| Electorate | Seats | Total Poll | Turnout | Valid Poll | Spoiled Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 74,749 | 1 | 43,757 | 58.54% | 43,491 | 266 |
Vote Distribution
Left Right
| Candidate | 1 |
|---|---|
|
|
21345 |
|
|
8839 |
|
|
6859 |
|
|
2653 |
|
|
2218 |
|
|
1577 |
Traditional Unionist Voice
Dr Dan Boucher is a former DUP director of policy who quit the role earlier this year. He is also a former member of the Conservative Party for whom he has previously stood in UK, Welsh and European Parliamentary elections. He has a PhD in sovereignty and international relations.
Green Party
Aine Groogan is a Belfast City councillor in the Botanic district, first elected in 2019 when she topped the first preference vote. Ms Groogan has a Master of Laws degree in Gender, Conflict and Human Rights and previously worked as a legal analyst.
Social Democratic and Labour Party
Claire Hanna became MP for South Belfast in 2019 with over 57% of the vote. Her 2019 campaign received a boost when Sinn Fein and the Green Party announced they would step aside to back her as a Remain candidate amid Brexit fallout. She was previously an MLA for South Belfast after being co-opted in 2015 and subsequently re-elected in 2016 and 2018. Before that, Ms Hanna was a Belfast City councillor for the Balmoral DEA between 2011 and 2015. Her mother Carmel was an SDLP MLA for South Belfast between 1998 and 2010.
Ulster Unionist Party
Michael Henderson was a UUP representative on Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council between 1997 and 2023, successfully elected on six occasions until he lost his seat. He topped the poll in Castlereagh South in 2001. He was not re-elected last year despite winning more first preference votes than Alliance Party candidate Martin McKeever, who was elected in the final count along with Sinn Fein's Daniel Bassett at Mr Henderson's expense. He ran in both the 2017 and 2019 General Elections in South Belfast.
Democratic Unionist Party
Since 2019, Tracy Kelly has sat on Belfast City Council representing Botanic. She has worked as the Constituency Office Manager for MLA Edwin Poots.
Alliance Party
Kate Nicholl is currently an MLA for South Belfast having won her seat in 2022 in the final count at the expense of then Green Party (NI) leader Clare Bailey. It was an election she fought while heavily pregnant, giving birth to overdue baby Etain Evelyn less than a month after polling day. Her daughter was named after her late grandmother who fought against apartheid in Ms Nicholl's native Zimbabwe. She was co-opted onto Belfast City Council in 2016 and then served a term as Lord Mayor in 2021-2022.
