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Abstract
This article will examine the politics of the early 1960s in Northern Ireland by exploring the debates that surrounded the creation of the ‘New City’ of Craigavon. The central argument will be that all decisions taken by O'Neill and the Stormont administration that affected demographics were underpinned by electoral considerations. The maintenance of unionist hegemony was paramount to all decisions taken despite the supposed liberalism of O'Neill. This study of Craigavon illustrates how these policies operated within a specific local context. Nationalist positions regarding the project will also be explored.
Notes
See Arthur (Citation1980: 88–89).
See Bew et al. (Citation2001: 131).
For a more detailed analysis, see Walker Citation(2004) and Patterson & Kaufmann Citation(2007).
For recent research on the Northern Ireland Labour Party, see Edwards Citation(2009).
For detailed information on the NICRA, see Purdie Citation(1990) and Prince Citation(2007).
The Northern Ireland House of Commons parliamentary debates 7 June 1921–28 March 1972 are available at: www.stormontpapers.adhs.ac.uk
The ‘block-no ward’ system of voting entailed each voter choosing 15 candidates to be elected to Lurgan Council. The population of Lurgan was marginally Protestant, as a consequence having no wards ensured that 15 unionist councillors were elected.
Additionally, many academics do not identify the divergence in opinion within unionism over the building of the ‘New City’. See Bardon (Citation2001: 625), Prince (Citation2007: 23) and Jackson (Citation2003: 274).