dou- beattie, ulster unionist party. doug beattie, ulster unionist party.arty. and owen tennyson, alliance. - doug beattie, ulster unionist party. i and owen tennyson, alliance. thank you. thank you. firstly, i would like to thank the returning officer and or the counter staff for the work done in the last couple of days and during the election. it is quite clear the electorate have now spoken. democracy is about respecting the democratic will of the people and we now have to move to respect the democratic will of the people, get the executive back—up and going again, get the assembly going and get money to people who today on a friday will be deciding what their children can and cannot eat over the weekend and whether they can heat their homes over the weekend. that is the task we has assembly members now face. before i conclude, i want to thank my election team. i want to thank liam who came very close. we have sent out a clear message that people want power—sharing to work on people to work together. i always say this but we put a lot of pressure on our

talk to us about your past the ulster unionist party. you have l the ulster unionist party.and work around those issues but you seem to have been squeezed. some of your votes gone to the centre ground alliance party? tells what is happening. i alliance party? tells what is happening-— alliance party? tells what is ha eninu. ~ ., , alliance party? tells what is ha eninu. ~ . , , happening. i think we have been this used and we — happening. i think we have been this used and we have _ happening. i think we have been this used and we have hardline _ happening. i think we have been this used and we have hardline unionists| used and we have hardline unionists are going more from the dup towards the traditional unionist voice and on the other side the centre ground about is going to alliance rather than to us. i think what we have to do is hold our nerve and stick with the message that we are a progressive inclusive positive unionist party and the big difference between us and the alliance and centre ground as we are further atomic firmly for another nine staying in the union and

from the old irish provinces and counties of ulster, _ power.es of ulster, in _ power. from the old irish provinces and counties of ulster, in the - power. from the old irish provincesi and counties of ulster, in the 1920s politicians drew a boundary line between the united kingdom and the new republic, a border twisted and tweaked to create a territory where british unionists would always control affairs. it british unionists would always control affairs.— british unionists would always control affairs. ., , , , _ control affairs. it was very messy. toda , a control affairs. it was very messy. today. a century _ control affairs. it was very messy. today, a century later, _ control affairs. it was very messy. today, a century later, the - control affairs. it was very messy. | today, a century later, the largest political party in northern ireland supports irish nationalism. bud political party in northern ireland supports irish nationalism. and now suddenly that _ supports irish nationalism. and now suddenly that boundary _ supports irish nation

ulster unionist party leader doug bt looks ok. a little anxiety around his position knowing into the end of the account yesterday and this morning but he looks as though he will be ok. then in the north antrim constituency, the dup losing their very well known candidate there, mervyn storey and the alliance�*s patricia olin winning and becoming the first ever female mla for that constituency. so just a couple of scenes from around the counts here in northern ireland. let's try and put all of this into context. with me as political commentator brian rylan. good to have you back with us here. you were telling me earlier that this election is really shaking things up in northern ireland, that it shows that we are no longer talking about two tribes here? that that we are no longer talking about two tribes here?— two tribes here? that is right. often when — two tribes here? that is right. often when people _ two tribes here? that is right. often when people talk- two tribes here? that is right. often when people talk about | two tribes

party and they i ulster unionist party and they placed — ulster unionist party and they placed in— ulster needs a chief executive in _ suggesting northern ireland needs a chief executive in charge _ suggesting northern ireland needs a chief executive in charge of- chief executive in charge of northern— chief executive in charge of northern ireland's - chief executive in charge of northern ireland's health. chief executive in charge of- northern ireland's health service. the idea — northern ireland's health service. the idea of— northern ireland's health service. the idea of taking _ northern ireland's health service. the idea of taking politics- northern ireland's health service. the idea of taking politics out - northern ireland's health service. the idea of taking politics out of. the idea of taking politics out of health. — the idea of taking politics out of health, because _ the idea of taking politics out of health, because there _ the idea of taking politics out of health, because there is- the idea of taking politics out of health, because there is a - the idea of taking politics o

