Are Sinn Fein heading for an election triumph?

Bankrupt councils, the imminent collapse of Thames Water, prison overcrowding and a row with unions over public sector pay are some of the unwelcome prospects facing Keir Starmer if he wins the election. Sue Gray, the Labour leader’s chief of staff, has compiled a so-called ‘shit list’ of such things which could derail any potential Labour government in the early days of its tenure in Downing Street. There’s another problem to add to the list: the prospect of Sinn Fein triumphing in Northern Ireland and becoming the Province’s largest party at Westminster.

A shambolic DUP campaign could easily end up handing Sinn Fein victory. If the DUP haemorrhage enough votes to other unionist parties then tight seats like East Belfast or South Antrim could slip from the party’s grasp to Alliance or the Ulster Unionists respectively. There would only be one winner from this outcome: Sinn Fein.