The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has suffered a disappointing defeat in the Northern Ireland general election, with Sinn Féin becoming the region’s largest Westminster party for the first time. Although the nationalist party does not take its seats in Westminster, it has won seven seats, the same number as in 2019. The DUP, on the other hand, has lost three seats from its 2019 total of eight, with the most surprising loss being that of Ian Paisley in North Antrim. The seat was previously held by his father, former Northern Ireland first minister Ian Paisley Sr, and has been in the Paisley family for over 50 years.
In other significant news, Democratic Unionist Party also lost its Lagan Valley seat, previously held by former leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, to Alliance’s Sorcha Eastwood. Meanwhile, the Labour Party won a landslide victory, with Keir Starmer becoming the new prime minister, according to reports.
Other notable results came from Lagan Valley, where Sorcha Eastwood of Alliance became the first woman and first non-unionist MP to win the seat. In an upset, Ian Paisley of the DUP lost his North Antrim seat to Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) leader Jim Allister. The TUV is aligned with Reform UK and has been highly critical of the DUP’s deal to bring the party back into power-sharing government in Northern Ireland. The DUP also lost in South Antrim to former health minister Robin Swann, meaning Ulster Unionists will return an MP to the House of Commons for the first time since 2017.
Despite Sinn Féin’s success, the party’s electoral gains remain irrelevant so long as they refuse to take their seats in Westminster. Northern Ireland’s devolved assembly and council level will continue to be more significant for the party
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More