Northern Ireland

Carroll survives squeeze on smaller parties to keep West Belfast seat

People Before Profit's Gerry Carroll celebrates his election with partner Milène Fegan and baby son Feilimí. Picture by Hugh Russell.
People Before Profit's Gerry Carroll celebrates his election with partner Milène Fegan and baby son Feilimí. Picture by Hugh Russell. People Before Profit's Gerry Carroll celebrates his election with partner Milène Fegan and baby son Feilimí. Picture by Hugh Russell.

IN an election where smaller parties saw their vote squeezed, People Before Profit’s Garry Carroll had to battle for transfers to keep his seat.

The party saw its vote halved from the 2017 election, when it ran two candidates.

Running solo again in 2022, Gerry Carroll’s 3,279 first preference votes was a far cry from 2016, when he polled 8,299 on the first count.

But in the context of Sinn Féin’s strong performance, and its careful voter management, the People Before Profit man was satisfied with the result.

“Smaller parties have been squeezed across the board,” he said.

“In that context for us to get re-elected in West Belfast, in an area where Sinn Féin’s vote surged, I think is a tremendous achievement for ourselves, our activists and for everybody who voted for us.

Mr Carroll was effectively in a battle with the SDLP’s Paul Doherty to stay in the race long enough to keep the seat. Reflecting an extremely difficult election for the SDLP, the party saw its vote well down in what had been a target.

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The DUP’s Frank McCoubrey enjoyed an early lead, taking 4,166 at the first count. But with the only transfers of note coming from the TUV, it was Mr Carroll who was ahead of Mr Doherty toward the end. And it was the SDLP transfers which leap-frogged him over the DUP man.

Speaking afterwards, he said the cost-of-living crisis made the People Before Profit’s work at Stormont all the more crucial.

“Having a socialist voice in Stormont is going to be incredibly important to try and give some left wing direction to the discontent that is being expressed by pretty much every single community out there,” said Mr Carroll.

In an election where Alliance grabbed the headlines, it was largely left to those in the political sphere to marvel at Sinn Féin’s 2022 vote management in West Belfast. Managing to attract an extra 2,874 voters from 2017, Sinn Féin took its share to just shy of 64 per cent.

Danny Baker’s 9,011 first preferences saw him elected on the first count. But it was clear after the first stage that Órlaithí Flynn, Aisling Reilly and Pat Sheehan would follow.

Mr Baker said the party praised the “discipline” of Sinn Féin voters in the constituency, and said they had responded to a positive campaign.

“We work really hard. We’re ground level activists and always have been and we continue to do so.

“We are rooted in our community,” he added.