (1981-05-20)
All 15 seats to Antrim Borough Council 8 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Party Ulster Unionist DUP SDLP Seats won 7 4 2 Seat change 1 1 2   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Party Alliance Irish Independence Independent Seats won 1 1 0 Seat change 1 1 2

Elections to Antrim Borough Council were held on 20 May 1981 on the same day as the other Northern Irish local government elections. The election used three district electoral areas to elect a total of 15 councillors.

Election results

Antrim Borough Council Election Result 1981

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Ulster Unionist	7	0	1	1	36.8	38.0	5,945	0.6
	DUP	4	1	0	1	21.1	28.1	4,389	9.7
	SDLP	2	2	0	2	10.5	10.7	1,670	10.7
	Alliance	1	0	1	1	5.3	10.9	1,704	6.0
	Irish Independence	1	1	0	1	5.3	6.6	1,040	New
	Independent Labour	0	0	0	0	0.0	5.1	805	5.1
	Ind. Unionist	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.6	91	0.6

Note: "Votes" are the first preference votes.

Districts summary

Results of the Antrim Borough Council election, 1981
by district

Ward	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	Total Cllrs
	UUP		DUP		SDLP		Alliance		IIP		Others
Area A	33.1	2	19.2	1	21.7	1	2.4	0	21.8	1	1.8	0	5
Area B	49.0	3	27.6	1	15.4	1	8.0	0	0.0	0	0.0	0	5
Area C	34.8	2	34.6	2	0.0	0	18.7	1	0.0	0	11.9	0	5
Total	38.0	7	28.1	4	10.7	2	10.9	1	6.6	1	5.7	0	15

Districts results

Area A

1977: 2 x UUP, 1 x DUP, 1 x Independent, 1 x Independent Nationalist
1981: 2 x UUP, 1 x DUP, 1 x SDLP, 1 x IIP
1977-1981 Change: SDLP gain from Independent, Independent Nationalist joins IIP

Antrim Area A - 5 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
	Ulster Unionist	James Graham*	27.13%	1,293
	Irish Independence	John Heffron*	11.27%	537	538.14	540.14	545.14	609.14	609.14	959.14
	DUP	Wilson Clyde	11.18%	533	599.12	643.24	645.62	645.62	654.56	654.56	654.56	1,034.56
	Ulster Unionist	John Blakeley*	4.34%	207	434.24	455.7	489.88	489.88	660.94	660.94	660.94	734.9	971.64
	SDLP	Robert Loughran	12.65%	603	603.76	605.14	632.52	645.52	648.9	666.9	721.9	722.66	723.54	728.82
	SDLP	Gerard Carolan	9.00%	429	429.38	430.38	442.38	451.38	453.38	492.38	583.38	584.38	584.38	585.26
	DUP	Frew Rainey	7.99%	381	432.68	467.28	470.28	470.28	481.4	481.4	482.4
	Irish Independence	Desmond McAteer	7.11%	339	339	339	340	418	418
	Ulster Unionist	Mary Marshall	1.59%	76	175.94	187.12	210.92	210.92
	Irish Independence	James Totten	3.44%	164	164	164	167
	Alliance	James McConnell	2.37%	113	121.74	124.88
	Ind. Unionist	Stewart Dunlop*	1.91%	91	120.64
Electorate: 6,381   Valid: 4,766 (74.69%)   Spoilt: 135   Quota: 795   Turnout: 4,901 (76.81%)

Area B

1977: 3 x UUP, 1 x DUP, 1 x Alliance
1981: 3 x UUP, 1 x DUP, 1 x SDLP
1977-1981 Change: SDLP gain from Alliance

Antrim Area B - 5 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	Ulster Unionist	Edgar Wallace*	16.66%	688	691
	Ulster Unionist	James Cunningham*	16.56%	684	688	790
	SDLP	Robert Burns	15.45%	638	640	641	699
	Ulster Unionist	Thomas Grant	9.64%	398	402	501	654	740
	DUP	Roy Thompson	14.21%	587	594	616	638	642	662
	DUP	Allister Lucas*	13.41%	554	556	570	579	582	600
	Alliance	John McCourt*	4.72%	195	302	310
	Ulster Unionist	Alexander Wilson	6.10%	252	253
	Alliance	George Luke	3.24%	134
Electorate: 5,966   Valid: 4,130 (69.23%)   Spoilt: 121   Quota: 689   Turnout: 4,251 (71.25%)

Area C

1977: 3 x UUP, 1 x DUP, 1 x Alliance
1981: 2 x UUP, 2 x DUP, 1 x Alliance
1977-1981 Change: DUP gain from UUP

Antrim Area C - 5 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
	DUP	Samuel Dunlop*	25.47%	1,719
	Ulster Unionist	Paddy Marks	17.52%	1,182
	DUP	Charles Quinn	9.11%	615	1,120.58	1,124.14	1,156.14
	Ulster Unionist	Jack Allen*	14.24%	961	999.76	1,019.44	1,151.44
	Alliance	Michael Donoghue	7.87%	531	533.04	533.6	537.28	538.28	539.93	581.61	710.61	993.61
	Alliance	Charles Kinahan*	6.89%	465	468.74	470.22	490.16	491.16	498.31	540.23	657.34	835.34
	Independent Labour	John Gibbons	8.33%	562	565.4	565.52	566.04	567.04	569.24	612.96	643.47
	Alliance	Mary Wallace	3.94%	266	268.04	268.76	278.06	280.06	288.86	324.41
	Independent Labour	Philip Henry	3.60%	243	251.16	251.88	257.5	260.5	267.1
	Ulster Unionist	Hugh Johnston	3.02%	204	219.3	238.66
Electorate: 14,454   Valid: 6,748 (46.69%)   Spoilt: 236   Quota: 1,125   Turnout: 6,984 (48.32%)