Transcripts For BBCNEWS Election 2017 20170303

To balance the books. Expect action when Philip Hammond unveils the contents of the Famous Red Briefcase next wednesday. It has been a big day in Northern Ireland, results being declared in the Northern Ireland Assembly Election. These were pictures from earlier, 7a seats declared not long ago, sinn fein and the dup polling strongly. One developing piece of news, as a result of his party not looking like it will do so well, the Ulster Unionist Party debt mike nesbitt has announced that he will resign leader. He felt he had to ta ke resign leader. He felt he had to take responsibility for the rejection of his partys message and what had happened. The election was called after sinn fein withdrew from the Power Sharing Executive in january. That is all from me, were now going tojoin january. That is all from me, were now going to join a special Election Programme presented by my colleagues. They have reporters at every cou nt colleagues. They have reporters at every count centre across Northern Ireland and experts on hand to analyse the latest assembly results. We can go to them to get up to speed. People have picked up on this as one of the lines of the day, because it sums up the brutal nature of politics. Danny kennedy, not expected to lose his seat, but he has gone. He feared he was going to lose it. That is why he was so quick out of the traps to say that mike nesbitt should not have said what he said about tra nsferrin. Transferring. It was clear that he had been given tra nsfers it was clear that he had been given transfers before, but i should say, i got something wrong earlier when i said she had worked in his office. That was not so. I dont know how my source got that wrong. But i got that wrong. Hopefully a minor point. One of those things you pick up. Thanks to our viewers who have joined us from the bbc news channel, this is our continued coverage of the Northern Ireland Assembly Elections. Thanks for being with us. What have you made of what has been happening in the last couple of hours . Keeping a very close eye on developments. How is the picture filling out . I genuinely did not see the lord Morrow Elimination coming. And if you considered the three sinn fein seats there now, that is really quite a big statement. By the sinn fein party. Their gonna leaders of unionism who were a bit shocked. Mike nesbitt looked very weary of it all. It looked like he was relieved to be resigning, and i think possibly because of the lord Morrow Elimination and possibly because the election was more brutal than even she thought it would be, Arlene Foster looked a bit in shock when she was giving her accept and speech. There wasnt a single mention of sinn fein anywhere in it acceptance. Mention of sinn fein anywhere in it acceptance. She has declined to be interviewed by the bbc so far, but were hoping she will talk to us tomorrow. She has opted to go home without giving a detailed interview to the bbc. Uncharacteristic. without giving a detailed interview to the bbc. Uncharacteristic. I do find it strange. She gave an interview to the tv in ireland. The dup are hurting tonight and they will regroup. If mike nesbitt had not resigned we would be talking more about her position, but politics is a rough trade. It is a dirty and rough business and we saw today how rough it can get. The dup we re today how rough it can get. The dup were surprised by how rough it has got. What about mike nesbitts decision to go . I mentioned the Political Editor 15 years ago, you work with mike nesbitt in this building, as to die, over many yea rs. Were building, as to die, over many years. Were you surprised that he launched that pre emptive strike and fell on his sword . As did i. Earlier than maybe he had to, because people were surprised he did it so quickly. The results are not good but not as bad as it might have been. At this stage. There is a view that it been. At this stage. There is a View Thatitis been. At this stage. There is a view that it is very bad, he did a bad election the last time and here he is facing the dup Under Pressure. Arlene foster is the goalkeeper and he has the penalty kick and he misses the door. You think he had to go . Yes. When he realised himself he was going to go, is basic instinct we re was going to go, is basic instinct were as a journalist and he wanted to get to the punch line first bash his basic instinct. But then maybe you could get all 18 cou nts but then maybe you could get all 18 counts finished and then make an announcement tomorrow, or sunday. But to do it when people are still fighting for seats within his party, that seemed a little bit previous. Yes, it looks like that, but i think the devastation that he probably was feeling having made no headway against the dup under such pressure, and watching the Alliance Party, it will not be Making Headway in terms of seats, but they have the same number of seats as they had before it all started. I think the nature of mike, ive known him 30 years and he just wanted to be rid of this. Of mike, ive known him 30 years and hejust wanted to be rid of this. He will be staying on until they decide what they want to do, and that is a huge moment for the Ulster Unionist Party and i dont think they will ta ke party and i dont think they will take that decision quickly. Party and i dont think they will take that decision quicklylj party and i dont think they will take that decision quickly. I want to talk to peter wear who is the former education minister. Congratulations to you. You had a bit of a gamble. You did not think you could hold onto your seat, but you could hold onto your seat, but you moved to where you thought you could win a seat and the gamble has paid off. Facing a fresh challenge, moving from a Different Number of seats created problems for all parties, but im delighted that the people here have placed their trust in me and i hope to repay them. Everybody thought it was a tall orderfor the dup everybody thought it was a tall order for the dup to everybody thought it was a tall orderfor the dup to have everybody thought it was a tall order for the dup to have three outgoing ministers in the battle for seats and to hold them, but you have done that, thats a very good result for the dup done that, thats a very good result forthe dup in done that, thats a very good result for the dup in strangford. You have got one and so have the Alliance Party and the Ulster Unionist Party. You are pleased with our performance. How did you do overall . Sometimes, this is the group of death, you might refer to it, like in the football world cup. It was a mixed picture, we succeeded in some areas but we are disappointed to lose some great colleagues. And i commiserate with anyone who has lost a seat, it is very tough. Politics can be very brutal, but there is great talent which has been lost to the assembly through the election. That is quite sad. I want to talk about mike nesbitt and his decision to resign. Mike has got to make his own decision, think about what happens in the internal mechanism. I wish him well for the future. I wish him well but i dont know what he sees as his future. Maybe this is an opportunity for unionism to come together. We have seen a brutal and action, and one of the disappointments many unionists will see is that we did not maximise our seats. That is something that we do need to tackle. And also see how best we can move things forward in Northern Ireland. Do you feel mike nesbitts pain this evening . He has been leader five years and he made the claims in this election but he didnt deliver on them and he has now fallen on his sword. There is a personal price in these circumstances. To be fair, we can look at politicians and i know sometimes people can castigate them, but there is a personal life behind that. Family life. It can take a toll on families. Ive great personal sympathy for mike and in whatever avenue he pursues, remaining asa whatever avenue he pursues, remaining as a strangford