beating the sharks in ulster.is all the sports for now. the weekend is looking not too bad at all, lots of sunshine around and feeling pleasantly warm but we had some scattered showers in the forecast, two. in fact, it will end “p forecast, two. in fact, it will end up barely cloudy in northern ireland in western scotland eventually on saturday. the clouds have been clearing overnight and into the early hours of saturday morning, in fact it is largely clear across the uk, perhaps some mist and murk around close in the south—west and a few showers there in the western isles and maybe central scotland. but other than that, i think it is mostly sunny, right from the word go, with temperatures between nine and 11 degrees. here is how it looks through saturday morning, largely bright or sunny across england and wales but quickly northern ireland and western scotland, medically the south—west here, it will cloud over with some rain. let's have a closer look, this is four o'clock in the afternoon, the best of the weather

the ulster unionist party on seven, including their leader, doug beattie returned.ionist party has one. and an independent elected as well stop so those are the figures for you. a quick calculation, around 20 seats left to declare. let's assess where we are with this election and what might happen next with the commentator brian rowan, author of the book political purgatory. i was very interested when i read that book on what you wrote about the middle ground here in northern ireland politics, the alliance party, which has done exceedingly well in these elections, with the possibility of a couple more seats yet still. how influential will that be?- couple more seats yet still. how influential will that be? well, we saw at the _ influential will that be? well, we saw at the beginning _ influential will that be? well, we saw at the beginning of - influential will that be? well, we saw at the beginning of that - influential will that be? well, we | saw at the beginning of that surge through alliance through a series of elections in 2019 that a third pillar within our p

unionists have been— that the sdlp and ulster unionists have been squeezed today. a difficult place, but we are still— in a difficult place, but we are still having a good showing, and as you know _ still having a good showing, and as you know and you mentioned earlier, this is— you know and you mentioned earlier, this is a _ you know and you mentioned earlier, this is a marathon, not a sprint, so it is going — this is a marathon, not a sprint, so it is going take until tomorrow untit— it is going take until tomorrow until we — it is going take until tomorrow until we see where all those seeds fall. ., . ., ., fall. on that functioning of the executive. _ fall. on that functioning of the executive, when _ fall. on that functioning of the executive, when i _ fall. on that functioning of the executive, when i was - fall. on that functioning of the executive, when i was talking | fall. on that functioning of the i executive, when i was talking to voters through the day on tuesday in antrim, all of them, irrespective of what their political tradition was, said they wan

. —— ulster unionism, british unionism. of the conservative party said on this question of a future referendum, a border poll, yesterday. he said the government has a constitutional obligation to hold a border poll if there is, and this is the phrase he used, a sustained majority in favour of unification. we will be talking about all these subjects throughout the day. let me just tell you about a couple of seats that we are keeping a close eye on. still waiting to hear if the ulster unionist party leader doug beattie has retained his seat. he has been standing on a liberal unionist platform. we are also waiting to find out if the sdlp leader at stormont will be returning. i'm hearing that some of the unionist transfers are going to the alliance rather than her, so she could be in a bit of difficulty which would be very disappointing for the sdlp. we will be back here soon, keeping you right up to date. for now, back to the studio. let's get some more detailed analysis of the results so far in northern ireland. we can cross

the ulster unionist party want a i the ulster unionist party want a soft landing, _ the ulster unionist want to come away. but they are willing to _ want to come away. but they are willing to let — want to come away. but they are willing to let the _ want to come away. but they are willing to let the assembly- want to come away. but they are willing to let the assembly go i want to come away. but they are i willing to let the assembly go and the whole — willing to let the assembly go and the whole good _ willing to let the assembly go and the whole good friday— willing to let the assembly go and the whole good friday agreementj willing to let the assembly go and i the whole good friday agreement go. and the _ the whole good friday agreement go. and the leader— the whole good friday agreement go. and the leader of— the whole good friday agreement go. and the leader of the _ the whole good friday agreement go. and the leader of the dup— the whole good friday agreement go. and the leader of the dup the - and the leader of the dup the largest— and the leader of the dup the largest unionist

values, like the republic of korea, to secure more of what we need from our allies and partners, and ulsterur supply chain resilience. that is why our strategy is to build around strengthening our ties and cooperation across the board. both abominations can improve our long-term resilience, increase our shared prosperity, and put our people in the best position to come out ahead in the competition for the 21st century. that is why, mr. president, i came to the republic of korea during my first trip to asia as president of the united states. so much of the future of the world is going to be written here in the indo pacific over the next several decades. we are standing at an inflection point of history, with the decisions we make today will have far-reaching impacts on the world we leave to our children tomorrow. this vibrant democracy has become a powerhouse of global innovation by investing and educating its people. come panisse like samsung are driven by a responsible development of technology and innovation will be critical to shaping the future and the direction of our two countries, th

