East Belfast: There was respite for the DUP as its leader increased his majority

​The DUP leader was widely considered to be vulnerable in the Westminster constituency, having only beaten the Alliance Party leader Mrs Long by an 1,800 vote margin in 2019.

Mr Robinson faced the further difficulty that this time he had two unionist party rivals running to become MP, thus threatening to rob the DUP of enough votes to snatch victory from him.

In the event, the Ulster Unionist and TUV candidates garnered almost 4,000 ballots combined, but Mr Robinson still managed to increase his majority to 2,626 votes.

Mrs Long’s bid to regain the seat that she won in 2010, in a surprise victory over the then DUP leader Peter Robinson, was always going to be more difficult than it was five years ago, when there was no nationalist or Green candidate. This time the SDLP and Greens both stood, but polled a mere 1,696 votes between them. If both those parties had stayed out of the contest, as Sinn Fein did, and if all of their votes had then gone to Mrs Long, she would still have fallen short.

It is the fourth time that the pair have slogged it out for the East Belfast seat: 2015, 2017, 2019, and last year. Mr Robinson has won all those contests, but only in 2017 did he do so by a handsome majority (of 8,000 votes).

Speaking on stage after being declared elected, Mr Robinson thanked the other candidates for the way they conducted the campaign and told Alliance Party leader Ms Long "we have to stop meeting like this". The two long-standing political rivals paid warm tribute to each other in their post-result speeches to cheering supporters at the count.

Mr Robinson said "the consequences of divided unionism" was evident in several constituencies across Northern Ireland as he pledged for more co-operation within unionism.

He also said: "There will be much to say about this election in the hours and the days to come. None of us, neither me nor my colleagues, chose the circumstances in which we stood in this election.”

Mr Robinson added: "But none of us have lost hope on what it is we stand for, and that is to confidently and to proudly stand up for Northern Ireland within our United Kingdom ... even though there are those who would rather see unionism on its knees."

Ms Long emphasised the importance of candidates putting themselves forward for election and said she had enjoyed the campaign more than any other she had fought in, calling it "a positive campaign focused on the issues".

She said she saw hope in Lagan Valley with the election of Sorcha Eastwood as an MP, and an opportunity for the party to grow.

As he arrived at the Titanic Exhibition Centre on Friday, Mr Robinson was embraced by party supporters and said his performance in East Belfast was "a good result" for the party.

He said his performance was one that reflects "not only the political campaign our team has run in East Belfast but also in recognition of the people who in this election have come out to vote or come out to vote for the first time in a long time".

The News Letter got an early glimpse that Mr Robinson was ahead in our mini exit poll, when we spoke to hundreds of voters outside Elmgrove Primary School in East Belfast between 3pm and 930pm on Thursday.

Gavin Robinson got the votes of 156 people we asked.

Naomi Long got 134 votes in our sample.

The TUV got 22.

Greens got 10. SDLP got 9.

An independent candidate got 7 votes. The UUP got 4 votes.

A further 159 people would not say how they are voted.

Elmgrove tends to vote more unionist than average compared to all of East Belfast, but even so samples there tend to give an idea of how the whole constituency has voted – as on this occasion it did.

Amongst those who explained to us why they voted as they did were Jordan Cunningham and his wife Amy, who were leaving the polling station with their 10-month old son Kenzie, and said that they had voted DUP.

As Christians, they said that they found Alliance too progressive on social questions. But Jordan added: “We are not wanting to turn the clock back to the 1950s.”

Jill McCracken, 25, a junior doctor voted Alliance, having previously been an Ulster Unionist voter.

She cited one reason for her switch: “Alliance spoke a junior doctor strikes rally.”

David Connolly switched his vote from DUP to the TUV. He said: "I have no confidence in the DUP any more. They have told too many lies over the Irish Sea border. Jim Allister, on the other hand, is a straight talker.”

Jason McCrory, who left Elmgrove with his son Henry Leahy, 4, said that he had had no doubt in voting DUP, as he had done previously.

He said: "I have a sister who is a lesbian and a cousin who is gay, so that does not bother me. But I don’t agree with teaching three year olds that a girl can be a boy and boy can be a girl.”

East Belfast

Gavin Robinson (DUP) 19,894

Naomi Long (Alliance) 17,218

John Ross (TUV) 1,918

Ryan Warren (UUP) 1,818

Brian Smyth (Green) 1,077

Séamas de Faoite (SDLP) 619

Ryan North (Independent) 169

Majority 2,676

Turnout 64%