lma, i wishing well, and there have been disagreements, areas where myself and colleagues have not agreed with mike nesbitt, but it has not been personal. And therefore i wishing well. Congratulations to you. We can go to west tyrone and talk to Daniel Mccrossa n. Go to west tyrone and talk to Daniel Mccrossan. He has held his seat. Congratulations, are you relieved . Im happy and relieved and looking forward to a rest for a few days before i go back to the assembly on monday. What about the tussle for the fourth set, the fifth seat. How did it pad out . Pan. You manage to get home, was it a tight fight . We always had a seat in west tyrone and im very happy to retain it. This is my third election in three yea rs this is my third election in three years and we have most to increase the mandate of the party here. People came out in force and they offered their support to me, to represent them going forward. Are you confident, briefly, that the assembly will get up and running again sooner rather than later . Dup at one end of the spectrum and sinn fein at the other, they seem to have boxed themselves into corners and it is not entirely straightforward to see Stormont Reconvening in the way that we might expect it to do. |j live that we might expect it to do. live in hope. If they can get together before the election, there was no call for the election, but we are faced with it and the same result. My fear and the fit of the public, is direct rule. The fear of the public. I hope that sinn fein and the dup dont want that to happen and i hope that they put their differences aside and put the interests of the people on the ground first in terms of health and education. And put aside the them and us, because this is about everybody in Northern Ireland and people are very angry and this election shows it. There has been a big increase in the nationalist turnout. Thanks forjoining us. Congratulations again. We are going to go back to the panel and a moment, but first we are going to go to the Titanic Exhibition Centre in belfast where the four belfast cou nts belfast where the four belfast counts have been taking place. Thank you. Im joined by counts have been taking place. Thank you. Imjoined by paul counts have been taking place. Thank you. Im joined by paul bradshaw, successfully elected. Paula. You must be pleased. To have retained their seats across the board. Must be pleased. To have retained their seats across the boardm must be pleased. To have retained their seats across the board. It is a nice team, people from different backgrounds with different strengths, different constituencies, and it would be nice to get back at stormont and do what we have to do to get the place up and running again. Do you think that this possible . I think that is why they need the smaller parties, to be in those talks, because it is so divided and i think the middle ground, the progressives, who are coming through, they need to get a voice in there, to make sure that we have a strong mandate. A lot of constituents have put their faith in us constituents have put their faith in us to negotiate on there but half to get devolution back up and running On Get Devolution back up and running on their behalf. It depends. The Ulster Unionist Party lost ground, and we have picked up from other parties, as well. 2000 votes ahead. They had to come from somewhere. Some from unionists but also from the dup. What about mike nesbitt, surprised he resign . No, i wasnt. We have seen so many casualties and a big names like danny kennedy. His position was untenable and he gambled so much. It was very ambitious, what he said, but he did not have the party with him. It is very much unfortunate that his political career in terms of leadership has ended. I dont know who is going to fill the void. Ona know who is going to fill the void. On a personal level, what about the other casualties . People likejoanne dobson. You work closely with her. Surprised she lost her sick . Very surprised. She lost her seat. We worked on the Health Committee and we did joint worked on the Health Committee and we didjoint campaigning worked on the Health Committee and we did joint campaigning over things like cancer drugs, we did joint campaigning over things like cancerdrugs, and we did joint campaigning over things like cancer drugs, and that will be a big loss to them. Robbie on the Health Committee, as well. There will be big shoes to fill and this isa will be big shoes to fill and this is a sad day for them. Thank you very much. We can now go to north antrim, ballymena, and hearfrom our correspondent. The result is completed. Both counts are over in ballymena in the Leisure Centre. Mid auster, looking at both constituencies, if you are looking for any unfamiliar faces you will not find them, but there are unfamiliarfaces not find them, but there are unfamiliar faces who have gone. Three sinn fein leaders have retained their sick, as did the one dup member. Their seat. One sdlp member has claimed a suit. North antrim, has claimed a seat. They are antrim, has claimed a seat. They a re left antrim, has claimed a seat. They are left with robin is one of the Ulster Unionist Party and Mervyn Storey of the dup. Stuart mcgregor has retained the seat he was co opted into after the resignation. So many unfamiliar faces and familiar faces gone from ballymena. We can now hear more about the numbers, crunching them on our behalf, our Political Editor mark davenport. We have to consider two constituencies, notjust davenport. We have to consider two constituencies, not just any constituencies, not just any constituencies, constituencies which we think might turn out to be crucial in terms of the end game. They are numbers we have had in the back of our mind. One number was the number 30 because that is what any party needs to wield a petition of concern, the Veto Mechanism on its own. We think potentially South Belfast and langer valley could play a role in that. We can have a look at that. South belfast first of all. Three mlas elected here. Lets have a look. He is clearly there. The other two came in for the two dup and a green close behind. This is the battle for the numbers for the dup. There are less than two unionist quotas but there are also floating votes. It seemed at the beginning quite probable that clare bayley would pick up enough Tra Nsfers Bayley would pick up enough transfers from the others to overta ke transfers from the others to overtake one of the others, but we are not sure which at this stage. We are not sure which at this stage. We are leaping through a few stages. Clare bayley has left above christopher stortford. The question is where some of the transfers might go and whether they will deliver their bayley home and whether the dup will be able to get their couple of seats which they had previously. Paula rachel and Claire Hammond have been elected paula bradshaw. That will leave 2000 surplus foakes which i think will go to clare bayley rather than the dup votes. Will the transfer be enough for the dup candidate. Thats one way they could get to 30. If they got those two and every thing else was even. There is another place where the dup is under threat. These three candidates. This was how they stacked up. Previously the dup had three seats here, so if they retained those three seats and they retained those three seats and the two seats, they get to the 30 mark. There you can see the sdlp are some way behind. They havent had a sit there in recent times. If we zoom sit there in recent times. If we zoom forward to stage seven it is proven that pat catney is proving quite transfer friendly. Yes. You can see that pat catney got more Tra Nsfers Ba N can see that pat catney got more transfers ban on the dup candidates did. The decisive phase will be the tra nsfer of did. The decisive phase will be the transfer of that 3500 surplus from butler. It could be that enough of them go to pat catney, not enough go to brenda hale, to give the sdlp a surprise victory. We think these