Northern Ireland

Re-count adds some interest to Causeway Coast and Glens poll

Coleraine PUP councillor Russell Watton
Coleraine PUP councillor Russell Watton Coleraine PUP councillor Russell Watton

Several candidates were elected, then re-elected in an unusual turn of events at the Causeway count in Coleraine Leisure Centre.

Counting was well underway in the Coleraine ward when it was announced yesterday afternoon that votes would have to be re-counted following a "discrepancy" at stage four of the process.

The council later said the re-count was "due to a bundle of 25 votes being placed into the wrong candidate's allocation".

The PUP's Russell Watton, who had become the first councillor from his party to be re-elected, had already spoken to journalists about his victory in the ward.

Council elections 2019: full results

Several hours later, his win was confirmed again following the re-count.

However, the re-count did not change the fortunes of Conservative candidate David Harding, who was his party's last remaining elected representative in the north.

Joining more than a thousand councillors who lost their seats in the English local elections, the veteran councillor also failed to be re-elected.

Former post office clerk Ambrose Laverty, from Ballycastle, was the first to be elected to the council.

A fan of US presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders, the independent Glens councillor had narrowly missed out in the 2014 election.

But this time round he beat the might of Sinn Féin's Cara McShane and Oliver McMullan to top the poll in The Glens.

In a surprise result, Ulster Unionist councillor Joan Baird held her seat in the same ward.

She battled it out against the DUP's Bill Kennedy for the final of five seats.

Former DUP councillor Ian Stevenson decided to stand as an independent after he was given a community service sentence for sexually assaulting a nursing colleague in a care home.

However, the former mayor of Ballymoney failed in his bid to be re-elected.

It was a better night for the DUP's Ivor Wallace who made a bold claim in his election literature that "if I was cut I'd bleed Ballymoney".

The businessman's loyalty to his home town was repaid after he became one of the last councillors to be elected for the Ballymoney ward.

In the Benbradagh area, Sinn Féin's Sean McGlinchey easily topped the poll with 1,574 votes - more than 500 ahead of party colleague Dermot Nicholl.

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Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council

40 seats

Change since 2014:

DUP 14 (+3), SF 9 (+2), UUP 7 (-3), SDLP 6 (-), All 2 (+1), PUP 1 (-), TUV 0 (-3)

Turnout: 52 per cent

Ballymoney (7 seats, 1,094)

Darryl Wilson (UUP) 1,420

John Finlay (DUP) 1,322

Leanne Peacock (SF) 1,153

Cathal McLaughlin (SF) 906

Alan McLean (DUP) 827

Ivor Wallace (DUP) 826

Peter McCully (All) 734

Tom McKeown (UUP) 512

William Blair (TUV) 497

Ian Richard Stevenson (Ind) 220

John Wilson (TUV) 217

David Hanna (Ukip) 117

Elected

Darryl Wilson (UUP) 1st count


John Finlay (DUP) 1st count


Leanne Peacock (SF) 1st count


Tom McKeown (UUP) 7th count


Alan McLean (DUP) 7th count


Ivor Wallace (DUP) 7th count


Cathal McLaughlin (SF) 7th count

Bann (5 seats, Quota 1,213)

Sean Bateson (SF) 1,403

Adrian McQuillan (DUP) 1,047

Richard John Holmes (UUP) 964

William King (UUP) 799

Michelle Knight-McQuillan (DUP) 781

Helena Dallat O'Driscoll (SDLP) 686

Sam Cole (DUP) 639

Charlie McConaghy (All) 491

Timmy Reid (PUP) 251

Elizabeth Collins (TUV) 214

Elected

Sean Bateson (SF) 1st count


Adrian McQuillan (DUP) 5th count


Richard John Holmes (UUP) 5th count


Michelle Knight-McQuillan (DUP) 5th count


Helena Dallat O'Driscoll (SDLP) 5th count

Benbradagh (5 seats, Quota 1,175)

Sean McGlinchey (SF) 1,574

Dermot Nicholl (SF) 1,002

Orla Beattie (SDLP) 922

Edgar Scott (DUP) 896

Kathleen McGurk (SF) 677

Proinsias Brolly (Aontú) 655

Boyd Douglas (TUV) 581

Robert Thomas Carmichael (UUP) 410

Christine Turner (All) 332

Elected

Sean McGlinchey (SF) 1st count


Orla Beattie (SDLP) 3rd count


Dermot Nicholl (SF) 5th count


Edgar Scott (DUP) 5th count


Kathleen McGurk (SF) 5th count

Causeway (7 seats, Quota 1,017)

Mark Fielding (DUP) 1,276

Chris McCaw (All) 1,212

Sharon McKillop (DUP) 1,010

John McAuley (DUP) 831

Sandra Hunter (UUP) 774

Norman Hillis (UUP) 758

David Alexander (Ind) 552

Angela Mulholland (SDLP) 496

Mark Coulson (Green) 331

Cyril Quigg (TUV) 325

Emma Thompson (SF) 267

Stewart Moore (TUV) 167

Rebecca Hanna (Ukip) 132

Elected

Mark Fielding (DUP) 1st count


Chris McCaw (All) 1st count


Sharon McKillop (DUP) 2nd count


John McAuley (DUP) 4th count


Sandra Hunter (UUP) 8th count


Norman Hillis (UUP) 8th count


Angela Mulholland (SDLP) 8th count

Coleraine (6 seats, Quota 1,019)

Russell Watton (PUP) 1,325

Stephanie Quigley (SDLP) 983

Philip Anderson (DUP) 901

George Duddy (DUP) 866

Trevor Clarke (DUP) 769

Yvonne Boyle (All) 732

William McCandless (UUP) 633

Ciarán Archibald (SF) 417

John Wisener (UUP) 292

David Harding (Con) 112

Armanda Ranaghan (Ukip) 101

Elected

Russell Watton (PUP) 1st count


Stephanie Quigley (SDLP) 4th count


Philip Anderson (DUP) 4th count


George Duddy DUP) 5th count


Yvonne Boyle (All) 5th count


William McCandless (UUP) 5th count

Limavady (5 seats, Quota 928)

Alan Robinson (DUP) 1,498

Brenda Chivers (SF) 1,034

James McCorkell (DUP) 654

Kevin Hayward (All) 557

Ashleen Schenning (SDLP) 519

Raymond Kennedy (UUP) 405

Aaron Callan (DUP) 385

Francie Brolly (Aonú) 337

Colin Cartwright (TUV) 176

Elected

Alan Robinson (DUP) 1st count


Brenda Chivers (SF) 1st count


James McCorkell (DUP) 2nd count


Ashleen Schenning (SDLP) 6th count


Aaron Callan (DUP) 6th count

The Glens (5 seats, Quota 1,123)

Ambrose Laverty (Ind) 1,267

Cara McShane (SF) 1,102

Oliver McMullan (SF) 1,097

Margaret-Anne McKillop (SDLP) 1,080

Bill Kennedy (DUP) 843

Joan Baird (UUP) 758

Kieran James Mulholland (SF) 589

Elected

Ambrose Laverty (Ind) 1st count


Cara McShane (SF) 2nd count


Oliver McMullan (SF) 2nd count


Margaret-Anne McKillop (SDLP) 3rd count


Joan Baird (UUP) 6th count