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Tuesday, 12 June, 2001, 16:32 GMT 17:32 UK
UUP top NI council poll
![]() UUP topped poll, but lost 31 council seats since 1997
All of Northern Ireland's 582 councillors have now been elected following two days of vote counting.
As expected, the Ulster Unionist Party has taken the highest number of seats with 154 councillors elected. However, it has lost 31 seats since the last local government election in 1997. Meanwhile, Sinn Fein and the DUP are both celebrating major increases in seats.
The SDLP lost three seats, securing 177, the Alliance Party has won 28 seats, with other parties taking 44. Although the numbers of seats differed quite dramatically between the four main parties, there was little between their share of the total poll.
The Alliance Party won just over 5% of the vote. The total number of first preference votes cast in the PR voting system was 790,068. Winners The DUP and Sinn Fein have reason to be cheerful about their parties' performances at the polls.
The same two parties have been the big winners in the local election. The SDLP won more council seats than Sinn Fein, but the rise in support for the republican party is giving the nationalist party cause for concern. While the SDLP managed to hold onto its three Westminster seats, Sinn Fein won two new seats and increased its share of the vote in both elections. Belfast veterans lose out Among those who failed to get re-elected in Belfast City Council was former Ulster Unionist Lord Mayor Fred Cobain.
Long-serving Ulster Unionist Fred Proctor and the former leader of the Alliance group Mervyn Jones also lost their seats. The SDLP's Carmel Hanna and Alban Maginness topped the poll in Belfast as did four Ulster Unionists - Michael McGimpsey, his brother Chris, Margaret Crooks and Bobby Stoker. However, the overall shape of the council has not changed. With the new councillors including 14 Sinn Fein members, 11 UUP, 10 DUP, nine SDLP, the Alliance Party, with three members, still holds the balance of power and will decide whether Sinn Fein can win its first Lord Mayor's post. Londonderry There was no overall change on Derry City Council either. Sinn Fein gained two seats but the SDLP are still the largest party. Donncha MacNiallais of Sinn Fein missed out on a seat.
There was a dramatic win for the SDLP's Mary Bradley, however. Popular with the party's grassroots supporters, she gained the highest number of first preference votes. Westminster runner loses seat There was a surprise in Newry and Mourne when Sinn Fein's Conor Murphy lost his seat. He polled well in the Newry and Mourne Westminster election, coming a close second behind sitting MP and SDLP deputy leader Seamus Mallon. In Fermanagh, Sinn Fein became the largest party on the council since the IRA bombing of Enniskillen in 1987. As the party leaders weigh up how they have fared, Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid has begun contacting them to assess where the election leaves the peace process. |
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08 Jun 01 | Northern Ireland
08 Jun 01 | Northern Ireland
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