constituencies could be crucial in determining the overall balance. If the dup lost out in both places they could be down 28 seats, which would be about better heat. Under the current rules sinn fein would still be entitled to nominate the First Minister . Behind me we have potentially some late drama in lisbon. Weve only been waiting ten hours for an upset and the sdlp are claiming that one potentially is on the cards. As you were saying, pat catney and brenda hale look like they will flood it out for the fifth and final seat. Currently pat catney of the sdlp is 130 votes ahead. They are now in the process of transferring surplus votes from robbie butler, the only elected ulster unionist. The sdlp says that pat catney ease transfer friendly to the olveston in the nest on the basis of what happened previously. They are growing in confidence and saying lots of pacing back and forwards between brenda hale is, and pat catney. Both to ing and fro ing. It has been a while since i spoke to the dup about this. They were confident at the start of play that they would have three returned. That confidence has waned in the course of the day but pick up a little with the Elimination Ofjenny Palmer of the Elimination Ofjenny Palmer of the ulster unionists. But coming up is pat catney. We are told that they intend to finish this this evening. It could be another hour or so, who knows, but this is some late drama tonight at lisburn. That is a fascinating situation developing for the final seat. It will be interesting to see if pat catney takes that seat and if it does, that is putting emotion arguably what mike nesbitt said, that ulster unionists should think seriously about transferring to the sdlp. In the meantime mike nesbitt has resigned. I will pick that up in a moment with a panel. First, your catchphrase is always keep are lit. So you did . Keep her lit. Catchphrase is always keep are lit. So you did . Keep her lit. Yes, but it seems in this election keep her lit didnt seem entirely appropriate. In the first count we had a great day. Sinn fein has had a great day at the Leisure Centre because out of the ten we emerged with six of the ten, three in each constituency. If i could just thank people who voted for us. It is very humbling to be in peoples houses, to be sitting in their kitchen. Weve had custard and fresh cream sometimes weve had the old bake together at the canteen. I know you like your apple pie and custard, so that doesnt surprise me like your apple pie and custard, so that doesnt surprise me i swear to god i had the happiest election experience, bowing to the people up and down around tyrone. I think it is the warmest election we ever got. In west tyrone we got the highest ever vote. We got a cumulative total of 21,000. Previous to that a high watermark would have been around 19,000. 50 watermark would have been around 19,000. So we had such success. So much for the folksy stuff, all politics is local. But what about the Serious Business of the politics . What does the mandate for Barry Michael gough and for your party, what does that give you a mandate to do over the next few weeks and months . There will be talks and sinn fein is arriving at those talks with an enhanced mandate. What is their agenda . Our gender is a quality and respect. I would like to see both governments involved, the Irish Government and british government, because they are Co Guarantors of the good friday agreement, which is very much releva nt agreement, which is very much relevant and needs to be implementing full, not least the bill of rights, all of things need to be implemented. And i think my message to the dup, who will be at the table as well, is that we are equal and toe to toe. The nationalists and republicans, even with a progressive agenda, have given us a mandate to say to the dup, we are not less than equal, we are your equal, and that message needs to get home. Youve got that mandate and nobody questions that. You also accept that people who voted for the dup give Arlene Foster and her team coming back a very strong mandate as well . and her team coming back a very strong mandate as well . I do. I do accept that and i do respect that very much. But in recent weeks weve heard conciliatory tone and words from the likes of ian paisley heard conciliatory tone and words from the likes of ian paisleer. I think the dup need to reflect on their tone and language and their attitude to equality and respect. The society can only go forward on a platform of equality and respect. There are serious allegations of financial impropriety and they need to be dealt with absolutely. There will be a public enquiry which will be reported on later this year. That will happen. Absolutely. Credit to taking the lead and making that happen. Lets bring the two governments in as well. The british Prime Minister should be directly involved in the talks up ahead, because they are Co Guarantors of the good friday Peace Agreement and until that is implemented in full, the rights agenda they are contained in as well. Thanks very much and we hope we will see you again before too long. Look forward to it. Right, lets talk about that. Quick word about where we are in terms of sinn feins mandate. What will sinn fein do with a mandate . Who knows . I wonder if they know. The question for them was if they bought people out what would the people say . Were people going to blame them. And in bed too long and propping up the dup, or were they going to row at them . What do they really wa nt . Going to row at them . What do they really want . Do they want stormont back, even supposedly improved in some way, or do they want to go into lengthy negotiations with possibly a different outcome . I wonder how much stomach there is for devolution in the Wider National scheme . I wonder how much appetite there is for stormont among sinn feins wider supporters . Do you think republicans more generally would prefer direct rule . They would prefer it in a positive way, but it had become so sickening to a lot of people and they had been turned off so much by they had been turned off so much by the law and progressive picture of sinn fein rolling over in stormont, which is what a lot of people, including their own supporters, were beginning to say. I think there was a bit of that. I also think sinn fein could tolerate a longer period of stormont being down and out than the dup could, both because this is in theirfavour, the dup could, both because this is in their favour, whether they see it like that or not i dont know. On the grounds that they didnt invest as much personally in each case as the dup members and they also have their project which is going at the moment quite well for them, their votes going up. The polls are looking better. How much of a stomach they have the negotiation i dont know. How much skill they have for negotiation i dont know. Because they certainly didnt distinguish themselves all that well at many points over the last couple of years. A quick word from other members of the panel. Good news for him and his party leader, they keep their seats. What about the Pat Catney Situation . There is the possibility that the best dup will sneak a seat because of the union tra nsfers. Sneak a seat because of the union transfers. You could say it goes back to what mike nesbitt said, that of stee in voters should think of transferring to be sdlp. It seems they may have followed his advice . Yes, and jenny palmers supporters have every reason to want to see the dup suffer at the hands, given what jenny palmer suffered. But there is that issue that Mike Nesbittjumped out, arguably too soon. You think so . I really do. Ithink out, arguably too soon. You think so . I really do. I think both as a matter of common courtesy, and he is a courteous man, and as a matter of judgement, it was not the day to do it. There were those bad scenes of you asking and pushing, properly, of asking these flummoxed guys as to whether they were ready to pick up the mantle and they barely knew