Surge in vote for North’s smaller parties
THERE has been a surge in support for the North’s smaller parties in the local government elections.
Alliance and the Greens have topped the polls in many areas, picking up additional seats in a number of councils.
With all 462 seats filled in 11 councils, Alliance is celebrating victories across the region, which saw its representation jump by 65%.
However, the political landscape in the North stays much the same as the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) remains the largest party.
The unionist party gained 24.1% first preference votes – up by 1% – and ended the election with 122 seats, a loss of eight seats compared to t he 2014 c ouncil elections.
Sinn Féin suffered a slight dent to its support base with 23.2% first preference votes – a drop of 0.8%. The party walked away with 105 council seats, the same number of seats they won in 2014.
The Alliance Party saw a surge in its share of votes, which increased from 6.7% to 11.5%. Its number of seats rose from 32 to 53.
Alliance leader Naomi Long said she not expect the remarkable breakthrough in the local government elections, adding that it has ‘transformed’ the party.
She said: ‘We got seats in places that our target was to get a candidate who would run there.
‘We were not expecting the surge that we got and it has been tremendous. We were fortunate that we have a robust approval system for our candidates.’
The Green Party and independents also made significant gains across the 11 councils.
The Green Party’s Mal O’Hara was elected to Belfast City Council in what has been a hugely successful election for his party in the city.
The party doubled its representation and now has eight seats.
The Ulster Unionist Party lost 13 seats and now has 75 council seats, compared to the last local government elections.
The SDLP also lost seven councillors and gained 12% of first preference votes – a drop of 1.6%.
The Traditional Unionist Voice suffered a heavy blow after losing over half of its seats. The party has been left with six seats. Independents made significant gains, taking 23 seats. People Before Profit added a councillor to its representation, taking home five seats. Meanwhile, the son of murdered Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane was elected to Belfast City Council.
John Finucane was elected on the first count of the Castle district electoral area, which encompasses parts of north Belfast, with 1,650 votes, just behind the Alliance party’s Nuala McAllister.