Sinn Féin surge could see O'Neill as North's First Minister

Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill. Support for her party is at 25% according to new poll. 

Sinn Féin is on course to take the role of First Minister from the DUP in Northern Ireland as a new poll shows it is now, by far, the largest party there.

The poll has seen support for the DUP slump to just 16%, posing a major challenge for incoming leader Edwin Poots.

Sinn Féin is on 25%, giving it a 9% lead on its nearest challengers and putting Michelle O'Neill on course to take the role of First Minister at the next election in May 2022.

The DUP and the Alliance party are now level on 16%, while the Ulster Unionist Party has risen to 14%, overtaking the SDLP, down one point to 11%, according to the LucidTalk poll for the Belfast Telegraph.

There were also gains for the TUV, up one point to 11%, in what is perhaps a sign of fracturing support among unionist parties.

The polls will make troubling reading for incoming DUP leader Edwin Poots.

In addition to falling well behind its Sinn Féin rivals, Mr Poots' personal rating among DUP voters is low.

The survey found that his leadership rival, Jeffrey Donaldson, was more popular among their supporters by a three-to-one margin.

Two thirds backed Mr Donaldson to replace the outgoing Arlene Foster, while only a fifth backed the man who ended up taking the job.

When asked which candidate they would back if they had a vote in the DUP leadership contest, 64% of the party's voters said Mr Donaldson, while just 21% opted for Mr Poots.

Mr Poots will now be tasked with arresting his party's decline, which has tumbled from 31% at the 2019 Westminster election.

Edwin Poots

A Belfast Telegraph poll four months ago put the DUP at an all-time-low of 19%.

Another drop of 3% represents a new nadir for the party.

Other unionist parties are set to profit off their falling support. Among those who voted DUP at the last Assembly election, 29% say they will now vote TUV, while 10% will vote UUP. Another 4% said they would now vote for the Alliance party.

Things are looking considerably better for Sinn Féin, whose support has steadily climbed since 2019.

Mr Poots was ranked by voters as the worst-performing party leader in Northern Ireland, behind the outgoing Arlene Foster.

He was rated as bad or awful by 62% of voters, compared to 50% who said that of Ms Foster, and just 22% about Mr Beattie.

Among unionists, he was viewed as bad or awful by some 43% of voters, with 36% saying the same about Mrs Foster.

For Michelle O'Neill, close to half of voters, 49%, viewed her performance as bad or awful.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Secretary of State Brandon Lewis both remain deeply unpopular, with 71% and 66% of voters rating them as bad or awful respectively.