Profile: East Londonderry
The parliamentary constituency of East Londonderry comprises the entire local government districts of Coleraine and Limavady. This constituency stretches to Portrush, Portstewart and Coleraine in the north-east to Garvagh and Dungiven in the south and south west and to Ballykelly and Greysteel in the direction of Derry. Agriculture and tourism dominate the local economy in this predominantly Unionist constituency. Although affluent in places, there are pockets of poverty in Coleraine and Limavady.
The boundaries of East Londonderry were revised in 1995 with the transfer of that part of the constituency in Magherafelt District Council being transferred to Mid Ulster. Coupled with Gregory Campbell's decision to stand for the DUP in the 1997 Westminster election - the first time that there was an intra-Unionist contest since 1983 - Willie Ross's UUP majority dropped from 18,527 to just 3,794. In percentage terms the UUP vote dropped from 57.6% to 35.5%.
There have been many splits in the local Unionist organisation in recent years. Although, the sitting MP, Willie Ross, is vociferously opposed to the Good Friday Agreement and actively campaigned against it in the 1998 referendum campaign, the UUP constituency association put forward three "Yes" candidates in the subsequent Assembly election. However, of the two UUP candidates elected, one (Pauline Armitage) has since resigned the UUP whip in the Legislative Assembly. Another Unionist winner in the 1998 election was Boyd Douglas, who quit the UUP and chose to stand as an Independent Unionist after failing to get a nomination from his party.
On the nationalist side, the SDLP's Arthur Doherty contested the seat at each general election since the constituency was created for the 1983 general election. In the forthcoming election, he is standing aside to allow his party colleague in the Legislative Assembly, John Dallat, take up the Westminster challenge. There has been an upward trend in the SDLP's percentage share of the vote over the past two decades. In 1983, the party won 18.3% whereas in the 1997 general election 21.7% of voters endorsed their policies. In the Assembly elections the following year, the party won two seats and almost 24% of the vote.
Given Willie Ross's hardline stance over the Good Friday Agreement, he is likely to be returned to Westminster for his eighth consecutive term. However, Campbell is expected to mount a serious challenge for the DUP. Other candidates include Francie Brolly (SF) and Yvonne Boyle (Alliance).
