After being elected as the MP for Strangford for the fifth time, Jim Shannon’s message was “where unionism is divided, unionism loses.”

The DUP stalwart – who branded himself as “everyone’s MP” – topped the polls with 15,559 votes, followed closely by Alliance’s Michelle Guy who attracted 10,428 votes.

He thanked “Team Shannon” for their “faithful and incredible work”, and to all those who put their cross beside his name.

Mr Shannon then said: “My urge for all of those of the unionist parties that ran in this election and across this province is simple – unionism needs to look at themselves and where they are and work together.”

He topped the polls in the 2019 election with 17,705, meaning this time around his vote decreased. Boundary changes and a strong challenge from the Alliance Party contributed to this.

The TUV candidate Ron McDowell secured 3,143 votes. Sinn Fein’s Noel Sands obtained 2,793 votes, while the UUP’s Richard Smart got 3,941 votes.