that the mantle and they barely knew that the mantle and they barely knew that the mantle had been cast. Thats no way to leave the party. But there was a sense that it wasntjust the Election Results that through mike nesbitt. I think a lot of us watching the Leaders Debate were struck by how nervous he seemed, how shaky his voice was. You know as a presenter, and i do, that if you are in front of a microphone your voice gives you away quite quickly. Youre tyred and switched off, whatever. His voice was shaking in that debate. I think he was already shaken, whether because he got such bad feedback from within the party and cause he was nervous about the result, it was as if he had semi decided before the result that he did it too soon. Letsjust hear about an ofsted success. Our correspondent is down at the Titanic Exhibition Centre. We have a bit of a Ray Of Sunshine . I have. First of all, the final declaration is about to be made in North Belfast and thats going to be exhibition two dup seats, two sinn fein seats. We are just waiting for the announcement in a couple of minutes. As you say, good news in east belfast for the dup. What we have left are three dup candidates. We expect bunting to be returned. It is a tossup between Robert Newton and david douglas. The dup themselves not calling which of those two will be eliminated at this point. But after that point i got reaction. We are delighted. We have increased our vote significa ntly. Are delighted. We have increased our vote significantly. Weve been working hard since we returned in may. I hope we can get back and get the institutions back. I am committed and thats why i came into politics, to work for ordinary people and deliver for them, whether that be health, infrastructure, education. We will always do right for Northern Ireland. Are you confident you will be able to return to the assembly and make those changes . It will be a long road ahead of us. Lets not take anything for granted. We will go into the negotiations and see what happens. Inaudible. I am delighted weve increased our vote and i look forward to continued to work with the other partners in all four constituents. Ive lost good friends, people who i built up relationships with since 2015. I am gutted for cassandra and danny. Message . I commend the party under mike nesbitts leadership. He has guided me and he has been strong for me. He has been there and i wish him well. I consider him a colleague and friend. Do you fancy throwing your hat in the ring for the leadership . No. It seems clear that a dup seat will go in. Your reflections on that . It is disappointing that naturally there will be seats lost right across Northern Ireland. Thats disappointing. I spoke in the chamberon thats disappointing. I spoke in the chamber on the Production Numbers and although we have to remember that good mlas have lost seats across all parties. The people of Northern Ireland have been affected andl Northern Ireland have been affected and i estimate the cost at £5 million. An impact on key frontline services. We have to remember that. People were asked to come out to the polls again and they were deeply frustrated and angry. They wanted to get this thing working to get it delivered for the people. Thank you. Yes, mark, as i said, during the interview, the official results were made for North Belfast, they joining results were made for North Belfast, theyjoining Paul Bradley Results were made for North Belfast, they joining paul bradley from results were made for North Belfast, theyjoining paul bradley from the dup and william humphrey. North belfast is complete, we have had the west belfast count, we expect the east to be completed, and then south, so things might be wrapped up in the next, i dont know the next couple of hours. The next couple of hours would be good, i am sure they would be happy with that, thank you. I wanted to pick up on those points. We have covered an awful lot of ground. A couple of things he wanted to pick up on. Two things and i am not sure the body politic in the north has understood this yet. First, brexit has changed forever. The vote on brexit, and the fact that a majority of people in the north, in this part of the island, wa nt to north, in this part of the island, want to remain. In the european union, with all of its faults. And for the benefit of everyone, for viewers across the uk, who will be thinking, yes, the majority voted to remain in Northern Ireland, but of course it was uk wide and the majority across the uk decided i narrow margin to leave, and that has consequences for Northern Ireland. For people throughout england, scotla nd for people throughout england, scotland and wales, and the scots and welsh get it, they need to understand this is an island and the partition of the island economically and a European Border on this island has had a huge impact on the selection, a huge impact. I live in a border community. Iwas selection, a huge impact. I live in a border community. I was working selection, a huge impact. I live in a border community. Iwas working in the north. My husband was working in the north. My husband was working in the south. One daughter is in couegein the south. One daughter is in college in dublin and another is in Couegein College In Dublin and another is in college in belfast. That is the first contact. I dont think we can overstate the impact of brexit on this election. And the fear that people have right across border communities, from the Catholic Protesta nt a nd communities, from the Catholic Protestant and ethnic. Crosstalk has it brought out the vote for sinn fein, notjust a reaction to the dup, it was brexit . Brexit is underlying it. The other thing i saw was the ethnic minority communities coming out and they were coming out and many were voting for sinn fein. But the second context, and people will be reflecting tonight, and we talked a little bit about it earlier, there is now 1100 votes, roughly, between sinn fein and the dup. We may have 20, i dont want to speculate on seats, it is looking at 28, whatever. Speculate on seats, it is looking at 28, whatever. You will be within one or two of each other. The north has changed forever. I know that we have heard the words to the point ad nauseam , have heard the words to the point ad nauseam, respect, quality and integrity. There needs to be a Psychological Shift in relation to respect for what was the minority in the past. Crosstalk just hear me out. There has not been respect for me as an irish leader, for my grandchild as an irish speaker. As a six year old, he was up speaker. As a six year old, he was up in stormont protesting. I would have preferred if he wasnt. If he didnt need to do it. He was shouting up in stormont with six year olds, red with anger. He said to me, why is stormont cutting the money to my school . I dont think people get the message of what youre doing to the next generation when decisions like that i made. I dont want my grandson doing that. What needs to happen in society is a Psychological Shift. Listen, we dont have a dup representative, we dont have a dup representative, we dont have a unionist in the studio but if we had someone from the dup, i suspect. We dont have an active unionist politician. Let me make this point. If there was someone from the dup they would say that you are selective in what you talk about when you discuss the quality and they might think, and Jeffrey Donaldson made the point earlier today, there are examples he could throw at you where you respect things that dont matter to unionists. In terms of equality, there is legislative framework and there is legislative framework and there are nine grounds on which you Cannot Discriminate, and sinn fein is clear that you Cannot Discriminate on political opinion or religious belief, but you also cant, and the dup has signed up to this, on sexual orientation. But my final point on this. Very quickly. My final point on this. Very quickly. My final point is this is notjust about going back to