our churchill, i turned in ulster had died under 9 priest run as march finished and i have an apology salvage on your plant. and among vita, by putting that to 1000 feronda these eat the sudden the dutch b i must dash to character is ian just a year, and then from then i and the lesson brian. hey, sandra will nearly noon. i get up every morning and prays of stone and is alive with wealth. only stolen can save the world. winston churchill, ah, once the world was saved, churchill changed his mind. any attempt by the soviets to compete against the anglo saxons had to be crushed forever. the usaa has to be eliminated immediately. general george s. patton, commander of the u. s. 3rd. army demands that the troops do not stop at the elbow, but move on toward stalingrad with on june 29th. 1945 stolen. who already knows about the operation. orders marshall shook off to move troops to combat positions in the west. mm. it is now clear to the allies that a surprise attack is no longer possible then charger. the conclusion, deduction, creeks, government, and started our mobility. tut, dean di tren

abstract, something of that extreme is needed to ulster the growth story in china?: if we look at the biggest pressure at the moment, it is on the consumer. lockdown at the moment has a big impact. i think if you start following, that means easing some of these lockdowns. i think that will be the key. lifting them as soon as possible. dani: for what it is worth, the imf was also there. thank you so much for joining us this morning. mitul kotecha strategists. look get to first word news with julie sally in singapore. freight --juliette: the move comes after the country was reopened. finland and sweden are following their nato applications. he has made it clear he will block the process. china's top diplomat has issued a warning to the u.s. over its support of taiwan. we have seen national security advisor's saying that washington was going down the wrong path. the warning came as they reported that chinese military aircraft -- they are calling it a "big idea that failed." confidence is dropping in cryptocurrencies. global news, 24 hours a day, on-air and at bloomberg

from the old irish province and counties of ulster, in the 1920s politicians drew a boundary line betweennd tweaked to create a territory where british unionists would always control affairs. it was very messy. but today, a century later, and the largest political party in northern ireland supports irish nationalism. and now suddenly that boundary settlement which caused so much violence 100 years ago has been thrown up in the air, so it's notjust about economics, it's about politics and identity and unionism feels itself under threat in a way which it hasn't in a long time. the border winds its provocative way across the landscape near newry. in this territory, loyalties are hung on the washing line and there's anxiety on the breeze. the people who put up this poster are worried that borisjohnson will move customs checks from the irish sea to the land border here. for this family, uncertainty over the protocol is a great concern. suzanne is a protestant, her husband paul a catholic, but for them this is about business, not religion or tradition. how many rugs have you got here? just unde

from the old irish province and counties of ulster, in the 1920s politicians drew a boundary line between, a border twisted and tweaked to create a territory where british unionists would always control affairs. it was very messy. but today, a century later, and the largest political party in northern ireland supports irish nationalism. and now suddenly that boundary settlement which caused so much violence 100 years ago has been thrown up in the air, so it's notjust about economics, it's about politics and identity and unionism feels itself under threat in a way which it hasn't in a long time. the border winds its provocative way across the landscape near newry. in this territory, loyalties are hung on the washing line and there's anxiety on the breeze. the people who put up this poster are worried that borisjohnson will move customs checks from the irish sea to the land border here. for this family, uncertainty over the protocol is a great concern. suzanne is a protestant, her husband paul a catholic, but for them this is about business, not religion or tradition. how many rugs have you

is to make big gains and that is another one of the key stories here in doug beattie lead with the ulstert and still locked in a huge battle in his upper bann constituency for his seat. the irish news, a nationalist newspaper here in northern ireland again sinn fein on course to be stormont�*s largest party, dp's worst result for the 20 plus years and a picture of the 20 plus years and a picture of the alliance leader naomi long. —— d u p. alliance edge of the bigger stories at the election. unionist newspaper saying stormont stalemate. looking very serious considering his next steps and he is warning here and this takes us to the question of where we might go after the selection and culling last night for a meeting of all unionist leaders to discuss electoral fallout and warning his party will not go back into the executive until it is around the northern ireland protocol are resolved to their satisfaction and that was a big, big over whether or not they will be in assembly functioning count here after this is concluded. flit functioning count here after this is concluded. . ., , ,, ., ,

