so, mike nesbitt has fallen on his sword.r of the uup in march 2012, embracing his wife, lynda bryans, march 2012, embracing his wife, lynda brya ns, the march 2012, embracing his wife, lynda bryans, the former presenter, and his son, pj. at the park avenue hotel in east belfast. i have a panel of guests who will reflect on mathematical development, it has to be said. john mccallister, in march 2012 he defeated you for that position. how do you feel as the person who lost out to him, witnessing him announcing his resignation? i get no pleasure from this because i have not been in politics, having tasted success and defeat, whether it is going for party leader or indeed in the election last year, it is tough. and he is right to thank his family, families make huge sacrifices that politicians can do jobs like this with. 0ften politicians can do jobs like this with. often it is discounted or overlooked. i do feel for mike nesbitt, it was an honourable decision, i do not know that he had any great choice. it comes back to definin

i think mike nesbitt jumped before he done as a leader. in the coming days. thanks very much. we are going to have a good chat with members of my panel in a moment but before that, let's look at the overall state of the parties and bits and bobs to look at with mark simpson. it is shaping up to be the closest assembly election in history. more than 80 of 90 seats have been filled, including quite a few in the last couple of minutes. i don't even know what will pop up but we will give it a go. what i know for sure is the biggest party is still sinn fein with 26, only two fewer than the party got last time even though it isa the party got last time even though it is a small assembly. how close are the dup? how many seats have a? 25. only one seat behind. it is a long way from the 38 they got last time and it is also short of the magic 30 mark but the dup are creeping up on sinn fein. who is in third place at the moment? it is on the nationalist side, the sdlp, with 11 seats. i suppose, no big deal in terms of gains for the sdlp, but colin ea

mike nesbitt said this felt different on the doorstep and yet the uup has failed to deliver.ve really failed to deliver. i do wonder whether there is room for a smaller party within either electoral block now. frankly, if you area electoral block now. frankly, if you are a strong unionist, you vote dup. if you are — what is the future of the uup and sdlp? the idea of going into opposition was not a bad one, stormont needed an opposition but it's not working on the doorstep. the only good election result the uup have had in the last few years is when they went into a pan—unionist front at a westminster election in 2015, everything else has been, frankly, mediocre in terms of elections, they're going to have to have a new strategy and maybe a new leader. is there an obvious successoi’, new leader. is there an obvious successor, though, if he decides it's not worth carrying on? not really. thank you very much. we will leave it there. more from you later. thank you very much, tara. let's cross over to north antrim and speak to the tuv leaderjim allister whojoins us from speak to

in strangford, mike nesbitt is in a battle there.gford is one of the places we will say is the dup vote has been holding up or if the alliance party can make inroads because of mike nesbitt‘s mention of tra nsfer votes. because of mike nesbitt‘s mention of transfer votes. it will be fascinating to see as the votes coming, how do sinn fein is doing regarding the dup. will they end up with a similar number of seats and be on with a similar number of seats and beona with a similar number of seats and be on a more equal footing compared to the last assembly? still long way to the last assembly? still long way to go but very interesting results so far. back to you in studio. indeed, thank you very much. we will be back with the needs throughout the afternoon. now we will check out the afternoon. now we will check out the weather. good afternoon. all eyes on the weather. there will be some drier and brighter spells but green is never far away. it could and brighter spells but green is neverfar away. it could be heavy at times. this picture

their leader mike nesbitt saying he will go because of those results.unity alliance party, eight seats, holding onto the same number of seats. interestingly they could become power brokers in northern ireland. other smaller parties and an independent making up the additionalfive parties and an independent making up the additional five seats. so what does all this mean and what happens next? well, the parties, the assembly members return to stormont on monday. they then theoretically have three weeks, taking us up to the 27th of march. at the end of which they are supposed to elect a new first minister and deputy first minister in order to allow devolved government to return to northern ireland. i don't think you'll find many people who will say this can somehow miraculously be sold and all theissues somehow miraculously be sold and all the issues between the two parties resolved within that three—week period. lots of people are suggesting that there needs to be a pause, a longer period of negotiation. among them are very senior unionist figure, lord tri

