DUP's Carla Lockhart praises family after retaining Upper Bann seat

By Joanne Sweeney, PA

The DUP’s Carla Lockhart praised the role of family in her election success as she retained her Upper Bann seat in front of her five-year-old son Charlie, who was in his pyjamas at the Craigavon count centre.

Ms Lockhart gained an increased majority in a constituency that saw boundary changes on the last election.

The DUP’s only female MP received 21,642 votes, an extra 1,141 votes over her 2019 total of 20,501.

“Boundary changes are always an unknown addition to all the planning, with old constituents leaving and new ones coming in, and makes this win all the more unbelievable,” she said.

“I want to thank the new Upper Bann constituents for their welcome and all those who came out to vote for me. I am truly blown away. To increase my vote with a reduced electorate is something that I never imagined.”

She pledged to continue to work for all the constituents of Upper Bann and said that she had run a positive campaign, knocking on 30,000 doors and handing out 20,000 leaflets.

She made her victory speech in front of her son Charlie, who she described as “the apple of her eye” and praised the support of her husband Rodney and her campaign team.

She also spoke emotionally of her late father, who died last year, and wished he could have been there.

Sinn Féin’s Catherine Nelson came second with 14,236 votes.

She congratulated Ms Lockhart and thanked her election team for working “tirelessly” over the last six weeks. Ms Nelson claimed that her party had made history in Upper Bann by increasing its vote share.

“That’s an increased vote for change,” she added.

Alliance’s Eoin Tennyson came third, with a slight reduction of his 2019 tally with 6,322 votes.

Kate Evans of the Ulster Unionists gained 3,662 votes while Malachy Quinn of the SDLP received 1,496.