we have duncan. moreover, he is the professor of politics at ulster university in brussels. nicholas white and international affairs strategist and senior director in brussels for ap co. that's a public affairs and strategic consultancy. and in cambridge, graham dudgeon, a research associate at the university of cambridge, and also a former special advisor to fast minister david trimble and the northern ireland assembly a warm welcome to each of you. thank you so much for joining us gentlemen. now i want to start with why this is such a significant development. these are regional elections. polls like this don't necessarily always make the headlines of international news, but parties the port and northern northern island really has potentially exits that existential consequences here. so looking at the design of northern islands, very institutions, it was predicated on this idea that the outcome of this very project protracted piece process. i'm curious, duncan, do you think the good friday agreement could have predicted this? well, in some sense of the good friday agreement is not l

the cross—community alliance party has 17 seats, the ulster unionist party has nine, and the social democraticrty has seven. it is the first time a nationalist party in northern ireland has won the most seats — with sinn fein�*s ultimate goal being for northern ireland to leave the uk and become one country with the republic of ireland. our correspondent chris page reports, and a warning — there is some flash photography. smiles, flashes and cheers, were the sure—fire signs of sinn fein�*s success. cheering the party has retained its 27 seats, and that is enough to top the table. for the first time, a party which is dedicated to taking northern ireland out of the uk is the biggest political force here. it's a huge historic moment for irish nationalism and a massively symbolic shift. sinn fein�*s vice president, michelle o'neill, is in line to become the first minister. no nationalist has ever won the post before. today ushers in a new era, which i believe presents us all with an opportunity to reimagine relationships in this society on the basis of fairness, on the basis of equality, and on th

most of the trade ulster does is with the uk and not the republic. and so theatrical. now we have nancy pelosi marching in with her own theatrics saying congress won't approve of the trade deal with the us. but she won't be running congress. no, it doesn't look like it at the moment. the democrats lose control of congress. to be fair he's not in congress, using the us state department and he said on friday we want to see this issue resolved and we want to see temperature lowered and we don't want unilateral actions or, in other words, they don't want the british tearing up as they are threatening to do. they are threatening. the idea that anybody at this point in time, with the war going on in the ukraine and with dreadful cost of living emergency occurring all over the west, notjust here, the idea that anybody would tear up and agreement and provoke a trade war is insane. it could happen. it's like a prelude to the first world war. why is the british government doing that? it isn't. not yet. i am not saying it will not at the moment it isn't. this i

the ulster unionist party, the liberal unionist party, is on fire.elected from the traditional unionist voice, also anti—protocol. one independent. and now i think that has changed just as i'm speaking to you. sinn fein and the dop on 19,1 i'm speaking to you. sinn fein and the dop on 19, i believe. sometimes hard to keep up with the very latest developments as i am talking to you. those numbers changing all the time. some of thejeers those numbers changing all the time. some of the jeers recently have been for the alliance party. reynolds was elected in east belfast and patrick brown in southdown. he didn't get in last time, he has this time. as me is —— with me is peter mcreynolds. you must be happy so far, as alliance. ~ you must be happy so far, as alliance-— you must be happy so far, as alliance. ~ , ., ., alliance. where can you go next? i don't know _ alliance. where can you go next? i don't know where _ alliance. where can you go next? i don't know where we _ alliance. where can you go next? i don't know where we can - alliance. where can you

by the way, supporters of great britain call this territory northern ireland but the opponents of ulster, that is, this is actually the british version of whose crimea so it would be good for johnson to look under his breath, and not throw weapons at distant ukraine , twitter users about the reunification of ireland have already begun to leave records. by the way, very soon, elon musk will buy the social network here and he promised no censorship, so he will return trump as well, and maybe he himself will go to the presidency, such a situation scares the democrats, and they came up with the know-how the ministry of truth is hidden behind the screen try to guess a number of american politicians and the media opposed the functioning of the council to counteract disinformation, recently created as part of the us department of homeland security, in particular, the republicans criticized the new structure, calling the us government the biggest misinformer in history and calling for the immediate dissolution of the council in turn by the tulsi democrat. she announced the risk of establishing a

