Derry & Strabane Council Election 2023: Faughan Final stage - Double delight as Sinn Féin candidates take seats on Council

Alex Duffy and Sean Fleming were both deemed elected at the final stage to cheers from Sinn Fein MLAs and relatives who had gathered for the announcement at Foyle Arena in what is proving a memorable night for the party.

Their election meant that Sinn Féin returned all three candidates in the ward.

Alliance Councillor Rachael Ferguson, despite a respectable vote and share of transfers, missed out on retaining her seat on the Council in the final count.

Stage 5

Julie Middleton has been elected as a DUP Alderman to Derry City & Strabane District Council to represent the Faughan ward.

The first time candidate leaped above the quota after receiving 622 transfers in stage 5 of the Count following the elimination of running mate Gary Wilkinson.

The elated new Alderman said she was honoured to be given the opportunity to represent Faughan and vowed to play her part in addressing the many issues raised on the doorstep.

While never having stood for election before, Julie Middleton is no stranger to politics and is the wife of Foyle DUP MLA Gary Middelton.

The distribution after stage 5 was as follows: Alex Duffy SF (0+) 1325.16 votes; Sean Fleming Sinn Fein (1+) 1242.58 votes; Julie Middleton (622+) 1659.82 votes; Rachael Ferguson Alliance (15.38+) 962.88 votes

The quota is 1350.

Stage 4

Declan Norris had been elected for the SDLP after stage 4 in Faughan following the distribution of running-mate Hayley Canning’s transfers.

The distribution was as follows: Declan Norris (407+) 1396.22 votes; Alex Duffy SF (80.58+) 1325.16 votes; Sean Fleming SDLP (40+) 1241.58 votes; Julie Middleton (5+) 1037.82 votes; Rachael Ferguson Alliance (121.16+) 947.50 votes; and Gary Wilkinson DUP (4.58+) 712.78 votes.

Declan Norris has been elected for the SDLP in Faughan. The DUP have lost a seat with the elimination of Gary Wilkinson

Stage 3

SDLP candidate Hayley Canning has been excluded after stage 3 in the Faughan District Electoral Area (DEA).

The breakdown following the distribution of UUP candidate Ryan McCready’s surplus was as follows: Alex Duffy SF (0.58+) 1244.58 votes; Sean Fleming SF (0.58+) 1201.58 votes; Julie Middleton DUP (16.82+) 1032.82 votes; Declan Norris SDLP (5.23+) 989.22 votes; Rachael Ferguson Alliance (13.34+) 826.34 votes; Gary Wilkinson DUP (23.20+) 708.2 votes; and Hayley Canning SDLP (3.48%) 685.48 votes.

Hayley Canning of the SDLP has been eliminated and her transfers will not be distributed.

Stage 2

Poll-topping Ulster Unionist Party candidate Ryan McCready was deemed elected after stage 2 of the count in Faughan after the distribution of transfers from Graham Warke and Damian Gallagher.

Mr. McCready surpassed the quota of 1,350 votes with a total of 1,414 votes following the allocation of lower preference votes from the Independent and People Before Profit candidates. His surplus will not be redistributed among the remaining candidates.

The distribution was as follows: Ryan McCready UUP 132+ (1,414 votes); Alex Duffy Sinn Féin (51+) 1244 votes; Sean Fleming SF (39+) 1201 votes; Julie Middleton DUP (28+) 1016 votes; Declan Norris SDLP ) 984 votes; Rachael Ferguson Alliance (118+) 813 votes; Gary Wilkinson DUP 32+ (685 votes); and Hayley Canning SDLP (68+) 682 votes;

Stage 1

Former Mayor Graham Warke has been eliminated after the first stage of the count in the Faughan District Electoral Area.

People Before Profit Alliance candidate Damian Gallagher has also been excluded.

The first preference tallies were as follows: Ryan McCready UUP (1282 votes); Alex Duffy SF (1193 votes); Sean Fleming SF (1,162 votes); Julie Middleton DUP (988 votes); Declan Norris SDLP (919 votes); Rachael Ferguson Alliance (695 votes); Gary Wilkinson DUP (653 votes); Hayley Canning SDLP (614 votes); Damian Gallagher PBPA (310 votes); and Graham Warke Independent (279 votes).

Turnout was 14,532 with 8,188 votes cast (56.34%) – up by 3.06% from 7,246 (53.28%) in 2019.

There were 93 rejected votes leaving a valid vote tally of 8095 votes. The quota has been set at 1350 votes.

Faughan DEA overview

Ten candidates were nominated to contest the Faughan District Electoral Area (DEA) in the elections.

The candidates in alphabetical order are: Hayley Canning (SDLP), Alex Duffy (Sinn Féin), Rachael Ferguson (Alliance), Sean Fleming (Sinn Féin), Damian Gallagher (People Before Profit), Ryan McCready (UUP), Julie Middleton (DUP), Declan Norris (SDLP), Graham Warke (Independent) and Gary Wilkinson (DUP).

In the last local government election in 2019 the DUP returned two councillors and Sinn Féin, Alliance and the SDLP, one each.

The first preference tallies were as follows: ELECTED - DUP Graham Warke 1,050 votes (14.70%); ELECTED – DUP Ryan McCready 940 votes (13.16%); ELECTED – Sinn Féin Paul Fleming 854 votes (11.96%); ELECTED – Alliance Rachael Ferguson 783 votes (10.96%); ELECTED – SDLP Jim McKeever 565 votes (7.91%); Independent Paul Hughes 733 votes (10.26%); UUP William Jamieson 710 votes (9.94%); SDLP Brenda Stevenson 693 votes (9.70%); SDLP Gus Hastings 491 votes (6.87%); and Sinn Féin Conor Heaney 324 votes (4.54%).

