28/05/2019

Alliance Surge Marks Change In NI Politics

Alliance Party leader Naomi Long has said the surge in public support for her party demonstrates a significant change to politics in Northern Ireland.

It comes after she was elected to represent the region in the European Parliament, making history by securing a final count of 170,370 votes and taking the second MEP seat, alongside the DUP and Sinn Fein.

The battle for the final seat was expected to be a lot closer between Alliance and other candidates, including the SDLP and Ulster Unionists, however the cross-community party collected 115,000 more votes than they had received in the previous 2014 European election.

Speaking after the momentous moment she was elected, Mrs Long said: "I want to thank everyone who gave me their first preference vote, or who transferred to me – I take this seriously and I'll work hard to serve everyone in Northern Ireland.

"The past few weeks have proven that if you vote Alliance you can get Alliance. We went into this campaign with a clear message to remain with a people's vote, providing real solutions and willing to represent everyone, with people across Northern Ireland responding to that.

"The surge towards Alliance has marked a significant change to the dynamics of politics here, as for the first time in a Northern Ireland wide elected people everywhere have voted on the issues, not the orange and green division. This can only be a good thing as we move forward."

The result has shifted the balance to two pro-Remain MEPs, with 57% of first preference votes in Northern Ireland going to Remain candidates who also support the backstop.

The DUP, whose pro-Brexit candidate Diane Dodds was the first elected, saw a rise in first preference votes of 0.9%, while Sinn Fein's Martina Anderson saw a loss of 3.3% despite topping the poll.



(JG/CM)


Related Northern Ireland News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

28 November 2003
How the political parties fared in the 2003 Assembly election
UPDATE: The results by political party for the 2003 Northern Ireland Assembly election are as follows: 30 - Democratic Unionist Party (1998 - 20) 27 - Ulster Unionist Party (1998 - 28) 24 - Sinn Féin (1998 - 18) 18 - Social Democratic & Labour Party (1998 - 24) 6 - Alliance Party (1998 - 6) 1 - Progressive Unionist Party (1998 - 2) 1 - UK Un
06 May 2005
Counting of votes continues in Northern Ireland
With the first results expected to be announced by mid-afternoon, at around 2.15pm the first MP elected was in West Belfast. Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams retained a substantial 19,315 majority over his nearest rival the SDLP's Alex Atwood who polled 5,033 in the West Belfast constituency.
14 June 2004
DUP and SF claim two of three MEP seats
The DUP and Sinn Fein have secured the first two out of three possible MEP seats at this year's European Elections. The DUP's Jim Allister topped the poll with 175,761 first preference votes while Sinn Fein's Bairbre de Brun secured 144,541 votes.
03 May 2019
Early Results Filter In As Local Election Counts Continue
The Alliance and Green Parties are celebrating early successes today, Friday 03 May, as the local election counts continue. The Green Party's Aine Groogan topped the poll in Botanic but it is not yet confirmed if she will get a seat.
15 June 2004
Political talks aim to kick-start review
Talks aimed at kick-starting the local political process are due to resume today following yesterday's European election results. The main political parties have been invited to the talks which are being chaired by British and Irish ministers at Stormont on Tuesday.