Trimble fighting for political life

Voters in the North will learn today if Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble will still be in the House of Commons as counting for the North's 18 Westminster seats gets underway.

The counting of votes in the North is due to get underway at 9am, with the first results expected in the afternoon and the final outcome known some time tonight.

Mr Trimble is fighting for his political life in his Upper Bann constituency, and the Rev Ian Paisley’s Democratic Unionists believe their candidate David Smpson can claim the biggest scalp of the General Election.

But Sinn Féin is also hoping to capture another Nobel Peace Prize winner’s seat in Foyle, where the party’s general secretary Mitchel McLaughlin believes he can win former SDLP leader John Hume's constituency.

Current SDLP leader Mark Durkan is defending the seat, a do-or-die constituency for the party.

There were claims last night in Derry that turnout in the constituency could be in late 60%s.

When the last Parliament was dissolved, the DUP had six seats, one gained when Jeffrey Donaldson defected from the Ulster Unionists.

The UUP had five MPs, Sinn Féin four, and the nationalist SDLP three.

During the election campaign, the DUP aggressively targeted all five UUP seats.

Sinn Féin was hopeful it could take two of the SDLP’s, including Foyle.