As a third generation Ulster Unionist, surely the time has come for a radical rethink of where the party which ruled Northern Ireland for half a century at Stormont needs to go.
• Bobby’s sister Marcella and mother Rosaleen Sands in Enniskillen following the announcement of the by-election result
On Thursday, 9 April 1981, Bobby Sands was elected MP for the constituency of Fermanagh and South Tyrone. Sands polled 30,492 votes against unionist candidate Harry West’s 29,046. There were only 3,280 spoilt, highlighting the failure of the SDLP’s and Austin Currie’s attempts to sabotage the campaign.
The count, held in Enniskillen Technical College, had attracted crowds of loyalists in a triumphalist mood, no doubt believing the almost-blanket media assertion that Sands had no chance. However, the realisation set in during the course of the count that Bobby Sands would almost certainly be elected. There was a high turnout and low levels of spoilt votes from SDLP strongholds, both factors that were favourable to Bobby Sands. Slowly the loyalists melted away.