Senate of Northern Ireland
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Image:Stormontparl.jpgThe Senate of Northern Ireland was the upper house of the Parliament of Northern Ireland created by the Government of Ireland Act 1920.
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Membership
The House consisted of 26 members. Image:Basilbrookeborough.jpg
- Two ex-officio members: the Lord Mayors of Belfast and Londonderry;
- Twenty four members elected by the House of Commons of Northern Ireland elected using the Single Transferable Vote, elected in blocks of twelve with each senator's term lasting for two parliaments (ie, two House of Commons).
Powers
In practice the Senate of Northern Ireland possessed little power and even less influence. As early as 1926, five years after its first creation, calls began for its abolition.
Location of meetings
From 1932, when the building was completed, until 1972, the Senate of Northern Ireland met in the Senate Chamber of Parliament Buildings in Stormont on the outskirts of Belfast. To make parallels with the British House of Lords members of the Senate sat on red benches.
Who sat in the House
During its history 142 people, 141 men and 1 woman, sat in the upper house. Peers of the Realm were disproportionately represented in the Senate. Sir Basil Brooke once sat as a member of the House.
Key office-holders
The key offices in the state were
- Speaker
- Deputy Speakers (2)
- Leader of the House
- Deputy Leader of the House (abolished in 1961).
Political complexion
The refusal of Irish nationalist politicians to sit in the House of Commons of Northern Ireland meant that the electorate for the Senate was overwhelmingly unionist. With the addition of the (guaranteed to be) Unionist Lords Mayor, due to gerrymandering in Belfast Corporation and Londonderry Corporation the upper house proved to be even more heavily unionist than the lower house. Unusually however a Nationalist is recorded as having been deputy speaker at one stage.
The precise political make-up of the Senate is however impossible to clarify with certainty. Such was its low profile that the political allegiances of members were not recorded either in official records or in media coverage and records of the House other than Hansard reports of debates, are sparse.
Abolition
The Senate, along with the House of Commons, was prerogued in 1972 and abolished completely in 1973.
The old Senate chamber is now used as a committee room of the Northern Ireland Assembly.