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Sinn Fein’s Mickey Brady holds Newry and Armagh while DUP’s Carla Lockhart takes Upper Bann

Terrible night for the UUP in both constituencies with Alliance Party making gains

Mickey Brady Newry

Sinn Fein’s Mickey Brady has reclamed his seat as the MP for Newry and Armagh.

He beat the DUP’s Willie Irwin by 9,287 votes, taking 20,287 votes ahead of 11,000.

Pete Byrne of the SDLP was third on 9,449 and Alliance Party candidate Jackie Coade came fourth, with 4,211.

Sam Nicholson came in in fifth place with 4,204 votes, the Ulster Unionist Party’s worst ever General Election result in this constituency, ahead of Aontu’s Martin Kelly, who polled 1,628 and lost his deposit. Turnout was 62.5 per cent.

In Upper Bann, Carla Lockhart was a clear winner for the DUP.

She polled 20,501 votes to hold the seat vacated by the DUP’s outgoing MP David Simpson.

She was followed in second place by Sinn Fein’s John O’Dowd on 12,291.

Alliance Party candidate Eoin Tennyson beat Ulster Unionist hopeful Doug Beattie into third place, polling 6,433 and 6,197 respectively, while the SDLP’s Dolores Kelly took 4,623 votes. The turnout for Upper Bann was 60.4 per cent.

The first-time MP took to twitter to thank those who had shown their support at the ballot box and pledged: “To those who didn’t vote for me I am still your MP and I will endeavour to represent you as best I can.”

Elsewhere in Northern Ireland, the DUP’s Nigel Dodds lost his seat to Sinn Fein’s John Finucane in North Belfast, losing out to the Belfast Lord Mayor by almost 2,000 votes, polling 21,135 to 23,078.

And Claire Hanna, of the SDLP, took the DUP seat from Emma Little Pengelly in South Belfast.

The Alliance Party’s Stephen Farry took the seat held by the Ulster Unionists until Lady Sylvia Hermon stepped down in North Down.

And in Doyle, SDLP leader Colum Eastwood took the constituency from Sinn Fein’s Elisha McCallion.

Jim Shannon is returned as the DUP MP for Strangford

Orfhlaith Begley took West Tyrone for Sinn Fein, holding on to the seat she won in a by-election in May 2018 following the resignation of Barry McElduff, before colleagues Paul Maskey reclaimed his seat in West Belfast and Francie Molloy in Mid-Ulster. Chris Hazzard is back in South Down.

The DUP’s Gregory Campbell reclaimed his seat in East Londonderry, Gavin Robisnson in East Belfast and Sammy Wilson in East Antrim, while South Antrim was held by party colleague Paul Girvan, Lagan Valley by Jeffrey Donaldson and Ian Paisley Junior reclaimed his seat in North Antrim.

The last of the 18 Northern Ireland seats declared was in Fermanagh and South Tyrone and came shortly before 7am.

Sinn Fein’s Michelle Gildernew held on to the constituency, with 21,986 votes, just 57 ahead of the Ulster Unionist choice Tom Elliott, the result declared after a recount.

The Conservatives won an overall majority as Boris Johnson held the reins of power, taking his 326th seat to claim a majoity, at around 5am on Friday, and Jeremy Corbyn prepared to quit, saying he would not the Labour Party into the next General Election. Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson stepped down after losing her seat in East Dunbartonshire.

 

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