Sinn Fein

Irish republicans overtake divided unionists for first time since Northern Ireland's foundation a century ago.

“When Jeffrey Donaldson refused to say whether he would nominate a deputy first minister if a nationalist got the top post, that was a real affront to democracy,” he said. “We’ve heard since 1998 that this place is all about managing division,” she said, referring to the year of the Good Friday peace accord that envisioned a lasting partnership between the British Protestant and Irish Catholic blocs. “It fueled a mood within nationalism to make sure that a nationalist was ‘allowed’ to be first minister. “We want to reconcile our community and create a united community, not one that is divided constantly along orange and green lines.” Counting was expected to run past midnight and resume in some districts Saturday morning. It would be the first time since Ireland’s partition a century ago that the British north is led by a politician committed to ending its union with Britain. Surging support for Alliance appeared likely to knock out the assembly’s only two Green Party members, too. “We need to see the United Kingdom government take decisive action on the protocol. So I totally understand the mood that has led to this huge Sinn Féin vote.” Under the election’s complex proportional representation rules, voters rank candidates in order of preference. Both posts must be filled as a joint ticket agreed by Sinn Féin and the DUP; either side can block government formation. In each round, the least popular surviving candidates are eliminated and their votes are transferred to other politicians still in the running.

Grassroots Tories blame the PM for the loss of their seats; in Northern Ireland's elections, Sinn Féin top the first-preference vote.

Many grassroots Tories laid the blame at Johnson’s door for the loss of their seats. Lastly, there are frequent changes in ward boundaries and the number of councillors per ward, to maintain equality of representation. You might have noticed that the tallies of the number of seats gained and lost so far by each party differs between outlets. That would put a question mark over O’Neill becoming first minister, but not alter the profound psychological impact of a Sinn Féin victory. With transfer votes still being counted on Friday night, it was clear the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) had dramatically lost its pre-eminence by slumping to 21.3% in the first preference vote. A quick note to explain the data we’re publishing. The Liberal Democrats have won 863 seats, so have gained 189 seats in total. We have to listen to the voters. “It won’t be enough to win a 1997-style landslide... “Here, then, is how Labour might raise the current ceiling on its performance,” he says. “I think he is unique as a politician in being able to cut through. What they’re telling us in places like Wandsworth and of course in Westminster.

Alliance confident of strong performance, with DUP likely to be relegated to second place in Stormont Assembly.

Michelle O'Neill is on course to be first minister but the Brexit fallout means a functioning government may not be formed.

Naomi Long’s Alliance Party looks set to be the other main winner from the election, with a surge of support for the cross-community party likely to make it the third largest at Stormont, ahead of the UUP and SDLP, who have both had disappointing results. Any vote is years away in reality and Sinn Fein have downplayed it in this election but the party is ideologically committed to holding a border poll in the future. Sinn Fein also won the battle for largest vote share with 250,388 first preferences, compared with 184,002 for the DUP and 116,681 for the Alliance Party. With the party on the rise on both sides of the border, the result raises the prospect of a referendum on reunifying both sides of the island of Ireland. A united Ireland will move a huge step closer today, with Sinn Fein on course to be the largest party in Northern Ireland. It means Northern Ireland will have a first minister who wants the province to leave the United Kingdom, a huge symbolic victory for the nationalist community.

Sinn Fein is on course for a historic victory in the Northern Ireland Assembly election, after receiving the most first-preference votes. With counting for the ...

Kellie Armstrong was elected for the Strangford constituency on the first stage of the count with 7,015 votes. I feel very positive.’ She received 10,845 first preference votes and the result was greeted by large cheers in the count centre. Ms O’Neill was surrounded by party colleagues and supporters as the result was announced in the Magherafelt count centre. The party’s vice president Michelle O’Neill was elected on the first count in Mid Ulster, with Alliance leader Naomi Long topping the poll in East Belfast. DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson was elected on the first count in Lagan Valley.

Sinn Fein's vice president Michelle O'Neill was elected on the first count in Mid Ulster, with Alliance leader Naomi Long topping the poll in East Belfast. TUV ...

“I recognise that we have our differences, particularly in relation to the protocol, but I think we all accept that this is a problem that needs to be addressed and the sooner it is addressed the better for all of us.” Sinn Fein also won the battle for largest vote share with 250,388 first preferences, compared with 184,002 for the DUP and 116,681 for the Alliance Party. Counting has resumed in the Northern Ireland Assembly election with Sinn Fein firmly on course to emerge as the largest Stormont party.

During the campaign Sinn Fein shrewdly toned down the border poll/Irish unity rhetoric and even during Mary Lou McDonald's triumphant procession into the ...

Another lesson from this election is that with the exception of Sinn Fein-dominated West Belfast there appear to be no permanent citadels in Northern Ireland. As Alliance’s campaign manager in South Belfast Ian Parsley points out, his party has breached the walls of an SDLP stronghold. We are in for months of political stasis, eventual multi-party negotiations and possibly even a new election in the autumn or winter. The trouble for the big picture pundits across the Irish Sea is the politics of this place are more complicated than that.

Sinn Féin, the party long associated with the paramilitary IRA, was clearly ahead of the Democratic Unionist Party, after voters rewarded its laser focus on ...

Sinn Féin is celebrating a historic victory in the Stormont assembly elections despite warnings from the Democratic Unionist party that it will block the ...

We are stuck with the same things we had 30 or 40 years ago.” “With Sinn Féin and the unionists, it’s the same old thing all the time. “I don’t really like the unionists or the nationalists. We are missing out on the bigger issues such as the environment. The DUP also faces another urgent dilemma. “[The] tumult was not utterly catastrophic for the DUP, but the crown is lost,” said Jon Tonge, a professor of politics at Liverpool University.

Sinn Fein look set to be the biggest party in Northern Ireland after the Stormont elections.

So I think that’s significant and we take a lot of heart from it.” Start your Independent Premium subscription today. “People in any election will vote for a whole variety of reasons.

Flag of the Republic of Ireland. Sinn Fein are a republican political party in Ireland (Picture: Getty) · Sinn Fein leader Michelle O'Neill · Campaign Poster ...

The Official Sinn Fein dropped all mention of the name around 1982, rebranding as the Workers’ Party of Ireland and Provisional Sinn Fein became the Sinn Fein we know today. Sinn Féin re-emerged as a party in 1970, and another split in the party led to the party as we know it now. The first outing of the Sinn Féin organisation began in 1905, founded by Arthur Griffith. The members of the original party founded the First Dáil and the revolutionary Irish Republic during the Irish War of Independence.