stormont, this is about the assembly, north south, rakish british irish. Is about the assembly, north south, rakish british irish. You are a unionist but youre not a Serving Unionist but youre not a Serving Unionist politician, which is what i think i was getting too. I want to break off before that and bring in our reporter. Confirmation of success and here is the man of the moment. Good evening. It is a double celebration. Not only is he re elected, it is his 39th birthday. Birthday cake tonight . It wont be my birthday by the time i get out of here, unfortunately, but double cause for celebration, delighted to be re elected by the people of foyle and determined to return it to them in terms of the work i do On The Issues which matter to them. You predicted that you would win two seats and you have retained them but is there a disappointment for the party because you have been out cold on first preferences by sinn fein, Thatis On First Preferences by sinn fein, that is a worry for the sdlp . There it isa that is a worry for the sdlp . There it is a wee bit of disappointment, however we have to look at the result, we have increased 3000 votes, and we have managed the vote extremely well, got both candidates, and that is something to be cheerful about. Sinn fein have increased their vote by even more. We have to look at how they did that. We have to learn from how they did that and we have to see it how we are going to increase hours in the next election. Your uncle, mark durkan, will he be worried about the sinn fein performance, it has been impressive, and he has a 6000 majority, but he is bound to be worried towards the next Westminster Action . I dont think he will be particularly worried, i mean, sinn fein has been tremendously impressive, and well done to them for that. We will focus on our performance and i think we can improve further. We are 35 of the electorate improve further. We are 35 of the electorate we improve further. We are 35 of the electorate we have 35 of the electorate we have 35 of the electorate who didnt come out to vote and we have to get them to vote sdlp. We are the Strongest Party against brexit. We have been the Strongest Party on the day to day issues but sadly the election has become about more than the day to day issues. I think it is important that we look at how to move this place forward. We will be coming back with a strong team to stormont and we determined to play our part in Making Stormont for the people here in terms of delivering better healthcare, stronger welfare, better healthcare, stronger welfare, better education system, these are theissues better education system, these are the issues which really matter to people and these are the issues which matter to us. Do you think it can all be put together again on Monday Morning when the dust settles, or have they been too many insults traded amongst the parties, with the political ramifications tonight with mike nesbitt going, can it be put back together . tonight with mike nesbitt going, can it be put back together . I sincerely hope that it can. I think the People Wa Nt Hope that it can. I think the people want it to happen. The people need that to happen for all of the reasons i have outlined already. The sdlp will be determined to play a pa rt sdlp will be determined to play a part in making that happen. Lets just hope that it does. Ultimately it will come down to the bigger parties. I will let you go and enjoy your birthday cake. Happy birthday. It is back to you. Thank you. Lets hear from it is back to you. Thank you. Lets Hearfrom Members it is back to you. Thank you. Lets hear from members of the panel. John, for the benefit of people who dont know your background, you were a member of the Ulster Unionist Party, then the Deputy Leader of ni21, you were an independent, you lost your seat in may, so you are not an active unionist politician, but you are steeped in unionist politics, how can you respond to the talk about the Equality Agenda and the Respect Agenda . On a couple of points, the one thing i would disagree with is that this election was about brexit. It wasnt on my sense of it, it was the old issues of what have bedevilled with us, dealing with the past, Irish Language. People are concerned about brexit. It wouldnt explain why the sdlp was Under Pressure given they are very strong against brexit and campaigned on that. I think this was an election about getting into the sectarian trenches almost. What about the other issues mentioned, lg bt about the other issues mentioned, lgbt writes, the Irish Language . You mentioned my involvement in ni21. Rights. When we had the conference i started my lines in irish, very badly, bad pronunciation, and the fa ct badly, bad pronunciation, and the fact that, bizarrely, one of the quys fact that, bizarrely, one of the guys who does translation for irish in the assembly is a portadown orangemen. Unionism as a collective almost tens to say this belongs to Something Else instead of recognising we need to keep ownership. Here is the reality, there are a lot of Unionistplumac Protesta Nts there are a lot of Unionistplumac Protestants who have no problem with the Irish Language. Crosstalk it has to be said that there are unionists who have a problem with the Irish Language. And you see the thing about putting legislation through the assembly, especially when the dup have 38 members, anything that they wanted to strike out other legislation that they thought was going to cost too much, instead of getting in and doing it, imean, i instead of getting in and doing it, i mean, iaccept instead of getting in and doing it, i mean, i accept things around the Respect Agenda, and comments made earlier today which naomi talked about, about one of the biggest recruiters for sinn fein, ireland has mobilised a vote for sinn fein, yes, a significant vote for the dup, but she has mobilised a vote for sinn fein, particularly in Kent Stephenson consistencies to the west, that is a tremendous result. Cani west, that is a tremendous result. Can ijust west, that is a tremendous result. Can i just bring west, that is a tremendous result. Can ijust bring stephen in, you are ina unique can ijust bring stephen in, you are in a unique position to give insight into how this might work, because for the last decade he worked as the head of kim indications for the executive, so you have been in their working alongside successive dup and sinn fein leaders and trying to help them put forward their partnership agenda. Now, we are where we are, we have had an election, we dont know quite what happens next. Both of those parties go back with renewed mandate. The difficulty seems to be that they seem to think that their mandates are mutually lousi of, so how can we move on from here . The difficulty has always been that while they could agree on a high level on the sort of things you would expect them to agree on in terms of, we need to Pay Attention to infrastructure, the health service, education and schools, once you get down into the detail, it all tended to fall apart mutually exclusive. And the problem in the politics of all pressure comes i pressure comes on, i pressure comes on, as pressure comes on, as it i pressure comes on, as it did pressure comes on, as it did in the pressure comes on, as it did in the pressure comes on, as it did in the last few weeks running up around christmas and into the new year, those parties tend to withdraw into themselves, dont talk to officials particularly, if you are not part of the sinn fein and the dup cognoscenti, you are not part of the argument, and that sense of ourselves alone on both their parts doesnt help, because there is little light getting into this situation, so if you look at the ta keaways for situation, so if you look at the takeaways for the dup, well, you know, we are still there. We are the biggest Unionist Party, the Biggest Party still up for grabs a little bit, but somewhere along the line, you know, there has to be a sense of, well, lets just you know, there