the leader of the ulster unionists, mike nesbitt, stood down because of their poor performance.e up to the leaders of sinn fein and the dup to draw battle lines in the inevitable negotiations to try and form a government. chris buckler, bbc news, belfast. 0ne one of the most senior politicians in unionist politics, david trimble, he was speaking on the today programme, he was asked his views on what he thought would happen next in the process due to begin on monday, and he said, things may take time but he hoped that the parties and the government could find more time and space for the parties to negotiate rather than return to direct rule. i suggest it would be a goodidea direct rule. i suggest it would be a good idea that the secretary of state for northern ireland rushed through a piece of legislation to give the parties more time. in the belfast agreement, there was more time when the dup and sinn fein did their original deal. they reduced their original deal. they reduced the time for the formation of an administration. that is going to come back and bite them now. i'm join

the leader of the ulster unionists, mike nesbitt, stood down because of their poor performance. to the leaders of sinn fein and the dup to draw battle lines in the inevitable negotiations to try and form a government. chris buckler, bbc news, belfast. getting noisier here, if you are wondering what that is, quite a party developing to my right. people gathering to mark international women's day. talk about what happens next for politics in northern ireland. this three—week negotiation period takes is up to march 27. if at the end of that a first minister and deputy first minister are not appointed then in theory the northern ireland secretary james brokenshire has a number of options. that includes suspension of the assembly, possibly calling another election, direct rule from westminster although the westminster government certainly doesn't want that. that would take new legislation. 0r that. that would take new legislation. or perhaps he can find a way to buy some time. one senior politician, lord trimble, former leader of the ulster unionist party, suggested this morning when

and within the last hour the ulster unionist leader mike nesbitt has announced he is to resign, saying and he had to take responsibility for what happened. inafew in a few minutes time we will be live in belfast, to get the very latest news and the results, that is ina latest news and the results, that is in a special northern ireland election programme. in the meantime we can have a look at what is leading the papers tomorrow. the times says theresa may is set to reject demands by the eu to pay a £50 billion "divorce settlement" after brexit. the express is leading with the same story. it says government lawyers have indicated britain can quit the eu for free. the telegraph says there will be a crackdown on companies using small print, that will be in next week's budget from philip hammond. the i weekend has an interview with ukip donor arron banks who says he'll stand against the party's only mp to get rid of him. the mirror leads with sir bruce forsyth‘s health scare after he was treated for five days in intensive care for a chest infection. the daily mail has the story of a mother

the leader of the ulster unionists, mike nesbitt, stood down because of their poor performance. be up to the leaders of sinn fein and the dup to draw battle lines in the inevitable negotiations to try and form a government. chris butler, bbc news, belfast. the uk may be able to leave the european union without paying a penny. that's the view of constitution experts in the house of lords today. our political correspondent ellie pricejoins us now from our london newsroom. ellie, it's been reported that the eu might demand a so—called "divorce bill" of billions of pounds. what do peers say about that? if brexit is a divorce, then we are talking about the alimony. we are talking about the alimony. we are talking about the eu budget, some of the parts of that that britain has signed for. who is going to pay britain's contribution, contribution to staff pensions and so on. £52 billion, but estimates vary how much that will would end up being. but what this report suggests today is that there is no legal obligation for the british government to pay anything when whaley. but, and it a b

