Sir Jeffrey Donaldson receives personal endorsement as Alliance secure two seats

Following a challenging election campaign, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson received a sizeable personal endorsement in his home constituency of Lagan Valley.

Sir Jeffrey polled more than 12,600 votes, more than 4,000 higher than any other candidate.

However, the constituency proved to be yet another area where the Alliance Party surge was evident, with the party securing two seats for the first time.

Both of their candidates, Sorcha Eastwood and David Honeyford, were elected to Stormont.

Sir Jeffrey’s transfers helped to secure the election of his running mate, former first minister Paul Givan, who gained just over 5,000 first preference votes.

Ulster Unionist deputy leader Robbie Butler defied a difficult night for his party by polling well, with his 8,242 votes placing him second in first preferences behind Sir Jeffrey and just ahead of Ms Eastwood.

However, the UUP’s hopes of taking a second seat in the area, which includes the city of Lisburn, were dashed when his running mate Laura Turner was eliminated.

The results ensured the SDLP’s Pat Catney, who had taken the last seat in the 2017 election, was squeezed out, depriving Stormont of one of its larger personalities.

Following his election, Sir Jeffrey delivered a message to Boris Johnson that he needed to deal with the Northern Ireland Protocol.

He said: “My message this evening is directed towards the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State and the Government at Westminster, they are co-guarantors of the (Good Friday) Agreement and they have the opportunity to act to ensure that political stability is restored.

“I recognise that we have our differences, particularly in relation to the protocol, but I think we all accept that this is a problem that needs to be addressed and the sooner it is addressed the better for all of us.”

Ms Eastwood said: “This has been a good day for Alliance, but an even better day for Northern Ireland.”