The DUP has retained its position as the largest party in the North, but the UUP is arguably celebrating harder after landing two surprise wins in the General Election.

The Democratic Unionists are this morning wondering if the post-election shakedown will hand them added influence at Westminster after a Northern Ireland poll that produced a couple of surprises.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has hit out at republicans who have refused to give evidence at the Smithwick tribunal into IRA-Garda collusion.

British banking giant Barclays today saw its credit rating outlook downgraded to negative to reflect concerns over the impact of Bob Diamond's shock resignation.

The failed Ulster Unionist and Conservative Party pact threw more money at the British general election than any of its opponents, it has been confirmed.

Peter Robinson received unanimous backing from Democratic Unionist members of the Northern Ireland Assembly today following the loss of his East Belfast Westminster seat.

THE leaders of Northern Ireland’s two main unionist parties were last night fighting for their political lives after the DUP’s Peter Robinson and the Ulster Unionists’ Reg Empey suffered humiliating defeats.

The chairman of an Ulster Unionist association in the North is joining the DUP, he announced today.

The North’s police chief paid a moving personal tribute today to the police constable shot dead by dissident republicans and promised his widow that he would never be forgotten.

Former RUC Chief Constable John Hermon who led the force at the height of the Troubles has died, his family announced today.

The Conservative Party today signalled that Ulster Unionists could secure a British Cabinet post in any future Tory government – though a final deal between the parties has yet to be announced.

THE Conservative Party is in talks with the Ulster Unionists about joining forces to create a new political movement in Northern Ireland.

The British Conservative Party is in talks with the Ulster Unionists about joining forces to create a new political movement in the North, it was revealed today.

“THINGS fall apart, the centre cannot hold, mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,” — well the fallout from the Belfast Assembly poll is not quite as bad as WB Yeats’s words suggest, but he was spot-on about the middle ground parties going south.

THE Ulster Unionists are facing fresh demands to sever their ties with a loyalist party after the father of a murder victim claimed he had received death threats.

Ulster Unionist Party MP Sylvia Hermon has said there is nothing to stop a woman from becoming Northern Ireland's first female Lord Chief Justice in the foreseeable future.

Prospective candidates for the leadership of the Ulster Unionist Party faced a final deadline today to enter the race to succeed David Trimble.

A CLEAR message was given by the Northern Ireland electorate in the recent general election there. The moderate Unionist electorate swung in behind the DUP while middle ground nationalists decided to opt for the SDLP.

The Ulster Unionist Party’s only remaining, MP Sylvia Hermon, announced that she does not want to succeed David Trimble as party leader.

SYLVIA HERMON last night dramatically withdrew from the race to succeed David Trimble as the leader of the Ulster Unionists.

THE Ulster Unionist Party’s last remaining MP, Lady Sylvia Hermon, yesterday said she is considering contesting the party leadership.

The Ulster Unionist vote will hold its own in next week’s general and local elections in Northern Ireland, one of the party’s candidate’s said tonight.

Unionists have criticised the British government's decision to give the Parades Commission extra powers to restrict loyalist marches in the North.

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern has no intention of apologising to Sinn Féin "under any circumstances" for contending its leadership had prior knowledge of the Northern Bank raid, Justice Minister McDowell said yesterday.

Union chiefs tonight vowed to fight any move by Gordon Brown to axe a quarter of administrative jobs in Northern Ireland’s civil service.

More than 50 soldiers were arrested in Northern Ireland during 2002 for driving without car insurance, it was revealed today.

The UK government faced fresh unionist demands today to scrap a police recruitment quota in Northern Ireland which requires an equal number of Catholic and Protestant trainees.

A veteran Ulster unionist member of the Northern Assembly is to retire at the next Stormont election.

The Ulster Unionist Party has condemned a court decision today which upheld the situation whereby recruits to the North’s police service must be 50-50 Catholic and Protestant.

Ulster Unionist MP Sylvia Hermon will address a meeting of Fianna Fail’s south Dublin branch next Monday.

An Ulster Unionist Party delegation is visiting Dublin today seeking support for its attempt to exclude Sinn Fein from the North’s power-sharing Executive.

Sylvia Hermon tonight gave a massive boost to Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble by pulling off a remarkable victory against sitting MP Bob McCartney.

In the Northern elections, the count centre at Newtownards will witness some of the top battles between pro-Agreement and anti-Agreement unionists.

The offer of an electoral pact between parties supporting the Good Friday Agreement remained open today as the Northern Ireland parties prepared to nominate Westminster candidates.

A former mayor, forced to pull out of a bid to stand in the General Election in Northern Ireland after a blackmail attempt, insists he took the right action.

David Trimble's electoral hopes of seeing-off a challenge from Ian Paisley's DUP were given a boost last night when a pro-Agreement candidate won the party nomination in North Down.