you will never defeat the protestant people of ulster! never!o northern ireland's existence may now define its future. but in the race for stormont today, many voters have become tired of the old struggle between those who want to remain part of the uk and those who want a united ireland. i think we're stuck with green and orange tribalism. we can't continue with what we do because we're going to get exactly what we've always got. power sharing has been collapsed here for nearly as much time as it's been active and the election result could lead to months�* more uncertainty. we seem to like crisis politics here and do nothing apart from crisis politics, so even if sinn fein are the biggest party, the unionist parties, whatever, need to stand up and take a position and say ok, let's see what we can work with now. the frustrations mean a growing number of people are voting for cross—community parties but the top jobs will still be decided on whether a nationalist or unionist party wins the most seats. we haven't gone away, you know. sinn fein unde

the cross—community alliance party has ten seats, and the ulster unionist party has four. 51 of 90 seatsbeen declared so far. if sinn fein keeps its lead, the result would be likely to reignite the debate about a united ireland. our ireland correspondent chris page reports. a warning, the report contains some flash photography. applause the political ground in northern ireland is shifting. that is generating delightful new assembly members and disappointment for the party which has won the last five elections. the race for the final few seats tends to be very tight but the picture is clear. a surge in support for the cross community alliance party and a drop in votes for the democratic unionists and sinn fein is on course to be the largest party in the northern ireland assembly. for the first time, a party which wants to take northern ireland out of the uk is expected to be its largest political force. sinn fein�*s vice president, michelle o'neill, is the favourite to become first minister. no irish nationalist has ever held the post before. i no irish nationalist has ever held the post

you said the result is democracy, so would you like to see the democratic ulster unionist party nominateister? -- the dup. i position of deputy first minister? -- the dup-— -- the dup. i don't have an issue with the deputy _ -- the dup. i don't have an issue with the deputy first _ -- the dup. i don't have an issue with the deputy first minister i -- the dup. i don't have an issue i with the deputy first minister being sinn fein, simply because it has been a joint first minister and deputy first minister role for the last ten years, and they haven't promise on what they said they would deliver on. to me, sinn fein is exactly the same as the dup. i wouldn't like northern ireland politics to progress past these orange and green issues to actually focus on the issues across the whole of northern ireland. —— i would like northern ireland politics to progress. we see a lack of opportunities, a lack of social development. we have seen a rise in food banks. iwant development. we have seen a rise in food banks. i want to see these issues are addressed and a move away from a tribal politics. shal

unionist voice party that took a lot of boats from at this time and squeeze the more middle ground ulsterry and bolster its vote in a further election, that would also benefit sinn fein as well, so we would see what is likely the creation of a three party state. another possible option, it looked like the votes, did not translate into seats for the traditionalist unionist voice, the antiparticle party as you mentioned, but did take away some seats from the dup. a really interesting point. let me recap now for our viewers here on bbc news and on bbc world, if you arejustjoining us, it has been confirmed sinn fein will be the party with the most seats in northern ireland. they have 27 seats at the moment, so that means no other party can now overtake sinn fein, making it the largest party in the northern ireland power—sharing assembly. the first time a party in favour of uniting ireland has come top in a stormont election. sinn fein's leader at stormont, michelle o'neill, has declared northern ireland is entering a new era and said it was a defining moment. as you can see on your screens th

you will never defeat the protestant people of ulster! never!rthern ireland's existence may now define its future. but in the race for stormont today, many voters have become tired of the old struggle between those who want to remain part of the uk and those who want a united ireland. i think we're stuck with green and orange tribalism. we can't continue with what we do because we're going to get exactly what we've always got. power sharing has been collapsed here for nearly as much time as it's been active and the election result could lead to months' more uncertainty. we seem to like crisis politics here and do nothing apart from crisis politics so even if sinn fein are the biggest party, the unionist parties, whatever, need to stand up and take a position and say ok, let's see what we can work with now. the frustrations mean a growing number of people are voting for cross—community parties but the top jobs will still be decided on whether a nationalist or unionist party wins the most seats. we haven't gone away, you know. sinn fein under gerr

