Sinn Fein hails 'new era' as it wins Northern Ireland vote

And the English tabloids are using headlines such as "stokes fears of a united Ireland"....

The only people who fear a reunified Ireland are the English colonists in London!

I wish to see a reunification of Ireland during my lifetime and I hope to see serious talks happening within the next 5 years with regards to holding a referendum for a reunification of Ireland. Because I will vote YES!!

My oh my, there are a lot of Lesser Spotted Followbacks around on this site, still crying about the fact that we sent the useless and corrupt Brussels bureaucrats packing. Get a life.

Oh Perfidious Albion. When will you learn? The Empire’s over. Now you really are just an island off the coast of the economy that matters…

This is not the result of Sinn Fein’s achievements. They’ve actually lost a seat compared to the previous 3 assemblies. Its not a sign of a shift in global politics.

It’s just more Brexit fallout.

I'm Irish but I can't see reunification anytime soon.

Don't think the " if you don't like it leave" attitude would be much help either.

After 20 years of relative peace, most people have moved on from petty tribalism and now focus on which parties will provide the best government.

The fact that Eire is a progressive open society will hopefully assuage the members of the "other" community.

It's perverse looking at a map and seeing the island of Ireland divided.

Need to work on a way to fix that but in a way that keeps as many people happy as possible.

No flag waving or "we won"

Just a grown up attitude.

My oh my, there are a lot of Lesser Spotted Followbacks around on this site, still crying about the fact that we sent the useless and corrupt Brussels bureaucrats packing. Get a life.

How’s your cost of living crisis going?

This is a consequence of Brexit. The UK government promised that there wouldn't be a border between NI and the mainland. It then threw NI under a bus and implemented one to bodge a deal with the EU.

Johnson's problem is that he could sell Brexit to enough people to get it through, but he cannot sell the consequential damage that it causes - inflation, shortages of food, goods and staff and other restrictions. And all this will only get worse, especially when product registration diverges, and vast amounts of stuff with the CE mark is no longer available in the UK, probably next year. There is a lesson there for other nationalists planning similar projects, which they will undoubtedly ignore.

Whichever way you saw Brexit, it is clear to anyone being sincere and grown-up that one of the consequences is fuel to parties like Sinn Fein.

To just dismiss this as the wails of the remoaners or whatever is just childish and/or ignorant.

It’s just more Brexit fallout.

It's a repudiation of the DUP.

They’ve actually lost a seat compared to the previous 3 assemblies.

Actually, Bob, the total number of Assembly seats was reduced from 108 to 90 for the 2017 elections.

Sinn Féin's 2011 high was 29 (27% of seats). Today it's at 27 (30% of seats), unchanged from 2017. Its first preference vote share this time was 29% versus the DUP's 21%.

What has changed utterly is that the world - especially the British public - will see a paradigm shift in Belfast's relations with London.

Pro-British Unionists and Irish Nationalists are now essentially toe-to-toe on numbers at 40% each. The former camp is ageing; the latter has a younger demographic.

The remainder 20% is malleable on remaining in the UK versus a United Ireland. These hearts and minds will shape the brighter future the island of Ireland so richly deserves.

still crying about the fact that we sent the useless and corrupt Brussels bureaucrats packing. Get a life.

Get a life outside of the UK if you can. Useless and corrupt isn’t going anywhere, as anyone with a pair of eyes or ears would know.

Unless you like blue passports and the Daily Mail, then carry on as you are, stuff upper lip and all that.

Sinn Fein's victory belies the duplicitous pre-Brexit mantra of "Taking Back Control". Johnson's "Getting Brexit Done" now appears to be on the slippery slope, on a fast track leading to the "oven-ready" unification of Ireland, the independence of Scotland, and a further boost to Welsh devolution from the "Saeson". The rotten, Tory-riddled UK seems rudderless, now more than ever, as Johnson's Tories start to scramble for the life boats as their listing ship of state heads straight for the iceberg of Karma. What a legacy of wanton destruction Bojo's incompetence and corruption leaves behind for others to pick up the pieces. Still, Good on the Irish!

What a legacy of wanton destruction Bojo's incompetence and corruption leaves behind for others to pick up the pieces.

Save some of your bile for Nigel Farage. He is the primary reason there was a referendum and was largely responsible for going low blaming the UKs problems on immigrants. Remember his "Breaking Point" poster. Bojo just surfed the resulting tidal wave of xenophobic feces to ride into the PMs office. Cowabunga dude, hang ten to Number 10, Downing Street. Just hold your nose from the stink!

@ Desert Tortoise

Can't disagree about that nasty piece of work, Farage, it's just that I can't bear to think of that oleaginous snake-oil salesman, see his smug, mendacious mug, hear his voice or even mention of his name without its sending me off into a rant. But in the end, it's on the voters who never learned the meaning of caveat emptor.

@buchailldana

I'm Irish but I can't see reunification anytime soon.

Don't think the " if you don't like it leave" attitude would be much help either.

Then you will know the history of Eire better than most.

And you will know how the minority Catholics in the North have been and still are persecuted by the majority Protestant contingent.

