What Sinn Fein's historic election win means for Northern Ireland

ITV News Correspondent Peter Smith takes in the reaction from a dramatic, historic day

Sinn Fein are history makers.

They have just become the first ever Irish nationalist party - standing for a united Ireland and against British rule - to win an election in Northern Ireland.

It is all the more extraordinary given the historical context.

Sinn Fein is long linked to the Provisional IRA, commonly referred to as the terror group’s “political wing” during the violent Troubles era.

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They have undoubtedly walked a long path since then to get to this point. But the idea Sinn Fein would be in a position to nominate an Irish republican as First Minister of Northern Ireland was still unthinkable not so long ago.

Now it is the reality.

This historic election does not, however, trigger a border poll on a united Ireland. The Good Friday Agreement spells out that power remains in the hands of the Northern Ireland secretary, not any one party.

The result is also unlikely to deliver a functioning government for people in Northern Ireland.

The biggest nationalist party is supposed to share power with the biggest unionist party. 

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In this case that would be Sinn Fein nominating a First Minister and the DUP nominating a Deputy First Minister, each with equal authority.

But the DUP is already posturing to pull out. 

They are protesting against the Brexit Protocol that has created an effective sea border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK - an obscenity to their unionist ideals, and their voter base.

Indeed it was the DUP’s inability to stop the Protocol that partly cost them unionist votes and inadvertently opened the door for a Sinn Fein victory - something Boris Johnson probably didn’t envisage when he spoke about a “Brexit dividend.”

The DUP is now demanding the Protocol is repealed in the Queen’s Speech this week. If it’s not, they are threatening to boycott the next Stormont Assembly.

Without a Deputy from the biggest Unionist party, there can be no First Minister from Sinn Fein - that’s just how Northern Ireland’s political system works.

In that case, this Sinn Fein victory would be largely symbolic for the time being. 

Still, what it symbolises cannot be ignored. 

This result is a reflection of change on the island of Ireland - change that’s no longer on the horizon, but already here.