the ulster unionist party on three, sd lp on one, and one independent elected so far.ds in the constituency of south down to get a little bit more insight into what's going on. i was explaining earlier in the data view is that the system of voting here is a form of proportional representation called the single transferable vote. explain to us where your count is at and how that works? , ., , ., , ., works? the single transferable vote is never as simple _ works? the single transferable vote is never as simple -- _ works? the single transferable vote is never as simple -- a _ works? the single transferable vote is never as simple -- a simple - is never as simple —— a simple process— is never as simple —— a simple process to _ is never as simple —— a simple process to explain, it's taken me many years— process to explain, it's taken me many years to work out how it actually — many years to work out how it actually takes place. but essentially, everybody gets their first preference votes. if you reach a quota, _ first preference votes. if you reach a quota. you — first pr

unionism and we see the diversity of opinion within unionism, particularly amongst the supporters of the ulstert views around policies relating to abortion for example and liberal policies and they also have different views around protocol itself, so people made a decision coming into this election as to whether there would be a question of the protocol connected to the future of the union was a primary concern, whether it about a functioning executive in assembly being prepared for the contemporary challenges of society today and so hence we saw the benefits of fragmentation amongst moderate unionism going to either alliance party or that hard dup position. and so i would not necessarily see the result today, it is a very sick of confession pain but does not necessarily mean a surge. the contemporary challenges remain all the same.— we can speak now to dr brian feeney, author and commentator on nationalist politics in ireland. welcome, thank you forjoining us. what is a story for you? the welcome, thank you for “oining us. what is a story for you?_ what is a story for you? the story is the fac

of the election and the argument was put forward by dup leader sirjeffrey donaldson as well as the ulsterling to have the ambition of becoming the largest party but now we know the lay of the land following the election there really will be a period of time where this question can be put off but at the moment the dup was saying or not we enter the power—sharing arrangements and will not form a new power—sharing government with sinn fein until it gets some source of concessions on the post—brexit northern ireland fitted on stop it says it wants to see the uk government and european union come to some sort of arrangement to make changes to the protocol to get rid of what it describes as the irish sea trade border and until that time happens on the dup says it will not re—enter the executive is the question of the dup sharing power with sinn fein in the deputy first minister position won't come up for now. professor, we know that unionism _ won't come up for now. professor, we know that unionism and _ won't come up for now. professor, we know that unionism and i _ won't come up for now. prof

seats continuing tonight, sinn fein are, so far, well ahead of the dup as well as the alliance and ulstert to find out the election result in your area, head to the bbc news website or bbc news app and enter your postcode. you'll also find lots of election analysis and the latest reports from our teams around the country. those are the main election stories. now back to elections 2022. welcome back. it is the final 20 minutes or so of this marathon broadcast, it is good to have you all with us, trying to tie up some of the loose and come and i am very pleased to be joined of the loose and come and i am very pleased to bejoined by of the loose and come and i am very pleased to be joined by two new guests, sonia sodha from the observer. and we also have tim stanley from the daily telegraph. lovely to have you as well. thank you forjoining us. if you just bear with me, i will be with you in just a moment, because i want to discuss with you in part what is going on in northern ireland as well as in england, wales and scotland, so let me bring in annita, my colleague i mcveigh in belfast. you'

the ulster unionist party and nine, the sdlp and six. another anti—political party like the dup on one. there is also one independent candidate who has been elected and one from people over profit services the state of play with just 12 seats left to be declared on three of them here at the belfast account and of course the camps going on and jordanstown as well. —— in magherafelt. it was a short time ago that we heard from sinn fein cosmic leader short while ago the leader of the party. in magherafelt michelle 0'neill was emphasising the need to get back to work at stormont and said the people couldn't wait. today represents a very significant moment of change. it's a defining moment for our politics and for our people. today ushers in a new era, which i believe presents us all with an opportunity to reimagine relationships in this society, on the basis of fairness, on the basis of equality and on the basis of socialjustice. irrespective of religious, political or social backgrounds, my commitment is to make politics work. my commitment