has to be a sense of, well, letsjust back you know, there has to be a sense of, well, lets just back this down a little bit. One other thing is, believe it or not, Peter Robinson was good at, was being incredibly magmatic when he had to be and there was a degree of pragmatism required. Crosstalk the first to deliver pragmatism . She will have to be she is going to continue to be the leader. A quick word . It follows this point, that is why you need to move, and i give katrina this, if you have respect you move to a genuine power sharing, we have too many ministers acting as king in theirown we have too many ministers acting as king in their own five fiefdoms and that is not good. king in their own five fiefdoms and that is not good. I need to break in it as we have interesting details, lisbon, we were talking about the battle for the final seat, we thought pat cagney was out of the mix, now we hear that he is back in again, can you confirm those five seats are being declared . Pat catney will take the fifth and final seat in lagan valley. I am still awaiting on the officialfigure in lagan valley. I am still awaiting on the official figure but i am told he beat the dups render hail render hail. He will be thankful for all of the star of the ulster you transfers. Earlier the dup were confident of holding all of their seats and at the end of the night they are down to two. The dup are represented by paul given and edwin poots. The fifth and final seat, about to be declared, pat catney. That is a fascinating development. Thanks very much. Just to clarify, that has happened. It happened because of ulster union is tra nsfers. Because of ulster union is transfers. Pat catney has now won the fifth seat. It is a sweet one for the sdlp. For a long while it was very lonely in lisburn. I hope jenny palmer doesnt get bad treatment of the ground after this from disgruntled dup supporters, who will say they took sarah to man across the line. Lisburn is one of the most bitter places behind a semi civilised facade that i can think of. Jenny palmer has no control of the voters. You know how such things pan out. We arejust you know how such things pan out. We are just looking at pictures of the formal declaration. There is the deputy returning officer. Actually,. Buries pat deputy returning officer. Actually,. Buries pat catney as well on the left. Another little ironic thing is that pat catney was brought into the party by ulster mcdonald. His period as leader was pretty unhappy and ended on a pretty sad note. It must be ironic for him, watching this. And pat catney is a bit off a character. He owns the kitchen bar in belfast. This could bea kitchen bar in belfast. This could be a Significant Impact on the dup sinn fein balance. It isnt clear who is coming out. This picture might not become clear tonight, but it will become clear tomorrow morning and that the fascinating thing. Which is really nailbiting four Arlene Foster. And could that bea four Arlene Foster. And could that be a defining issue for Arlene Foster . Mike nesbitts resignation has taken the heat off tonight. But the pressure could be on her again . Enormously. What a parting gift from mike nesbitt if pat catney gets the seat, the last seat. All bets are off. We get to that position. Fascinating situation. Lets just hear from Mark Devonport who has some more numbers for us. It is very interesting and also especially interesting and also especially interesting for those of us who have misspent some of our youth in the kitchen. I owe pat catney for quite a lot of plates of mash and needs. We will have to be dealing with it in completely different circumstances. Our current thinking at the moment is that this is quite significant because it deprives dup of the commission concerned, but we we re of the commission concerned, but we were speaking South Belfast might be the one. Lagan valley has now nipped in and done that. Absolutely. We are now looking for the dup finishing on 28 seats, roughly the same as sinn fein, although there 28th is not quite certain yet. It is possible sinn fein might not get as many as the dup. One of the whole issues that led to mike nesbitt stepping down were those controversial comments he made, that he would give his number, as many of his candidates disagree. Lets look at some of his constituencies, where the whole business of the Opposition Parties transferring between each other did make a big difference. Here we have the situation where rosemary started in sixth place and not a brilliant sixth place when there were only five seats to be elected. We have to watch Ritchie Mcphillips. Rosemary said she didnt agree with the leader on this and she felt her supporters should Tra Nsfer She Felt her supporters should transfer in a prounion way, but look what happens. If we raced through, Arlene Foster gets elected. Ritchie mcphillips at this point is down at the bottom. Where do his votes go . Rosemary barton is still out of the running at this point. Then at the next stage Rosemary Barton says thank you for 1004 to 1471 tra nsfers. Thank you for 1004 to 1471 transfers. It might seem extraordinary but lets not forget that Ritchie Mcphillips took his seat last year because he got over 90 transfers from the ulster unionist. That allows him to lea pfrog unionist. That allows him to Leapfrog Morris and Rosemary Barton is elected and sean lynch comes through for sinn fein. We are looking at someone else where they might also play a role. East londonderry. Here we have a good performance by archibald. Clare sugden doing well. performance by archibald. Clare sugden doing well. I think we did say jerry sugden doing well. I think we did sayjerry was sugden doing well. I think we did say jerry was standing sugden doing well. I think we did sayjerry was standing at an independent. As ever you can never predict the fortunes of the single transferable voting system. We have clare sugden elected. And john is begin to pick up transfers. Whats happened since then is the campus of votes have been redistributed. We are now seeing that the votes from clare sugden are heading. They came from the ulster unionists but may head by a clare sugden with john. And sinn fein has it in his sights. Yes. Clare sugden now has a surplus of 600 votes. There is a gap of 81 between john surplus of 600 votes. There is a gap of 81 betweenjohn and catriona. I would have thought enough of those would have thought enough of those would drift towards the sdlp and keep them on Level Pegging after the election, in a situation where we have lost six of the assembly seats. The sdlp have done very well in transferring their votes to seats. They fell slightly in the share of the votes but think of the retaining their seats. On that note lets go over to the titanic centre. Thank you. Joining me here are two guests. You must be delighted . Not only delighted, not only have our present it is gone up but if you compared it to last may there is a difference of 3000 additional votes. Percentages gone up. Thats a substantial. One of the main reasons for that is especially a around attitude. That was felt quite a lot on the doors. And also this desire to get the institutions working and to get the institutions working and to physically give us all a mandate to physically give us all a mandate to get in and get things sorted. The dup have done well as well . But i am not standing for the dup, im standing for sinn fein and we are saying that our party leader has said that if we win we win for all. Thats the attitude ive had and thats the attitude we will go into the institutions with. But it has been a good election for sinn fein. Thats the position. Some of the numbercrunching that nicholas and mark were doing, do you think is a possibility you will end up with the same of seats as the dup . Im not sure, actually. We were looking at some of the figures on the screen and we are getting some late results coming in from east londonderry, so i dont know. But we have had a really good election and the dup have