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David Trimble: "voice of unionism"
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Unionists hail poll result
The leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, David Trimble, has declared himself "delighted" with his party's election performance. He described his Party, which won ten out of eighteen Northern Ireland seats and 33 per cent of the overall vote, as the "voice of Unionism in Northern Ireland".
Speaking after winning the Upper Bann seat, Mr Trimble said: "The result of this general election here in Northern Ireland demonstrates clearly once again not just that the Ulster Unionist Party is the largest party, but it is, within unionism, the senior unionist party." However, Mr Trimble was strongly critical of Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party, which stood a candidate against him.; this trimmed his majority by around 7,000 votes. "Regrettably in this election, we have seen a level of personal vituperation by certain parties," he said.
Mr Trimble said he regarded the new Labour government as "not a threat, but as an opportunity". He remarked: "We see a government coming in which is committed to devolution and to decentralisation".
The UUP won the newly created West Tyrone seat. A split in the nationalist vote was a major factor behind William Thompson's victory. Nevertheless, Mr Thompson hailed his win as "sensational...This vote represents a victory for unionism."
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