Smaller parties enjoy surge in support in Northern Ireland local elections

There has been a surge in support for Northern Ireland’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 country, which saw its representation jump by 65%.

However, the political landscape in Northern Ireland stays much the same as the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) remains the country’s largest.

Sinn Fein 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.

“It has completely transformed the party and I am excited about where the party can go from here.”

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 Northern Ireland’s capital.

The party doubled its representation and now has eight seats.

The Ulster Unionist Party suffered some of its biggest causalities with the loss of high-profile Belfast councillor Jeff Dudgeon.

In a disastrous election for his party in Belfast, Mr Dudgeon was eliminated on the third stage of the count.

The party now has 75 council seats, a loss of 13 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 to its representation after losing over half of their seats. The party have 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.

In Omagh, a former MP who resigned after angering relatives of 10 Protestants shot dead in a sectarian massacre won a council seat.

It was posted on his Twitter account on the anniversary of the Kingsmill atrocity, which saw 10 workmen shot dead by republicans in Co Armagh on January 5 1976.

DUP leader Arlene Foster said she did not believe Mr McElduff has recognised the hurt and pain he caused to victims in Northern Ireland.

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, who attracted 1,787 votes.

In further controversy, Mrs Foster said she will consider comments made by former health minister Jim Wells about the DUP’s first openly gay councillor in Northern Ireland.

It comes after Mr Wells said his former leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, would have been “aghast” at the decision to run gay DUP candidate Alison Bennington.

The DUP’s founder once led a campaign to, in his words, “Save Ulster from Sodomy” and prevent the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

Mrs Foster said Mr Wells should not have made the comments to the media.

Independent republican councillor Gary Donnelly topped the poll in the Moor district electoral area of Derry City and Strabane District Council.

He is considered one of the public faces of dissident republicanism in Northern Ireland.

Mr Donnelly’s election comes weeks after dissident republicans murdered journalist Lyra McKee during disturbances in Londonderry.