General Election 2024: Foyle's DUP's candidate using this campaign to build for future

DUP MP Gary Middleton was speaking to the News Letter before ballots had arrived for counting at the Magherafelt count centre.

He said this election is critical preparation for the next assembly election - he gathered 10.1% of the vote at the 2019 poll in the strongly nationalist seat.

"Well, at this election there have been boundary changes which have taken effect for the first time," he said.

"A lot of unionist voters have felt a bit dismayed at having to vote at different places other than the Foyle constituency.

"So for us it is about ascertaining which unionist vote is there under these new boundary changes and what that will mean for the upcoming assembly electionswhich are due to take place in 2027 - and what that will mean for the unionist seat here in the Foyle constituency."

However Mr Middleton has already scored a major victory even before a ballot box has been opened. He and his wife welcomed their second child - a daughter- into the world just two weeks ago, in the midst of a busy campaign.

He suggested that initial glimpses of boxes in Londonderry suggested over turnout looked to be around 50%.

If accurate, that would be a significant drop on the 63.4% of the 2019 poll, but time will tell."We feel that unionists did come out, the question is about the volume of those," he said.

He added: "But for us, when people say the Westminster election is not important for unionism in Foyle, it very much is.

"It is important for unionists to have used their vote and for that to be counted in the overall tally."

It is understood the SDLP are quietly confident that their leader Colum Eastwood will take the seat once again - having a majority of 17,000 in 2019.

However they have been on record they were taking nothing for granted, with Sinn Fein having sprung a surprise victory before, taking the seat in 2017.

That said, it has been suggested the Sinn Fein posters in the area were only erected later than expected in the campaign, possibly because their attention was more taken up with elections in the south.