Alliance secures historic first in traditional DUP heartland and gain seats in Strangford

Traditional Unionist Voice party leader Jim Allister (Brian Lawless/PA)

Patricia O’Lynn has become the first female MLA for North Antrim in a double first, also becoming the first Alliance Party member to win a seat in the constituency.

The UUP’s Robin Swann topped the poll with 9,530 votes ahead of Sinn Féin’s Philip McGuigan’s 9,348, which saw them both elected at the first stage.