had a good election for in the middle of an election. Some of the predictions, possibly not from them, but certainly from pundits and that, have put them at a higher level. But the fact is that we have shown very positive, progressive leadership, energetic leadership, console at a consolidating leadership and that something the dup have to bring back to these institutions. Lots to talk about. Lets condense it and talk about. Lets condense it and talk about the dups election and the 30 feet you for the partition of concern is looking guaranteed. think the dup would have been looking to get over 30 and they were always going to lose certain seats. They accept that that in certain places by only running two candidates, when previously they ran three. If we step out from the Party Politics and look at it in broader terms its a very good election for that centre block of alliance with the greens and non aligning parties. It is an outstanding election for nationalism. A complete reversal of the result the nationalists had ten months ago when sinn fein was the biggest loser in terms of the percentage share of the vote. Thats reversed this time and it is nothing short of a disaster for unionism. Every Unionist Party is looking. Mike nesbitt has quickly accepted what would have been the ultimate outcome of that result for him and Arlene Foster certainly doesnt give any indication that she is planning to follow that at this stage, that i think there will be a lot of pressure on her because to be just one or two seats, if thats where we end up, i head of sinn fein, having been ten seats ahead, thats a very bad result for the dup. When it comes to mike nesbitt, do you think he was premature and he should have resigned . I think it preempted what was an inevitable decision. By the party and by him. I think it was a clever thing to do in terms of not only not leaving the issue to fester within the party, which it would have done. People were already unhappy at his comments. That was always going to come to a head if they didnt make significant gains, let alone losses, but i think it also puts a focus really back on Arlene Foster. Mike nesbitt has now gone. The dup result isnt as bad in many ways, after a bad result. They are still the Largest Party and a much bigger player. But it is very bad when you look at it across. Losing the chief whip, the Party Chairman and very significant figures will stop thats not a good election result. What about rhi, was that factor . It is difficult to tell. I think clearly that has reinvigorated nationalism. People in the sdlp say not only that but also Arlene Fosters crocodile remark, from that point there was a hardening of attitude where people who might have voted sdlp said, though, we want to send a message to her. So there were a mixture of factors. I think Arlene Fosters tactic of constantly drawing up the spectre of sinn fein being the Biggest Party possibly brought our vote rs Biggest Party possibly brought our voters that wanted to stop that. But i think we also see the opposite effect of that. Nationalism really drove nationalists towards sinn fein to fulfil what Arlene Foster said might happen, if indeed they voted in that way. A final word from you. Did the dup make it easy for you . Did the dup make it easy for you . Did you make gains with some of the comments they made around the Crocodile Narrative . I think initially it did. But i think some of the offensiveness from Arlene Foster has prompted people to come out across the board. I think she does need to reflect on what she has done as a leader. I think Mike Nesbittjumped done as a leader. I think mike nesbitt jumped before he done as a leader. I think Mike Nesbittjumped before he was pushed. But i think it was a collaborative decision. I think Arlene Foster needs to reflect on her own Position Andi needs to reflect on her own position and i am sure she will do that 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, lets 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 dont 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 Eastwood will be relatively happy with that. Who is next, all is the unionist mike nesbitt, not happy, hasnt made any real inroads into the dup. Look at the number of seats, ten. If you want to know why mike nesbitt has quit, there is the reason. No big gains for the Alliance Party, they have held on with eight seats, and they will be delighted under their leader, naomi long. Lets have a look at the scores on the doors to see how the smaller parties and independents have done, here they are, you can seejim have done, here they are, you can see jim allister, have done, here they are, you can seejim allister, the leader of the tuv, back at the back of the chamber making plenty of noise, and all eyes will be here on the front of the chamber. There is a big battle going on between the dup and sinn fein, only one seat in it at the moment, to see who is going to win the most seats, it could even be a 28 28 draw, all we know, mark, it is going to bea draw, all we know, mark, it is going to be a close finish. Looks like it indeed, thank you, mark. Fascinating situation. I am coming to you first, stephen, because you are an expert on the numbers, and just to pick up on what sam mcbride, Political Editor said, he described it as, i think i heard it correctly, a disasterfor unionism, is what he said, it is not a good election for mike nesbitt and he is gone, but it is not good eitherfor he is gone, but it is not good either for the he is gone, but it is not good eitherfor the dup. He is gone, but it is not good either for the dup. They he is gone, but it is not good eitherfor the dup. They may end up one or two seats ahead but they have lost the chief whip and the Party Chairman, they have lost significant figures like nelson mcausland, philip logan. How much pressure is Arlene Foster likely to come under in the next 24 to 48 hours . Arlene Foster likely to come under in the next 24 to 48 hours . I am not sure it will be the next 24 to 48 hours but pressure will be there at eventually. This has been a bad election. Matt mckay she started out the day as leader, 57,000 votes at the day as leader, 57,000 votes at the last election head of sinn fein. She may hold on to the First Minister by the 1200 votes ahead of sinn fein if it is a 28 28 tie. That will send shockwaves through unionism. It absolutely is. And it will be, owning, people have been saying this, but given where she was when she took over, and the honeymoon period with the media, she seemed in vulnerable, and look at what has happened just a few months down the line. Quick word, john . Looking at the numbers, it looks like in people designating unionists and nationals, it will almost be a dead heat, you know, and then the big parties, people talked before the election if the dup went below 30, arlene would be under real pressure, it is looking very unlikely. If it ends up as a dead heat, 28 apiece, lets speculate, the dup would still be able to appoint the First Minister rather than the deputy First Minister because there is a margin of 1200 between the dup and sinn fein. That is right, isnt it . Yes. It would be enough to claim the First Ministers position, though, of course, as we know, they are equal positions. That is why i want to name them. Which was part of your move. Which is the point i was making earlier. I think people should not be getting hung up on first and deputy First Minister. Well, the unionists r. Well, there are a lot who dont are. This is what i am saying. We need a Psychological Shift now. It is 5050. Psychological shift now. It is 50 50. Our society in the north is moving and changing and shifting. And also, earlier, john, we were debating brexit, i and also, earlier, john, we were debating brexit, lam not saying brexit was. What i am saying is it was one of the key issues and one of the reasons people came out to vote. So many people on the door said to me we dont want to be left here on our own me we dont want to be left here