the nationalist sdlp and the ulster unionist party seem to be pretty nervous about how things are goinge dup have won the most seats and sinn fein have come second. if, as polls have suggested, sinn fein, first at this time, that would mean michelle 0'neill, the party vice president, would be in line to be the first ever irish nationalist to be northern ireland's first minister, so whether the dup or sinn fein come out on top will really depend on which of those parties sustains the fewer losses. the dup vote in some areas is coming under pressure from more hardline unionist parties, the traditional unionist voice, and sinn fein seem to think their vote is holding up pretty steadily. we are expecting the first official results in the next hour or so, the counting will probably go on until the early hours of tomorrow morning. let's take a closer look at all the results in england so far with newsnight�*s lewis goodall. let's look at some of those results in more detail. london has been by far the best result for the labour party, and catastrophic for the conservative party. they are almo

sinn fein to alliance come across community alliance come across community alliance party to the ulster far, but a long way to go stale in discount. joining me now is a former dup leader, edwin, standing in the constituency of south belfast. thank you for joining us. how is it going so far? it's going pretty well for the dp. 0pinion— it's going pretty well for the dp. opinion polls has protected many states, _ opinion polls has protected many states, but we are looking to cause most _ states, but we are looking to cause most of _ states, but we are looking to cause most of them with two or three at the most — most of them with two or three at the most. do most of them with two or three at the most. , ., ~ ., ,, the most. do you think that sinn fein, the most. do you think that sinn fein. though. — the most. do you think that sinn fein, though, going _ the most. do you think that sinn fein, though, going to _ the most. do you think that sinn fein, though, going to emerge l the most. do you think that sinnl fein, though, going to emerge as the most. do you think that sinn - fein, though,

i politicians from the ulster unionists party.— politicians from the ulster unionists party.ists party. ijust wonder whether the idea of _ unionists party. ijust wonder whether the idea of any - unionists party. i just wonder i whether the idea of any solution thatis whether the idea of any solution that is coming forward which would see goods coming from great britain to northern ireland, but staying in northern ireland, being treated differently to those which might go on to the republic of ireland, whether that is the basis of a workable solution, or whether it could create more problems. it is interesting _ could create more problems. it 3 interesting because it could create more problems if they take this action unilaterally, the uk, with sinn fein saying we are happy with this deal, we don't want any implications with the eu and the republic of ireland. the dup have gone back slightly on what they had said a week ago saying they could not live with the protocol, and now they are saying if it is tweaked to their standards, they can go back to work in stormont and they ca

that was the view from the ulster. that was the view from the ulster unionist party.noon in stormont. as we have said, we've got to this point where in some respects very little has changed but we have heard from all sides the frustration and anger they have that an election that took place just last week is already at a stalemate. our reporter charlotte gallagher is at stormont and has been explaining exactly what the northern ireland protocol is and how it might work. it northern ireland protocol is and how it might work-— it might work. it was agreed goods arrivin: in it might work. it was agreed goods arriving in northern _ it might work. it was agreed goods arriving in northern ireland - it might work. it was agreed goods arriving in northern ireland from i arriving in northern ireland from the rest of the uk would be monitored to make sure they met eu standards, that is because northern ireland shares a land border with eu member island, and an open border between ireland and northern ireland is seen as an essential part of the peace process. 50 is seen as an es

you will never defeat the protestant people of ulster! never!s future. but in the race for stormont today, many voters have become tired of the old struggle between those who want to remain part of the uk and those who want a united ireland. i think we're stuck with green and orange tribalism. we can't continue with what we do because we're going to get exactly what we've always got. power sharing has been collapsed here for nearly as much time as it's been active and the election result could lead to months' more uncertainty. we seem to like crisis politics here and do nothing apart from crisis politics so even if sinn fein are the biggest party, the unionist parties, whatever, need to stand up and take a position and say ok, let's see what we can work with now. the frustrations mean a growing number of people are voting for cross—community parties but the top jobs will still be decided on whether a nationalist or unionist party wins the most seats. we haven't gone away, you know. sinn fein under gerry adams was known as the political wing of t

it's the third biggest and looking to take some of the unionist vote — the ulster unionist party andily identify themselves as a unionist or a nationalist, theyjust want to get on with their lives and want to work, raise their children go on holidays. it's not a massive, massive issue. so i think that has been reflected in the growth in our party and some of the other parties as well. voters will be thinking about health care and the rising cost of living. let's get more from our correspondent emma vardy on how the parties are doing in the polls — two days before election day. the stormont assembly has always delivered a unionist majority which has given some reassurance to those people who feel very british and you want northern ireland to remain part of the uk, but we are on the verge of the uk, but we are on the verge of a potentially big seismic shift here and that's because the polls are indicating that for the very first time in northern ireland's100 year history, the elections may deliver sinn fein as the largest party, a nationalist party getting the most seats in the assembl

