Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
HANGING BY A THREAD
The UK heads for hung parliament after shock exit poll DUP hopes to play key role in forming new Government
THERESA May’s election gamble backfired spectacularly last night, according to the exit poll.
Her reign as PM was hanging by a thread as the UK headed towards a possible hung parliament. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn confounded critics and predictions with his party’s performance. In Northern Ireland all seats were expected to be declared by breakfast with the chance of unionists playing a key role in forming a Government. Jeffrey Donaldson, who was set to win Lagan Valley for the DUP, said the party could be in a “very, very strong position”. He added: “We will be serious players if there’s a hung parliament.”
VOTERS braved torrential rain, thunder and lightning as they made their way to polling stations across Northern Ireland.
But as the ballot boxes were sealed and taken to seven count centres it appeared the terrible weather had not had a dramatic effect on turnout. This morning all eyes will be on the remaining results which are expected to be finalised around breakfast time. Speaking last night Jeffrey Donaldson, who was set to retain Lagan Valley for the DUP, said the possibility of a hung parliament would leave his party in a “very, very strong negotiating position”. Early declarations had been expected shortly after midnight with focus on key battlegrounds like North and South Belfast and Fermanagh and South Tyrone. One key question which will be answered today is whether unionist voters were galvanised by the surge in the nationalist vote in the Assembly poll earlier this year. This Westminster vote, however, could be the last with Northern Ireland’s consituencies as they currently appear. The region is expected to see major boundary changes by 2020 with Belfast moving to three constituencies – meaning any possible overnight shock in South Belfast will have a limited effect as a new Belfast South East will likely pre-empt another change of representation. Ballot boxes were collected from the 619 voting centres and the first results were expected around 1am. With much of the region having been drenched in rain throughout yesterday, all eyes were on the turnout to see if the relatively high 64.8% of March’s Assembly election was replicated. Democratic Unionist leader Arlene Foster avoided the rain as she voted near her home in Brookeborough, Co Fermanagh, early yesterday morning. Sinn Fein’s Stormont chief Michelle O’neill marked her ballot paper close to her home village of Clonoe in Co Tyrone. Ulster Unionist leader Robin Swann voted in Kells, Co Antrim, with SDLP chief Colum Eastwood and Alliance leader Naomi Long voting in Derry and Belfast respectively. The poll was the seventh time voters have cast a ballot in Northern Ireland in three years. Election fatigue was one of the explanations offered for what was a low-key campaign. For many local politicians the snap General Election was an unwanted distraction from efforts to restore the Stormont institutions. Floundering negotiations to re-establish a coalition government in Belfast, which were put on ice during the campaign, will resume once the dust settles on the results. The ongoing Assembly crisis blurred the lines between Stormont and West- minster issues on the campaign trail, with the blame game over the implosion of devolution spilling into the race for Westminster seats. As in the rest of the UK, Brexit was a key campaign issue. While Sinn Fein, the SDLP and Alliance all called for some form of special designated EU status for Northern Ireland after the UK exits, the Democratic Unionists and Ulster Unionists steadfastly opposed anything that differentiated the region from Great Britain. Since last June’s EU referendum, the Brexit debate in Northern Ireland has become increasingly intertwined with the constitutional question. Nationalists and republicans claim the UK decision to leave the EU, in the face of a 56% remain vote here, highlights the case for a united Ireland. Unionists insist support for remaining in the EU cannot be interpreted as a swing in public opinion toward unification. Those contrasting views were played out during the election, with the DUP urging voters to strengthen the Union and Sinn Fein encouraging supporters to add momentum to their campaign for a border poll. In the 2015 General Election, the DUP won eight seats, Sinn Fein four, SDLP three, UUP two, with one independent unionist returned. A formal pact struck
DUP could be left in a very, very strong negotiating position JEFFREY DONALDSON LISBURN LAST NIGHT
between the DUP and UUP two years ago was not replicated this time round, though both parties did step aside in certain battleground seats. Meanwhile, a mooted anti-brexit pact between pro-remain parties such as the Greens, SDLP and Sinn Fein failed to materialise. Despite the largely uneventful campaign, at least six of the 18 seats were set to be tightly fought. Three Belfast constituencies – North, South and East – along with South Down, South Antrim and Fermanagh and South Tyrone were all expected to go down to the wire.