A year ago the republican party moved the tectonic plates of politics in Northern Ireland when it became the largest party at Stormont for the first time. Sinn Féin ran 162 candidates in the council elections. It has also rebounded from a disappointing result last time in Derry and Strabane and looks on course to again be the largest party at Belfast City Hall. Faced with being overtaken by Sinn Fein as the largest party in councils, Sir Jeffrey raised concerns about lower voter turnout in unionist areas. Sinn Féin will use its updated mandate to call for direct action from the British and Irish governments to ensure that happens sooner rather than later.

Source: The Herald May 20, 2023 18:32 UTC