As Britain Turned Away From E.U., Northern Ireland Turned to Sinn Fein

Six years after Britain voted to leave the European Union, no part of the United Kingdom has felt the sting in the tail more than Northern Ireland, where Brexit laid the groundwork for Sinn Fein’s remarkable rise in legislative elections this week.

With almost all of the votes counted on Saturday, Sinn Fein, the main Irish nationalist party, declared victory, racking up 27 of the 90 seats available in the Northern Ireland Assembly, the most of any party in the territory. The Democratic Unionist Party, which represents those who want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom, slipped to second place, with 24 seats.

“Today ushers in a new era which I believe presents us all with an opportunity to reimagine relationships in this society on the basis of fairness, on the basis of equality and on the basis of social justice,” said Michelle O’Neill, the party’s leader who is set to become the region’s first minister.