Election summary

Local council elections mirrored many of the parties’ performances at Stormont. Emma Blee analyses the results.

The Alliance Party has emerged as the biggest winner of the local council elections, profiting from the misfortune of the UUP and SDLP.

It was a memorable election for the cross-community party, which increased its seats by 14 and doubled its representation in Belfast, again holding the balance of power.

The DUP and Sinn Féin were resilient and remain the dominant parties, accounting for 53 per cent of the council seats. While the DUP stays on top, its numbers were slightly down from 2005 with 175 seats compared to a previous total of 182. Sinn Féin followed behind with 138 seats, an increase of 12.

There were dire warnings for the UUP, though, when the party lost 16 seats across the province. Its most notable decrease was in Belfast where just three councillors were elected, down from seven in 2005. Former leadership candidate Basil McCrea announced that “the writing is on the wall” for the party but it did make gains in Banbridge and polled well in rural areas such as Fermanagh.

The SDLP also suffered losses as its seats fell by 14. However, Assembly member Conall McDevitt said the results were not as bad as expected: “We struggled in places but we have seen revival in others.”

Meanwhile, the TUV secured six seats, the Green Party took three and the PUP took two.

The continuing decline of unionism in the greater Belfast area (Belfast, Ards, Carrickfergus, Castlereagh, Newtownabbey and North Down) was palpable when 95 unionist councillors were elected compared to 106 councillors in 2005.

In Belfast City Council, the tally showed 24 nationalist seats, 21 unionist seats and six for Alliance. Unionists grouped together in a bid to become the largest bloc on the council but Sinn Féin, the SDLP and Alliance claimed the move was undemocratic.

Until now, top positions at the council were allocated on the strength of political groupings, not parties. However, at a special meeting of the council, it was decided that mayoral positions and committee chairmanships will now be given to the largest political party and not to the largest political grouping.

The largest party on the council is Sinn Féin with 16 representatives. Niall Ó Donnghaile was appointed as the council’s youngest Lord Mayor at 25 – just three weeks after he was elected onto the council.

Separately, the DUP lost overall control of Castlereagh council after Alliance and the Green Party made gains. The party agreed to a coalition with the UUP which means unionist councillors will now sit together and take a common whip.

Castlereagh’s Alliance group leader Geraldine Rice has condemned the move, claiming that the UUP “have for years been DUP lapdogs” and that “people realise a vote for the UUP is essentially a vote for the DUP.”

One election worker told agendaNi that turnout in Dee Street – in loyalist East Belfast – was as low as 25 per cent. In contrast, election turnout in the nationalist Upper Falls Road was 62.3 per cent.