the leader of the ulster union is mike nesbitt stood down because of their poor performance. be up to the leaders of sinn fein and the dup to draw battlelines in the inevitable negotiations to try to form a government. joining us from belfast newsroom is our correspondent gillian hargreaves. just put this result in context for us. just put this result in context for us. well what happens now is the assembly members arrive at stormont on monday morning for what is described as a reception date and then the hard work begins because sinn fein and the democratic unionist party have to find a way forward to negotiate so they can work together to run northern ireland's affairs once more. they cannot agree on fundamental things like, should the uk have exeter the eu, or should it have stayed? —— exited. there is an irish language bill that sinn fein is keen on and the dup is not. they have three weeks to sort this out. if they cannot agree a way forward by 27 march of the secretary of state in the westminster government on the james brokenshire, has three options, he can either give

this evening, the ulster unionist leader mike nesbitt stepped down, taking responsibility for his party'sa picture—perfect campaign for sinn fein‘s michelle 0'neill. some claim arlene foster may also have motivated republicans to vote, having compared them to crocodiles during the campaign. but it is sinn fein who have benefited most from this snap election. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: are we there yet? all eyes on animal adventure park in new york state. millions watching on the internet wait for april the giraffe to give birth. first the plates slipped gently off the restaurant tables. then suddenly the tables, the chairs and people crashed sideways and downwards and it was a matter of seconds before the ferry lurched onto her side. the hydrogen bomb on a remote pacific atoll. the americans had successfully tested a weapon whose explosive force dwarfed that of the bomb dropped on hiroshima. i had heard the news earlier and so my heart went bang and bang. the constitutional rights of these marchers have their rights as citizens of the united states and they should be protect

ulster unionist party have seven, in one of the dramatic turns to this day so far their leader mike nesbittn because of his party's performance in these elections. he had appealed to people to vote across traditional community lines and transfer their votes to other parties who he said would bring about change in northern ireland politics. but it doesn't look like were going to get change, is the bottom line, because it looks like sinn fein and the dup will still be the largest parties and a number of the smaller ones have collected around nine seats between them. we are seeing an increasingly polarised electorate. remind us why these elections are so important. these elections are so important because they are about the future of devolved government in northern ireland. in the past, we have had direct rule from westminster and thatis direct rule from westminster and that is one of the possible options on the table if, when the members of the assembly elected this weekend, when they return to stormont, the seat of the devolved government on monday, to begin a process of negotiations, they h

this evening the ulster unionist mike nesbitt stepped down, taking responsibility for his party's pooren a picture—perfect campaign for sinn fein‘s michelle 0'neill. some claim arlene foster may have squandered the republicans‘ vote, having compared them to crocodiles during the campaign. sinn fein benefited most in this snap election. the human remains of infants and children have been uncovered at a former home for single mothers and babies in ireland. forensic scientists say they've identified significant numbers of human remains, including those of babies. excavations have been underway at the site in county galway since october. digging began after a government commission was set up in response to claims about the deaths of nearly 800 infants between 1925 and 1961. this news is very disturbing and will touch everyone's heart. there we re will touch everyone's heart. there were strong suspicions about burials for some time and it was one of the reasons for setting up the commission of investigation. the information i have received confirms the suspicions and trace the remains at sp

ulster unionist leader mike nesbitt has resigned after a disappointing performance by his party. air accident investigators say the pilot of a vintage jet which crashed at the shoreham airshow was flying "too low and too slow" when he started a loop. their report said the display could have been aborted. 11 people died on the ground. theresa may has accused the snp of neglecting public services in scotland — because she says it's obsessed with the issue of independence. the snp has rejected the prime minister's criticism. now on the bbc news channel we've got the first in a series of special programmes bringing you the highlights from the uk's city of culture 2017. hull's year in the spotlight began on new year's day with a huge fireworks display — and now thousands of people are flocking to the city for 12 months of art and culture. here's anne marie tasker and kofi smiles. hello and welcome to hull, the uk's city of culture for 2017. a 365 day celebration of all things arty and culture. we are at hull truck theatre where the royal shakespeare company have upped sticks from thei

