NI Pols

  We all know the headlines, Ian Paisley lost his seat, the DUP lost Lagan Valley, Alex Easton unseated Stephen Farry and Sinn Féin won the most seats, but what are the interesting takes from this election and what should we look for in the future? Tactical voting In GB the election will be known for a huge amount of tactical voting with Labour winning a landslide on just 35% of the vote, but tactical voting did not as have much of an influence in Northern Ireland. Parties stepped aside in North down (DUP, TUV & SF), Fermanagh and South Tyrone (DUP & TUV), Belfast East (SF), Belfast South and Mid Down (SF), and Lagan Valley (SF). In North Down Alex Easton won with a 7,000 vote majority and clearly took votes from Alliance as well as the other unionists. The Nationalist vote is considered strong if it tops 1,000 in North Down so Sinn Féin voters would have had limited impact by voting for Alliance anyway. The DUP still probably have hopes of winning Easton back to the party a