1986 South Down by-election
# 1986 South Down by-election

The South Down by-election of 1986 was part of a co-ordinated series of by-elections aimed to show opposition to the Anglo Irish agreement. It resulted in the narrow victory of the incumbent Ulster Unionist Party, Enoch Powell, who increased his majority by 1,294 votes despite rising support for Irish Nationalist candidates. His opponent Eddie McGrady would later take the seat in the 1987 general election.

1986 South Down by-election :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Ulster Unionist | Enoch Powell | 24,963 | 48.4 | +8.1 |
| | SDLP | Eddie McGrady | 23,121 | 44.8 | +5.5 |
| | Sinn Féin | Hugh McDowell | 2,963 | 5.7 | -2.2 |
| | Workers' Party | Sean Magee | 522 | 1.0 | -0.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,842 | 3.6 | +2.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,569 | 73.8 | -3.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 69,843 | | |
| | Ulster Unionist hold | Ulster Unionist hold | Swing | | |

## Previous result

General election 1983: South Down :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Ulster Unionist | Enoch Powell | 20,693 | 40.3 | -9.7 |
| | SDLP | Eddie McGrady | 20,145 | 39.3 | +2.0 |
| | Sinn Féin | Patrick Fitzsimmons | 4,074 | 7.9 | New |
| | DUP | Cecil Harvey | 3,743 | 7.3 | New |
| | Alliance | Patrick Forde | 1,823 | 3.6 | -5.2 |
| | Workers' Party | Margaret Magee | 851 | 1.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 548 | 1.0 | -11.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,329 | 77.7 | +5.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 66,923 | | |
| | Ulster Unionist hold | Ulster Unionist hold | Swing | | |