people and across the board as well from the more traditional parties like the sdlp, sinn fein and the ulsters a change from the traditional orange and green boxes people have used, unionist and nationalist. what's striking is how much the constitution has been played, health care, the cost of living crisis, have paid played a much more important role. you've seen some of the nationalist parties downplay the prospect of a border poll in the future. , ., , �* prospect of a border poll in the future. , .,, �* ., , future. the dup hasn't downplayed that constitutional _ future. the dup hasn't downplayed that constitutional issue _ future. the dup hasn't downplayed that constitutional issue in - future. the dup hasn't downplayed that constitutional issue in terms i that constitutional issue in terms of the northern ireland protocol because they believe it undermines northern ireland's position within the uk, but while some voters clearly are concerned about that, it seems to at least according to the people we've spoken to today that those bread and butter issues are just as important if not more

ulster were cruising for most of the game, but they had to hold off a late sharks fightback to win itds rhinos under new coach rohan smith, as they beat wakefield, while toulose remain bottom of the super league table after losing to huddersfield. and salford are running into some form now, two wins on the trot, and they swept aside, castleford by 30—1a, withjoe burgess getting a hat—trick of tries. british sprinter dina asher—smith says her form is light years ahead of where it was when she won two world championship medals in 2019. the 26—year—old is in birmingham for today's diamond league meeting. she had to pull out of last year's olympics with a hamstring injury but says she'll have plenty more chances on the biggest stage. iam i am excited to get started. i feel like it's about to be a really exciting year, hopefully for me, but obviously all the brits. we've got world champs, with the commonwealth games at home and rebut the european championships, and i've got five titles between them that we are going to have to go and retain and hopefully add to. so yes, it is the start of

i would if you talk a little bit about what we might do there to ulster nato defenses in the -- bolster nato defenses in the black sea and the challenges we face because >> yes, ma'am. for some time before this crisis, we in the u.s. yukon have been working on strengthening the presence and the role of the u.s. in nato and the black sea area. in the naval forces europe, for example, has been working with high-end new equipment. patriot missiles and high-rise rocket launchers. so we have been looking at things like that in the past and we will continue to do those in the future if i'm confirmed. >> do you think we have an adequate strategy within nato and the u.s. for the black sea region? >> i think inside the u.s. we have strategy, adequate, all strategies have to be assessed, reviewed and updated all of the time. clearly the current events in the black sea region will require us to go back and make sure we adjust everything for the result of this conflict. i think i can say the same thing for the nato approach, but i will have to wait and if i'm confirmed look into what nato is planni

even the ulster unionists party is a look, we need to get back to government, they are not happy withliament and they can't simply not go back to work because they are not happy with this border in the irish sea. the dup, however, they are the stumbling block. they say they simply cannot return to work unless the protocol is gone. they are also saying they are not happy with promises from borisjohnson, they are not happy with promises from boris johnson, they are are not happy with promises from borisjohnson, they are not going to take it on trust that the protocol will be significantly altered. they want action to be taken before they go back to stormont, and actually, it was interesting, the leader of the alliance party is saying that members who refuse to go to work should actually have their pay docked because, of course, the politicians here at stormont are still being paid, even though the appellant behind me isjust a parliament on paper, to be honest. —— the parliament. the things people are concerned about here in northern ireland... i knew that was going to happen! the cost o

they are in a tough battle with the ulster unionists who are the most moderate unionist party.hat is driving voters towards you? _ seen. why is that? what is driving voters towards you? voters - seen. why is that? what is driving voters towards you? voters are i voters towards you? voters are concerned — voters towards you? voters are concerned about _ voters towards you? voters are concerned about issues - voters towards you? voters are concerned about issues like - voters towards you? voters are concerned about issues like the voters towards you? voters are - concerned about issues like the cost of living crisis, the state of the northern ireland health service, and what they have seen from alliance over the last two years in government is delivery on the issues that matter to people. so asjustice minister i was able to show what we can do when we are in government and i think people responded to what was a very positive message from us, constructive message, one that is about getting government up and running in northern ireland, which isn't a given, and make sure we can sta