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UK Parliament - West Tyrone

RACE DETAILS

Parents

> United Kingdom > Northern Ireland > Northern Ireland > West Tyrone

Office

Type

General Election

Filing Deadline

00, 0000 - 12:00pm

Polls Open

May 07, 2015 - 01:00am

Polls Close

May 07, 2015 - 04:00pm

Term Start

May 08, 2015 - 12:00pm

Term End

June 08, 2017 - 11:00pm

Contributor

IndyGeorgia

Last Modified

IndyGeorgia April 19, 2017 09:39pm

Data Sources

[Link]
[Link]

Description

BBC Constituency Profile:

Roughly mid-way between Belfast and Londonderry, this is a mainly rural seat. Its two major towns are Strabane and Omagh. In 1998, Omagh was the scene of one of the worst atrocities in the Troubles, when a Real IRA car bomb killed 29 people, including a mother pregnant with twins.

Agriculture is an important employer in the constituency, along with some manufacturing, including textiles production. The estimated population in 2013 was nearly 92,000. The constituency has one of the largest Catholic populations in Northern Ireland. At the last census, nearly 68% of people said they were Catholic.

West Tyrone was the constituency with the fourth highest unemployment claimant count. The census revealed that 54% were employed. A higher proportion of people living in West Tyrone were in receipt of at least one disability-related benefit, compared to the Northern Ireland average. The MP since the 2001 election has been Pat Doherty of Sinn Féin.