Sinn Féin is the largest Westminster party in NI

Sinn Féin is now the largest party in the council, the Assembly and Westminster in Northern Ireland.

The nationalist party, which did not take a seat in the House of Commons, has seven seats after Thursday’s UK general election – the same number as in 2019.

Its leader, Mary Lou McDonald, said it was time to “build a new future together on this island”.

The party came out on top after a disappointing night for the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

The DUP has eight seats in 2019 and returns in 2024 with five.

The top victim in Thursday’s vote was Ian Paisley, who lost their North Antrim seat his father first won in 1970.

In the Lagan Valley, Sorcha Eastwood of the Alliance Party took the seat held by former DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson since 1997.

Robin Swann of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) won South Antrim at the expense of the DUP’s Paul Girvan.

For Sinn Féin, there was a 4.2% increase in vote share compared to the general election five years ago.

The party also welcomes new faces, including Dáire Hughes and Cathal Mallaghan.

Former Royal College of Nursing leader Pat Cullen, a prominent figure in the British health strike, is returning to Sinn Féin in Fermanagh and South Tyrone.

Ms McDonald said Sinn Féin was “determined to build a constructive relationship with the new Labor government”.

He said his party expected the new prime minister “to uphold the Good Friday Agreement, helped by Labour, ensuring political, legal and constitutional guarantees are respected”.

DUP leader Gavin Robinson, who retained his seat in Belfast East, rejected suggestions that the election result strengthened the argument towards Irish unity, saying there was “no support for a border poll”.

Mr Robinson admitted the result was not what the party had hoped for and called for “greater cohesion” among unions.

View the national picture, The Labor Party won a landslide victorywith Sir Keir Starmer installed as the new prime minister.

There was a collapse of 250 seats for the Conservatives, with gains for the Liberal Democrats and UK Reform.

Northern Ireland’s first minister and first deputy spoke to Sir Keir on Friday night.

First Minister Michelle O’Neill said: “We discussed a number of critical issues including the challenging budget situation.

“We insist that the UK government must put in place the right funding model to deliver the public services our citizens deserve.”

Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said it was a “constructive discussion”.

“We also talked about the benefits of building a positive working relationship and strengthening the relationship between the NI Executive and the UK government going forward,” he said.

Ian Paisley losing his seat in North Antrim was a political earthquake that no one saw coming.

For 54 years, the seat was a family dynasty, synonymous with the Paisley name – and the entire DUP.

It was held by DUP founder Rev Ian Paisley from 1970 before his eponymous son succeeded him in 2010.

But it will now be TUV leader Jim Allister representing North Antrim in the House of Commons.

The alliance with Reform UK appears to be faltering after its leader Nigel Farage personally endorsed Paisley.

But the TUV’s objection to the DUP’s deal to restore Stormont seems to have been cut through, enabling Allister to overthrow the DUP’s majority in the party’s heartland.

For Allister, dismissed by the DUP as a “dead unionist”, this will be the sweetest of victories.

The first seismic results of the night came in Lagan Valley, where Sorcha Eastwood became the first woman in the constituency and the first non-unionist MP.

He defeated the DUP’s Jonathan Buckley, who contested the election instead of Sir Jeffrey, who has been charged with a history of sex offenses, which he denied.

Ms Eastwood said she was delighted with the victory, adding the party’s result was a “huge achievement”.

“I’m a Lagan Valley girl born and bred,” she added.

Mr Buckley said “boundary change” and “divided unionism” lost seats.

In North Antrim, in the main upset, the DUP’s Ian Paisley lost the North Antrim seat for Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) leader Jim Allister, who described the result as “seismic”.

The TUV, which is aligned with Reform UK, has been highly critical of the DUP’s deal to bring the party back into the fold of governing in Northern Ireland.

The Social Democratic and Labor Party (SDLP) returned with two MPs, Colum Eastwood in Foyle and Claire Hanna in Belfast South and Mid Down.

Robin Swann’s victory in South Antrim means the UUP has its first MP since 2017.

He resigned as Stormont health minister for the race, which party leader Doug Beattie called “strategic planning”.

In North Down, there is a return to the independent unionist vote at Westminster.

Alex Easton, formerly of the DUP, defeated Alliance Party deputy leader Stephen Farry.

Elsewhere, here’s who has been elected in Northern Ireland:

• Sinn Féin’s Cathal Mallaghan was the first Northern Ireland MP to be elected, who was polled on Mid Ulster
• DUP leader Gavin Robinson retained his seat East Belfast despite the challenge of Alliance leader Naomi Long
• His colleague Sorcha Eastwood won in Lagan Valley, a seat long held by the DUP
• The DUP’s Carla Lockhart, Sammy Wilson and Jim Shannon retained their seats Bann above, East Antrim and Strangford respectively
• Gregory Campbell of the party also detained him East Londonderry seat, but came after a surprisingly close battle with Sinn Féin’s Kathleen McGurk
• Sinn Féin’s Órfhlaith Begley remained in his seat West Tyrone like Chris Hazzard’s party colleague Down SouthJohn Finucane North Belfast and Paul Maskey West Belfast. Dáire Hughes also won for Sinn Féin Newry and Armagh, replacing Mickey Brady who chose not to run
• Former nurses union leader Pat Cullen held Fermanagh and South Tyrone for Sinn Féin
• The SDLP’s Claire Hanna also held her seat South Belfast and Mid Down as Colum Eastwood’s party leader Foyle

In total, 136 candidates are standing in Northern Ireland in the first general election since 2019.

It is operated as the first time through the post, which means that voters put an X in the box next to one candidate they want to be elected to the House of Commons.

The number of registered voters in Northern Ireland is the largest in a general election – 1,363,961.

However, turnout was 57%, down 4.5% from 2019.