Irish nationalists Sinn Fein achieved a historic milestone on Friday, becoming the largest party from Northern Ireland in the British parliament. This success comes after

a particularly poor election performance by its primary unionist rival, marking another step in Sinn Fein's ongoing campaign to end British rule.

With 17 of the 18 seats declared, Sinn Fein retained the seven seats it won in the previous election. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) secured four seats, down from the eight they won in 2019, and cannot surpass Sinn Fein. Among the notable losses for the DUP was Ian Paisley Jr., whose family had held a Westminster seat since 1970.

The DUP, Northern Ireland's largest pro-British party, faced this election shortly after the resignation of former leader Jeffrey Donaldson, who stepped down following charges over historical sex offences.

Sinn Fein's triumph in this election marks a significant electoral sweep for the party. In 2022, Sinn Fein became the first nationalist party to secure the most seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly since its creation in 1921. They also won local council elections the following year. Despite their policy of abstentionism in Westminster, Sinn Fein now stands as the largest Northern Ireland party in the UK parliament. Photo by Chris Downer, Wikimedia commons.