Victory for Sinn Fein stokes united Ireland fears

Nationalists on course to be the biggest party in Stormont for the first time

SINN FEIN was on course to be the biggest party in Stormont last night following Northern Irish elections, with unionists warning the result could cost the country its place in the United Kingdom.

The nationalist party, once the political wing of the IRA, won 29 per cent of first-preference votes, according to the BBC, while the pro-uk Democratic Unionist Party won 21 per cent.

If its victory is confirmed when the result is declared today it would be the first time a party that wants a united Ireland has won the elections for the Northern Ireland Executive.

The result would plunge the powersharing deal into uncertainty, with the DUP warning it may not agree to co-run Stormont. It would also complicate talks on post-brexit trade checks.

It is likely to reignite debate about the possibility of a referendum on Northern Ireland and Ireland becoming one country. Oliver Dowden, the Tory chairman, said the UK Government would “make the case” for the Union if it came to that, but stressed a vote would only take place if there was a “sustained majority” for a united Ireland.

The development could prove the most consequential result in a string of local elections on Thursday that saw the Conservatives sustain significant losses.

As counting continued last night, the Tories had lost 397 council seats and lost control of 12 councils, while Labour had picked up 252 seats and control of eight extra councils.

Projected vote share had Labour clearly on top with 35 per cent of the vote, followed by the Tories on 30 per cent and the Liberal Democrats on a better-than-expected 19 per cent.

Labour stormed to success in London, where it took Barnet, Wandsworth and Westminster councils from the Tories, and, in Scotland, overtook the Conservatives as the second party. Yet Sir Keir Starmer struggled to make gains winning back traditional Labour “red wall” heartlands in the Midlands and North, allowing Boris Johnson to talk about a night of “mixed results”.

In traditional Tory-voting rural constituencies in the South, the Lib Dems picked up scores of seats.

The SNP finished as the biggest party in the Scottish council elections and insisted it was “full steam ahead” for an independence referendum next year; raising the prospect of another member of the UK quitting the Union.

In Northern Ireland, the DUP was last night facing defeat – and the prospect of a Sinn Fein First Minister – after more than 20 years as the country’s biggest party. With 32 of 90 seats filled, Sinn Fein had secured 16 seats compared with the DUP’S seven.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the DUP leader, had called on those wanting to stay part of the UK to rally behind his party to prevent a border poll, which must be called by both London and Dublin, and oppose the post-brexit Northern Ireland Protocol.

Michelle O’neill, the leader of Sinn Fein in Northern Ireland, is planning for reunification but played down any prospect of an immediate border poll.

Mr Johnson, speaking before the result was known, hinted that he might take a tougher line with Brussels on post-brexit border checks for goods moving in and out of Northern Ireland.

Naomi Long, leader of the Alliance Party – which is threatening to push the DUP into third place and has won support from voters tired of old sectarian divides – said it had been a “good day” as she waited for results.

The DUP has said it will not enter power-sharing without agreement that the protocol, which created the Irish Sea border, be removed or replaced. It collapsed Stormont in February in protest over the Brexit treaty.

BORIS JOHNSON should replace Rishi Sunak if the Chancellor is not prepared to cut taxes in response to the Tories’ local election mauling, senior party figures have suggested.

The Prime Minister is facing a growing clamour from backbenchers to call an emergency budget and unveil more drastic action to tackle the cost of living crisis.

Party heavyweights urged him to reverse last month’s rise in National Insurance and cut the burden on businesses to kick-start economic growth.

The Tories lost more than 300 council seats in England yesterday, as traditional supporters staged a “big protest vote” over partygate and inflation.

The party suffered its worst losses in London, where it ceded flagship councils Westminster, Barnet, and Margaret Thatcher’s reported favourite, Wandsworth, to Labour.

It also took a hammering in the South West where the Lib Dems made inroads, seizing the newly created Somerset unitary authority.

However, the Conservative vote across so-called “red wall” seats in the Midlands and North held up, sparing the Prime Minister the massacre some analysts predicted.

If played out at a general election, the results would leave Labour top on 35 per cent, the Tories on 30 per cent and the Lib Dems on 19 per cent, according to a projection by Sir John Curtice, the polling guru.

Modelling by Sky News said this would mean the Conservatives lose their majority, though they would remain the largest party in a hung parliament with 278 MPS to Labour’s 271.

The scale of Labour’s advance in the capital shocked even its own candidates, with one having to be hauled out of bed after unexpectedly winning his seat.

Bleary-eyed Adrian Cohen, a banking and finance law solicitor, walked into the count late to cheers after becoming the first Labour candidate to win upmarket Hampstead Town.

He had been considered such a nohoper that he barely bothered to campaign, according to local reports.

He told the Ham & High newspaper: “I wanted to help the party by standing. I want to bring residents’ concerns to the heart of the council because there hasn’t been a Labour councillor to give voice to their particular concerns.”

Eight miles to the south in Wandsworth, another historic shock was under way, with Labour seizing the council that had been run by the Tories since its creation in 1964.

Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, who was on a TV platform as the result came in, gleefully conducted the Labour candidates and campaigners as they cheered the toppling of one of the Conservative’s crown jewels in the capital.

Simon Hogg, the new leader of the council, said that he hoped it marked the beginning of the borough as a new Labour stronghold.

