Sinn Fein Becomes Largest Northern Ireland Party In UK Parliament For The First Time (image@MaryLouMcDonaldTD)

For the first time, Irish nationalists Sinn Fein became Northern Ireland’s largest party in UK Parliament. The party came first by capitalising on a poor election for its main unionist rival to cross another milestone in a campaign to end British rule.

Sinn Fein overtook the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), whose losses also included Ian Paisley Jr., the son of former Northern Ireland First Minister and party founder Ian Paisley. The father and son had been holding the Westminster seat since 1970.

This victory marked the electoral clean sweep for Sinn Fein, which became the first nationalist party to win the most seats at the regional assembly in 2022. The party also won at local council polls last year.

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The party’s northern Ireland’s first minister, Michelle O’Neill told BBC that, “there’s no doubt the landscape is changing on our island”.

Despite its long-standing policy of not attending the parliament, the former political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) retained seven of Northern Ireland’s 18 seats of Westminster.

After the shock resignation of leader Jeffrey Donaldson three months ago, who has been charged over historical sex offences, the DUP fell to five seats from eight, its worst result since 2001. It was under pressure from hard-line unionists over a deal it struck with the British government to ease post-Brexit trade rules. The deal has enabled restoration of Northern Ireland’s devolved assembly after a two-year unionist boycott.

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For Sinn Fein, the victory offered a relief after its ambition of governing both sides of the Irish border suffered a setback when it saw a commanding three-year opinion poll lead in the Republic of Ireland collapse at local council elections.