on ourown in me we dont want to be left here on our own in this little, in the six counties. I dont want to go back to that, because i want to try to look ahead. The reason they support us is not growth in the north but also in the south. Your thoughts as we enter the south. Your thoughts as we enter the last minutes . I think for both political communities, it is time for a rethink. I political communities, it is time fora rethink. I hear political communities, it is time for a rethink. I hear what sinn fein say about equality and respect and it does resonate very widely in the catholic community. And in what used to bea catholic community. And in what used to be a minority which is definitely no longer a minority. But they have to carry it a little further than that. They have to watch it on their language always. They need to go easy on things like commemorating, as michelle did, which of course she had to do, as the first clean skin leader, but they have to watch it because it doesnt look like respect, and for unionism it is a bigger question, they lost the majority in any real sense, that is a big psychological blow right through unionism, and it really ought to call for a Rethink Notjust from Arlene Foster, it has been personalised around her, but she isnt a single voice inside the dup, she speaks, she spoke for dup, in her arrogance, that has to be harbouring today. I think viewers on bbc Northern Ireland will be dell will be with us. We think that some results are about to come in. They could shake things. It would be otherwise to head to bed when some of the critical announcements might be just about to be made stephen, katrina made the point unionists shouldnt get hung up about some other things they get hung up on. You know these people well. You work with them. You have worked with lots of people and you made the point, i dont know if people caught it, you set people are hung up on it and it matters to them. It does matter. M was part of the dup narrative for the election, front and centre. Just asa the election, front and centre. Just as a side issue for some but an important issue for others. If the dup get to save 28, i think that their views on same sex marriage, it will not be as easily come by and i think it would be an amazing and there will be a enormous pressure to making us like the rest of the uk in relation to that. What you think the executive mcallister, if it is running up again, might look like, presumably the dup and sinn fein, but might it include the Alliance Party . Do you assume the also unionists would be in some sort of position . I think the alliance will qualify for the seventh ministry. And whether there is pressure from sinn fein to bring justice into it. I dont know. I think alliance, if. They will stick with their demands on as naomi said earlier, the things they wanted to look at, that might somehow have naturally. That people might have answered how to change the petition of concern because it is not going to be easy to come by. Unionism, and i do this, i nearly gave up my political career by telling union sometimes you are going down the wrong road on things like Irish Language, instead of reflecting the presbyterians save the language after the famine, that, you know, after the early days of home rule, the irish and english we re home rule, the irish and english were on the welcome sight, or when Queen Victoria visited belfast, somehow Queen Victoria visited belfast, somehow someone came Queen Victoria visited belfast, somehow someone came along and said this doesnt belong to you, mark, you know, and we all took a role and went home. Instead of actuallyjust saying this is part of my heritage just as much as yours, i am as irish as katrina, but identity shifts, and the fight over the First Minister stuff has worked well for the dup in the elections i was involved in in 07 and 11 and 16, and it hasnt worked as well this time, but creating these men of straw and then wondering why nobody response, instead of actually, we need to get back to what is it we want to do, we wa nt to back to what is it we want to do, we want to be First Minister and minister, unique purpose, you want to deal with that power and responsibility, well, the waiting list is going, rising at a rate of knots, what are we doing on health, and instead of fighting over things that we dont need to, so we turned it into. Sam mcbride said there has been an awful day for unionism. And unionism has to reflect. And thats why i have always said moving to one big party isnt a good idea. It is why i was against unionists. You need to give choice and change. And i hope the all star Unionist Party and dup stay in the opposition all party and dup stay in the opposition all star Unionist Party. There is a lot of food for thought. There are 80 seats which come in would just be newport up. The dup and sinn fein are closed on this on it and tuck. We will be here for the next half hour on bbc one Northern Ireland but at this stage we say goodbye to viewers on the news tamil who have been with us for the election coverage. Thank you for your coverage. Goodbye. News channel. Good evening. If youre heading to bed wondering what is in store, every picture tells a story. This was a glorious day for the Northern Isles but not the case for all of us because it was quite miserable, wasnt it, with some rain around through the day. This poor old garden in barnsley tells the story. Cloud, rain and a Soggy Rose Bay to boot. For the rest of the weekend, wet weather, some of it quite heavy, with dry interludes as well. Through saturday, the low pressure pushes north, through scotland and Northern Ireland rose beds. That is where heavy and persistent rain will be. We will also see some heavy rain continuing through the morning. Maybe snow on the tops of the mountains. That stretches down into Northern Ireland. A fair amount of cloud into the north of england and down to north wales. It will be windy. There will be showery outbreaks of rain in the south west. And Rain Clearing from east anglia. In between that, sunshine at nine oclock in the morning. This wet and windy weather for the Isles Of Scilly into cornwall will drift eastward into west wales in the afternoon. East wales, centraland eastern england, we keep dry, sunny weather, and in fact it will be the best of the weekend for you. I hope you can get out to enjoy it. Elsewhere, the breezy, wet weather with 68 elsewhere, the breezy, wet weather with 6 8 for the north and west, the highest values of around 9 12 with the best of the sunshine. That means many of the premiership matches will be dry. We could see showers full that bubble arsenal evening kickoff. For the liverpool arsenal evening kickoff. This system will move in with wet and windy weather from the south west, bringing change for some of us for the second half of the weekend. The wet, windy weather pushing north and east, some of it heavy for a time across england and wales first thing in the morning, and then grinding into a halt through scotland. Behind it it is dry before more rain pushes into the south west. So, more chance of wet weather for the premiership matches on sunday, although totte n ha m matches on sunday, although tottenham everton, after a wet start, hopefully brighter into the afternoon. Looking at head, wet and windy to the north and west into monday, somewhat cloudy conditions further south, but it looks as though it will be predominantly dry. Good night. This is bbc news. The headlines 12 people have been injured after an apparent chemical weapons attack in the iraqi city of mosul. So called Islamic State militants are being blamed. Is has threatened to use chemical weapons before, what isnt known is what chemical weapons they have, how much they have and what weapons they have to deliver those chemicals effectively. The french president makes a plea to citizens. Threats made thejewish Community Centres in the United States in a bizarre plot against the next governor. And are we there yet . The scene is