A lot of attention has been given to Sinn Féin becoming the largest party in the Northern Ireland assembly as a result of last week’s election (DUP to block formation of Northern Ireland power-sharing executive, 9 May).
More significantly, the parties supporting the Northern Ireland protocol received 53.5% of first preference votes, compared with 40.1% for those parties against, resulting in 52 members in favour to 35 against. Of course, not everyone voted with the protocol in mind, and there were some small parties not in these figures. But it does indicate that those against the protocol are a minority.