“There were lots of former Conservative voters who didn’t just stay at home, they came over and gave their vote to Labour.”

In contrasting scenes, a crestfallen Ravi Govindia, the ousted Tory leader, refused to blame Mr Johnson for the defeat and gamely insisted “of course there is a way back” for the Conservatives.

But other local party chiefs who lost their seats were less forgiving and laid the responsibility at No10’s door. John

‘I do not think the current team is capable of delivering a successful economic policy for the country. The set-up isn’t working and it needs to be changed’

‘We’re kidding ourselves if we think everything’s OK and we don’t need to learn from what is going on. We are bleeding support in parts of the country’

Mallinson, leader of Carlisle council, which was snatched by Labour, said Tory MPS should ditch the Prime Minister before the general election.

Simon Bosher, the leader of Portsmouth city council, where the Tories also suffered a bad night, said Mr Johnson needed to “take a good, strong look in the mirror”.

Labour cemented its powerhold on Wales, with the Tories suffering further heavy losses, while in Scotland it replaced the Conservatives as the main opposition to the SNP.

The party also registered big wins by taking control of Southampton and Worthing in traditionally true-blue West Sussex.

But Sir Keir Starmer endured a tough day as early joy over gains in London and the south gave way to disappointment at a failure to make inroads in the red wall.

Labour’s share of the vote outside London was projected to be slightly down on 2018 and he was hit with Durham Police announcing a new inquiry into the “beergate” scandal while the results were still coming in.

A jubilant Sir Keir still hailed the elections as a “big turning point” for his party, telling supporters in Barnet: “We’ve sent a message to the Prime Minister – Britain deserves better.”

Meanwhile, the Lib Dems gained more than 170 seats across England, seizing Woking from the Tories and Kingston upon Hull from Labour in their best showing for more than a decade.

Sir Ed Davey, its leader, said his party’s recent triumphs, including by-elections wins over the Tories in Chesham and Amersham and North Shropshire, were “an almighty shockwave that will bring this Conservative Government tumbling down”.

Despite their own setbacks in London and elsewhere, Tory MPS said the national result was not bad enough to prompt a flood of fresh no-confidence letters in Mr Johnson.

But they warned the Prime Minister he is “not out of the woods”, saying partygate and the cost of living were frequently raised on the doorstep and No 10 must respond by cutting taxes now.

Backbench ire was aimed at Mr Sunak, who helped force through the National Insurance rise and has argued against short-term tax cuts on fiscal responsibility grounds.

Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader, whose marginal London seat is under threat from Labour, said his party would suffer at the next general election unless it acts now.

“The Government has got to bite the bullet on this one and accept the fact we cannot both tighten monetary policy and fiscal policy at the same time because that is hurting people,” he told Times Radio. “We need to cut taxes to give people more room to ride out the shock of the cost of living crisis.

“The Treasury has been wrong on [that] it has to have National Insurance rises. We don’t need to raise National Insurance and we should cut that.”

Asked whether the Prime Minister should replace Mr Sunak to force through such changes, he replied: “We need a Chancellor that will do these things and therefore it’s up to government as to how that’s delivered.”

John Redwood, who served as a Cabinet minister under Margaret Thatcher, questioned why Mr Sunak is “making the UK the only advanced country to respond to a global cost of living crisis by increasing taxes”.

He represents the blue wall seat of Wokingham in Berkshire, where the Tories lost control of the council for the first time in 20 years after a Lib Dem surge.

Tory MP Marcus Fysh, whose Yeovil seat is also a target for Sir Ed Davey’s party, added: “I do not think the current team is capable of delivering a successful economic policy for the country.

“The set-up isn’t working and it needs to be changed. I’ve been trying to speak to the PM for three years. I will be speaking to colleagues about what needs to happen.”

Conservative rebels angered over the partygate scandal had pinpointed the local election results as a moment to renew their push to oust him from Downing Street.

But as the counts rolled in they were forced to admit the party’s showing, especially in its new Northern heartlands, was not anywhere near bad enough to cause a fresh mutiny.

Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the Commons defence committee, was the most senior MP to say Mr Johnson should resign in light of the losses.

He told the BBC: “I think we’re kidding ourselves if we think everything’s OK and we don’t need to learn from what is going on. We are haemorrhaging support in parts of the country.” Sir Roger Gale, who has submitted a no confidence letter, said the Prime Minister was “hanging on by his fingertips” even though the Tories performed “marginally better than some feared”.

The veteran MP for North Thanet said Mr Johnson had “a lot coming down the tracks” including the threat of more partygate fines and the full impact of inflation on family budgets.

Bim Afolami, his fellow backbencher, admitted partygate had been “incredibly damaging and difficult” for Conservative candidates and had led to a “protest vote” from supporters.

One Tory MP said the election mauling would be “another nail” in Mr Johnson’s coffin but they did not expect it to lead to a flood of new letters.

They said: “We’re going to face death by a thousand cuts lasting until autumn.”

Another said: “[I] don’t think it’s as bad as people were expecting.

“With regards to the Prime Minister, this isn’t life threatening for him at all.”

Mr Johnson said that he “of course” took personal responsibility for the bad results and admitted his party suffered “a tough night in some parts of the country”.