this evening, the ulster unionist leader mike nesbitt stepped down, taking responsibility for his party'so have been a picture perfect campaign for sinn fein's michelle o'neill. some claim arlene foster may also have motivated republicans to vote, having compared them to crocodiles during the campaign, but it's sinn fein who have benefited most from this snap election. the final votes for the final seats are still being counted tonight. but the close result and the poor relations between the dup and sinn fein have relations between the dup and sinn fei n have left relations between the dup and sinn fein have left a potential problem. the parties have three weeks to agree a deal. frankly tonight, that seems like a tough ask. and it raises the prospect that there could be what is known as direct rule where, westminster step in and take control of government in northern ireland at least for a time. now neither of the partives want that. but — parties want that, but it is clear they don't want to work together either. a brief look at some of the day's other other news stories. officials in ir

the leader of the ulster unionists, mike nesbitt, stood down because of their poor performance. be up to the leaders of sinn fein and the dup to draw battle lines in the inevitable negotiations to try and form a government. chris buckler, bbc news, belfast. in thing to belfast live shortly for the information. —— we will be crossing to belfast. the uk may be able to leave the european union without paying a penny. that's the view of constitution experts in the house of lords today. mercedes—benz is to recall around one million cars because they're at risk of catching fire. it's because of a fault found within newer models which can cause them to overheat on starting. it's thought around 75,000 cars in the uk could be affected, but mercedes says the risk to customers is small. the models at fault include some a, b, c, and e—class cars as well as mercedes' cla, gla and glc vehicles. anyone who's bought a car between 2015 and 2017 could be affected. mercedes say they're aware of 51 fires so far, but that no deaths or injuries had been recorded. it's thought owners will be contacted

to that vote and your vote seems to be holding up, yet we have heard the ulster unionist leader mike nesbittople to transfer their votes across traditional lines, but we do not see any sign of that happening yet with the sinn fein and the dup having their votes held up. how do you explain that? our vote has increased and that is positive, but we did not offer people a protest vote and other parties did. we sent a very positive message and talk about what we wanted to do to get the assembly up and running and we talk about what we felt was needed to make that happen. people responded to that positive message. any people have come to feel that the assembly was not delivering. we are offering a different vision and people responded to that and it explains the difference in terms of votes. people want cross community voting, but they know if they want that to be authentic they can vote for the alliance party and we have a very clear agenda. if sinn fein and the dup return to the assembly on monday, two stormont on monday, as the two largest parties to enter a period of negotiation, are you optim

the leader of the ulster unionists, mike nesbitt, stood down because of their poor performance. be up to the leaders of sinn fein and the dup to draw battlelines in the inevitable negotiations to try to form a government. joining us from belfast newsroom is our correspondent gillian hargreaves. morning to you. what do you make of them, then, the winners and losers? this significantly alters the dynamic of northern ireland politics now, because unionist parties for so long, the dominant force in northern ireland are now in retreat. sinn fein searched ahead. it is now on the heels of the dup. when it comes to the share in the vote there is something like 0.2% difference between the parties. when they get together and try to form a government next week, it will be interesting to see where the balance of power now lives. the dynamic change in terms of the numbers in the seats and around the table as they try to begin forming that government. what happens next, then, over the next three weeks?m government. what happens next, then, over the next three weeks? if they thought fighting i

your party leader mike nesbitt had urged unionist voters to get out and transferred their votes to thest sdlp party across traditional community lines in order to bring about change. do you think people have not responded to that message, or has it damaged the ulster unionist vote? the issue is we do not have an opposition in our assembly. we have a government and everybody is in that. we are trying to form an opposition to offer people a choice either to vote for the government or the opposition. that message has not quite got across the way we had hoped. perhaps there is a bit of confusion in the electorate. when you go to an election you have got to have a clear message and say it sincerely and not make mistakes. we will be looking at how we performed. but wait until we get the final vote and then we will look and see what the actual balance is. do you think the electorate is sending a message that they want the dup and sinn fein so far to they want the dup and sinn fein so farto dig in they want the dup and sinn fein so far to dig in on their positions? 0r is this an electorate tha