And you will know the divisive process of Gerrymandering and presently, how the English press are attempting to link today’s Sinn Fein with the atrocities of the past when there is no such connection.

And there has been much more that has been done to keep the Irish down but at least the 26 counties have been free since 1922 and how well Ireland has progressed since then.

So, the win for Sinn Fein shows the political will of the people that want a change for the better in the North.

The time for allegiance to a foreign power in the 6 counties is coming to an end.

Those that don’t want that status quo will have to leave of their own free will unlike over a million Irish that in the past, had no choice…

The British are the weakest link,who want to be rule by fail empire

Its easy to just throw in numbers that are not factual e.g. writing that "They’ve actually lost a seat compared to the previous 3 assemblies." Thats simply untrue.

Here are the actual, simple, correct and verifiable facts about that election that I have checked and double-cheked.

Sinn Fein entered the Stormont election a little over 1,000 first preference votes behind the DUP and emerged around 66,000 ahead of its unionist rivals.

Sinn Fein ended the election with the same number of seats it started with – 27, but Sinn Fein’s vote share was up more than one point to 29%. .

The DUP vote shared dropped by 6.7 to 21.3%. Its first preference votes were down by around 40,000 on 2017.

It dropped three seats from the 28 it won in 2017, ending the election with 25 (it entered the election with 27 after one sitting MLA quit the party last year).

This is a consequence of Brexit.

Brexit changed everything.

It then threw NI under a bus and implemented (a sea border) to bodge a deal with the EU.

Boris threw the DUP under a bus. There's a huge distinction. They are not NI.

My oh my, there are a lot of Lesser Spotted Followbacks around on this site, still crying about the fact that we sent the useless and corrupt Brussels bureaucrats packing. Get a life.

Can you name just one tangible diplomatic, economic or social benefit of Brexit?

As for those beautiful, brave blue passports... printed in Poland by a French firm.

Oh, the Schadenfreude!

That's interesting.

Northern Ireland would be wise to ditch BREXIT, and unify with Ireland.

Unification with the republic?

“Today ushers in a new era,” Sinn Fein vice-president Michelle O’Neill said shortly before the final results were announced. “Irrespective of religious, political or social backgrounds, my commitment is to make politics work."

Not quite straight forward is it. Certainly not out of reach though.

Certainly, Johnsons hated withdrawal agreement, with it ghastly NI protocol has politically brought the whole unification prospect closer.

However, the Good Friday Agreement states the secretary of state for Northern Ireland is bound to announce a referendum “if at any time it appears likely to him that a majority of those voting would express a wish that Northern Ireland should cease to be part of the United Kingdom and form part of a united Ireland”.

Vague/ambiguous any UK government is afforded huge latitude.

Decision could be based on a number of options, election results, opinion polls, a Stormont vote, worst the use of data from focus groups.

Then a number of questions that would need to be answered prior to a vote

Stormont? How would the civil rights of a new Protestant and unionist minority be guaranteed? How would the republic absorb the loss of Britain’s annual £17bn grant? How could the health, welfare and education systems be converged, the costs reconciled? That is before pensions and British citizenship.

Sinn Féin is insisting that Dublin push for an all-Ireland people’s assembly approach to explore these questions. On top of Northern Ireland’s toxic sectarian politics. There is Johnson’s government indifference/ignorance of, Northern Ireland.

Seriously many Westminster politicians struggle to explain the difference between nationalists and unionists. Boris Johnson once associated the boarder as crossing the congestion charge boundary in London.

What is not cherished and valued is lost forever.

I firmly believe Jeremy Corbyn will be the next Prime Minister of U.K.

Give Ireland back to the Irish.

End the occupation.

Boris Johnson proposed a bridge, then a tunnel, what is left a boarder down the Irish Sea!

A boarder Johnson repeatedly promised and pledged wouldn't happen.

Then the referendum campaign, can you imagine what that will look like the drum beating, the flag waving.

Don't be fooled into believing such a referendum has any comparisons with the UK exit from EU.

Northern Ireland’s fragile peace process could be wrecked at the cross on a ballot paper.

Britian has been occupying Ireland for 800 plus years until they were being kicked out after World War 1 and final recognition of Independence in 1949. But the British still holding Northern Ireland until now, it us time to get back that part of stolen land, too long!

If the Northern Ireland Unionists don’t like the idea of one unified country,then they can always cross the sea to Britain where their ancestors can from.

Like it then stay!

Dont like it then go!

Reunification now!

My oh my, there are a lot of Lesser Spotted Followbacks around on this site, still crying about the fact that we sent the useless and corrupt Brussels bureaucrats packing. Get a life.

I have never been a supporter of unions of this nature, sorry not the UK or the EU.

The people, citizens need to hold there politicians responsible accountable, and be able to breath down the necks of the elected mandated leadership. Federalism is knocking on the door the EU.

Although I am afraid Boris Johnson has been a dismal failure.

Sinn Fein wants a united Ireland only then to ultimately hand the ability to enact laws and sovereignty to the Council of the European Union