Like father .. like son: Paisley Jnr. victorious in North Antrim

LONG before the formal results were announced, it was plain to all observers that Jim Allister's attempt to wrest the North Antrim Westminster seat from the DUP had ended in failure.

From the very start of the count at the Seven Towers Leisure Centre, the wads of votes on the Paisley Jnr. table piled up in remorseless fashion. Tallymen from rival parties frowned and chewed on their pencils as more and more election slips, firmly enclosed in rubber bands, were allocated to the DUP stockpile. By 11.30pm, the word in the corridors was 'Paisley romp' .. and like so many Cheshire cats, the DUP election team could barely contain their delight.

Ballymena man Derek Douglas, heading up the Paisley election machine for the first time, had possibly the biggest smile of all as he shook hands, patted backs and nodded knowingly to his band of workers.

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TUV leader Jim Allister arrived at the counting centre shortly after 11pm, accompanied by his wife. It must have been clear to him from this early stage that his bid for ultimate glory had failed - quite simply the predictions of a large scale melt-down in the DUP vote had been exposed as little more than wishful thinking, propagated by party activists - and not only among the ranks of the TUV camp.

At midnight, Ian Paisley Snr. entered the arena, flanked by his wife. The cameras were dutifully on hand to mark the occasion.

Shortly afterwards, Paisley the Younger sauntered in, having chosen to walk from his party's advice office in Church Street. By this stage he knew the score. He could well afford to stroll.

It was all over bar the shouting - and there was some of that to come.

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A pervading odour of sweat was in the air as the candidates and their teams shuffled into the less than glamorous surroundings of the Minor Hall. But the scent of perspiration was not exuding from stressed politicos, rather it was the lingering reminder that the hall usually plays host to athletes training hard for success in their chosen sports.

In truth, it was a 'no sweat' election for Paisley Jnr. in results terms.

A triumphal cheer - with discernible undertones of 'we told you so' - resonated around the confined space as Rae Kirk revealed that the new MP had secured 19,672 votes. The DUP contingent kept on beaming, the TUV maintained a stoic silence and the rest .. well, the rest basically knew what to expect anyway.

Taking centre stage, Paisley Jnr. nodded to his entourage and, In keeping with traditions laid down by his father, the doxology was sung with appropriate gusto. Most observers had seen and heard it all before.

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"Nothing changes then," sighed a long serving Ulster Unionist.

He could not have been more wrong. Seconds later, the mobiles began to buzz. News was breaking of the shattering defeat of DUP leader Peter Robinson in East Belfast. Most media orgainsations had pin-pointed the DUP versus TUV struggle in North Antrim as their main story of the evening - few, if any, had given serious thought to such a dramatic turnaround in Robinson's heartland.

Paisley Jnr. completed his speech to a media audience for whom the whole ball game had been tossed in the air. The National Anthem having been sung, he left the stage and headed for the exit, the press pack surging behind him, microphones at the ready, all seeking that 'immediate reaction' interview. It was as though a vacuum cleaner had been turned on.

Politicians place 'relevance' high on their agenda. Jim Allister, having been the focus of attention for the duration of the campaign, was staring into dark gloom of irrelevance. A lone TV camera remained to record his words, the rest of the TV and Radio tribe were seeking their news sustenance elsewhere.

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Speaking to the converted, Mr. Allister vowed to continue with the TUV project and his supporters bravely roared their approval. Indeed, one time Paisley stalwart Roy Gillespie, had come well equipped to generate some noise for his new leader.

He produced a 1950s style football rattle but its clatter was almost drowned out by a wave of derisive, staged laughter from Sinn Fein election workers. Ballymena councillor Monica Digney, resplendent in a Sinn Fein t-shirt laughed loudest and longest of all. Frankly, it was a rather embarrassing scene.

But there were a few more tantalising moments of tension to come, most noticeably when Jim Allister and his team had to walk the gauntlet of exuberant, jeering DUP supporters on the way out of the count.

For most of the evening, the QC had stoically maintained a serene expression, his face fixed in an uncomfortable half-smile, his hands clasped behind his back.

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He wore that same visage like a suit of armour as he strolled around the fringes of a DUP packed crowd who were loudly glorying in his defeat.

"That's you put in your place Allister!" shouted a voice from the midst of the throng.

"Cheerio, cheerio," sang the delighted new age Paisleyites. Allister just kept walking, the smile becoming a little more disdainful by the step.

Just as he reached the exit doors, a female DUP supporter in an ecstasy of enjoyment, literally jumped up and down on the spot, clapping her hands like a child with a new doll at Christmas.

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Then, for a split second she reached out and touched the TUV leader on his upper arm. The movement wasn't worthy of the description 'shove', but it was enough to stop the QC in his tracks. He stared at the woman, grimaced and then walked on, turning away from another taunt.

It was at this point that Mr. Allister's wife stopped and fixed the woman with a steely glare. Two or three seconds can seem a long time in such a situation. Then she, too, made her way into the cold night air.

All that remained was for Paisley Jnr. to accept the adulation of his supporters. The victorious new MP was carried shoulder high from the reception area, reaching out to pump hands and high five his overjoyed supporters. Then it was off to what the man himself described as a party. He left with a skip in his step and a new era had begun.