Northern Ireland Assembly election: Sinn Fein closes gap with DUP to single seat in Stormont vote

Sinn Fein has substantially cut the unionists' long-held long-held, albeit symbolic, majority Credit: PA

Northern Ireland's nationalists have made major gains in Stormont's snap election, with Sinn Fein cutting the unionists' long-held symbolic majority to a single seat.

The DUP marginally remained the largest party, securing 28 of 90 seats, one ahead of Sinn Fein with 27, in an election that saw the highest turnout since the Good Friday agreement was signed.

The nationalist SDLP took 12 seats, replacing the UUP, which took 10 seats, as the third largest party in the Assembly.

Alliance took eight seats, the Green Party two, People Before Profit one, Traditional Unionist Voice one, and one seat went to independent unionist Claire Sugden, a former justice minister.

  • What happens next?

  • The parties will now have three weeks in which to agree a power-sharing government.

  • If the deadline to agree a new power-sharing executive passes the government would be obliged to call another snap election.

  • There would also be the prospect of reintroducing direct rule from Westminster.

On Friday, Ulster Unionist leader Mike Nesbitt announced his resignation after the UUP's poor performance.

Mr Nesbitt did, however, hold onto his Assembly seat. Other high-profile Assembly members were not so lucky.

The SDLP's Alex Attwood, the UUP's Danny Kennedy, and the DUP's Nelson McCausland and Lord Morrow were four former Executive ministers who failed to secure a return to Stormont.

Ulster Unionist leader Mike Nesbitt quit over his party's poor showing Credit: PA

The number of Assembly seats has been reduced from 108 to 90, which made life harder for the parties.

While the DUP has seen its vote dip, the troubles that beset the UUP means it is still the main voice of unionism.

Party insiders will take some solace from that, given so much of the election campaign was focused on the party's handling of a botched green energy scheme.

The snap poll came about after Sinn Fein pulled the plug on the power-sharing institutions in protest at DUP first minister Arlene Foster's handling of the Renewable Heat Incentive - an error-riddled scheme that left Stormont facing a potential overspend of almost £500 million.