Of a total Faughan electorate of 13,601 electors, 7,143 (52.52%) were cast in May 2019. The quota was set at 1,191 votes.

There were 103 spoilt votes. Turnout was 7,246 (53.28%).

Hayley Canning, SDLP.

A former Thornhill girl and architecture graduate Hayley Canning joined the SDLP in 2011. She sat on a Strathfoyle steering group, assisting with a PEACE IV project in flags and emblems and helped to create an Open College Network (OCN) accredited arts project with the Enagh Youth Forum.

She has been involved in constituency work for the past decade. This is her first electoral outing. In the last local government election in May 2019 the SDLP's three candidates received 1,749 first preference votes (24.48%) in the Faughan DEA. This equated to 1.46 quotas.

Alex Duffy, Sinn Féin.

Alex Duffy is a long-standing youth and community worker from the Strathfoyle area who has acted as Chairman of the Strathfoyle Community Association.

He was co-opted onto Derry City and Strabane District Council when the longest-serving Sinn Féin councillor on the local authority, Paul Fleming, stood down last December. This is his first election.

In the last local government election in May 2019 Sinn Féin's two candidates received 1,178 first preference votes (16.5%) in the Faughan District Electoral Area (DEA) - the equivalent of 0.99 quotas.

Rachael Ferguson, Alliance.

Rachael Ferguson has been a councillor since the Alliance Party's breakthrough election in 2019 when two councillors, Ms. Ferguson in the Faughan District Electoral Area (DEA), and Philip McKinney in the Waterside, were returned to Derry City and Strabane District Council.

A local mother of two who has lived in Faughan most of her life, Ms. Ferguson is an active board member of her local Women's Activity Group and Local Playgroup. She also helped co-create a local online support network for mothers.

In 2019 she was the fourth highest polling candidate in the Faughan DEA receiving 783 first preference votes (10.96%).

Sean Fleming, Sinn Féin.

A graduate of St. Columb's College, North West Regional College and Ulster University, the party activist joins Alex Duffy on the Sinn Féin ticket in the Faughan District Electoral Area (DEA). This is his first election.

In the last local government election in May 2019 Sinn Féin's two candidates received 1,178 first preference votes (16.5%) in the Faughan District Electoral Area (DEA) - the equivalent of 0.99 quotas.

Damian Gallagher, People Before Profit.

Damian Gallagher is a University College Union (UCU) activist and a former Fulbright scholar with a particular interest in the environment who has been vocal on the Mobuoy dump and pollution in the Faughan District Electoral Area (DEA).

This is the first time a People Before Profit has stood in the Faughan DEA of the Derry City and Strabane District Council. However, in 2011, Diane Greer received 256 first preference votes (2.8%) for the party in the old Rural DEA of Derry City Council, which roughly corresponds to Faughan, and in 2005 Eamonn McCann received 371 votes (3.9%) as a Socialist Environmental Alliance candidate.

Ryan McCready, UUP.

Ryan McCready is a former Royal Irish Regiment (RIR) soldier from Tullyally who was awarded a 'Most Outstanding Soldier Award' in 2011 for his 'Leadership, Courage & Professionalism on Operations in Afghanistan'.

He was awarded a NATO Meritorious Service Medal in 2017. In his first election in 2019, on a two-man DUP ticket in the Faughan District Electoral Area (DEA), he received 940 votes (13.16%), second-only to his running mate Graham Warke.

In June 2021, he left the DUP in protest at how Arlene Foster had been ousted as party leader and joined the UUP a month later. He ran as a UUP candidate in last year's Assembly election, receiving 3,744 votes (8%), missing out on the final seat to DUP MLA Gary Middleton by a margin of 95 votes.

Julie Middleton, DUP.

A native of Bready, Julie Middleton, is a former teacher of RE, history and citizenship and a graduate in Professional Education Studies at St. Martin's College, Lancaster.

She has over 15 years experience of working within community, youth and education settings and describes herself as a Christian who is supportive of local church groups. Her husband is the current DUP MLA for Foyle Gary Middleton. This is is her first election.

In the last local government election in May 2019 the DUP's two candidates received 1,990 first preference votes (27.86%) in the Faughan DEA, the equivalent of 1.67 quotas.

Declan Norris, SDLP.

Eglinton-based Declan Norris is a long-time SDLP and community activist who lives in the Faughan District Electoral Area (DEA) with his wife. They have three adult children. He was selected as the SDLP's new councillor for Faughan in October 2022. This is his first electoral outing.

In the last local government election in May 2019 the SDLP's three candidates received 1,749 first preference votes (24.48%) in the Faughan DEA. This equated to 1.46 quotas.

Graham Warke, Independent.

Graham Warke, a long-standing youth and community worker in the Fountain, became involved in front-line politics in May 2019 when he stood in the Faughan District Electoral Area (DEA) for the DUP and topped the poll with 1,050 first preference votes (14.70%).

The Newbuildings-based candidate served as Mayor of Derry City and Strabane in 2021/22 but left the DUP as soon as his term as mayor ended and served the remainder of the last council mandate as an independent. This will be his first electoral outing as an independent.

Gary Wilkinson, DUP.

From Donemana, Gary Wilkinson lives in the Newbuildings area. He is a first time candidate for the DUP in a local government election and is running alongside Julie Middleton for the party in the Faughan District Electoral Area (DEA).

In the last local government election in May 2019 the DUP's two candidates received 1,990 first preference votes (27.86%) in the Faughan DEA, the equivalent of 1.67 quotas.