Sinn Féin becomes biggest party in local government in Northern Ireland

Sinn Féin has become the biggest party in Northern Ireland local government after stunning gains in council elections.

It swept past the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) and became the first nationalist party to hold the most council seats, delivering a political and psychological blow to unionism.

Sinn Féin made unprecedented breakthroughs in parts of County Down and County Antrim and almost doubled its vote from the 2019 local election in…