Is a recount on the horizon?published at 02:48 British Summer Time 5 July
Gareth Gordon
BBC News NI Political Correspondent
The dreaded word - recount - being whispered around the Belfast East count.
Some way to go.
Summary
Ian Paisley has lost North Antrim to the TUV's Jim Allister
The DUP has also lost Lagan Valley to Alliance but held Upper Bann, Strangford, East Antrim, Belfast East and East Londonderry
Alliance loses North Down to independent unionist candidate Alex Easton
The UUP's Robin Swann wins South Antrim from the DUP
Sinn Féin has held all seven of its seats and becomes Northern Ireland's biggest party at Westminster
The SDLP has retained its two seats in Foyle and Belfast South and Mid Down
Labour has won a landslide
Is a recount on the horizon?published at 02:48 British Summer Time 5 July
Easton 'may have won North Down by 6,000 votes'published at 02:45 British Summer Time 5 July
Our political correspondent Jayne McCormack is reporting that independent unionist Alex Easton looks to have won North Down by about 6,000 votes.
Image source, PA MediaLagan Valley declaration imminentpublished at 02:43 British Summer Time 5 July
Richard Morgan
BBC News NI business reporterLagan Valley could be first to declare at Craigavon count. Whispers of a recount fading.
Colum Eastwood happy with chancespublished at 02:41 British Summer Time 5 July
Image source, PA MediaThe SDLP leader says there is only a partial tally in Foyle at this stage but that he is happy.
He says his party is "winning in the right places" but says it is a very reduced turnout - maybe about 50%.
Ian Paisley and Jim Allister 'neck and neck'published at 02:39 British Summer Time 5 July
Brendan Hughes
BBC News NI political reporterIan Paisley of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is being run close for the seat he has long held in North Antrim by Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) leader Jim Allister, according to sources.
Party tallies are said to suggest it appears neck and neck between these two big beasts of unionism.
It remains early days, but even a tight result would be a huge turnaround in this DUP stronghold.
In the last general election in 2019, Paisley secured almost half of the votes cast.
Allister's electoral alliance with Reform UK was thought to have backfired after its leader Nigel Farage personally endorsed Paisley.
But it appears the TUV protest vote against the DUP's deal to restore Stormont could be making their bigger rivals sweat.
A disappointing situation for me - Farrypublished at 02:37 British Summer Time 5 July
Image source, PAAlliance deputy leader Stephen Farry says it is a "disappointing situation for me on a personal level" in North Down.
"I look back over the past five years with pride, we have achieved a lot of things but it was important for me to stick to my values for North Down, for Northern Ireland and for further afield," he says.
"Whatever happens tonight I will keep a keen interest in politics."
Challenging for Alliance in North Down - Farrypublished at 02:36 British Summer Time 5 July
Speaking to the media at the Titanic count centre, Alliance's Stephen Farry says the race in North Down is looking very challenging for the party.
However, he says he will wait for the official result.
He says independent unionist candidate Alex Easton being able to rebrand himself as an independent having previously been in the DUP is a "master stroke", but that it was a fact that he was backed both by the DUP and the TUV.
UUP say East Antrim will be 'a lot closer' this timepublished at 02:31 British Summer Time 5 July
Elaine Mitchell
BBC News NIJohn Stewart of the UUP says he has been polling very well in Carrickfergus.
He is in the running for the East Antrim seat.
“Last time around Sammy Wilson [of the DUP] was about 16,000 votes ahead of me. This time around it’s going to be a lot closer."We’ve run a very different campaign to everyone else. We didn’t use posters at all”.
Stephen Farry to give press conferencepublished at 02:26 British Summer Time 5 July
Stephen Farry, who has represented North Down in the House of Commons for Alliance since 2019, has been struggling this time around as we've heard.
We now know he's going to be giving a press conference shortly.
You will be able to watch live at the top of this page.
Former MP from NI says 'tonight is Labour's night'published at 02:24 British Summer Time 5 July
Faye Kidd
BBC News NI"Tonight is Labour’s night.. it’s been a long time coming”.
Former Conservative-turned-Labour MP Mark Logan, who hails from Northern Ireland, says he is "speaking frankly as someone who doesn't have any skin in the game" on CNN's election special programme.
“When it comes to Keir Starmer he is a slow burner.. but you have to give him credit for changing the fortune of the Labour Party”, he says.
Logan was elected as a Conservative MP for Bolton North East in 2019 before defecting to Labour in May this year.
Image source, UK ParliamentDUP source saying Lagan Valley lostpublished at 02:20 British Summer Time 5 July
Gareth Gordon
BBC News NI Political CorrespondentA senior DUP figure is conceding Lagan Valley is lost.
It looks like Alliance's Sorcha Eastwood has polled very well.
Jim Allister running Paisley closepublished at 02:18 British Summer Time 5 July
What looked like one of the safest seats for the DUP was Ian Paisley in North Antrim, a seat that has been held by Paisley and his father before him for 54 years.
But it looks like the TUV leader Jim Allister is running him close, BBC News NI political editor Enda McClafferty says.
O'Neill and McDonald arrive at countpublished at 02:15 British Summer Time 5 July
First Minister Michelle O'Neill of Sinn Féin and her party leader Mary Lou McDonald have arrived the Magherafelt count centre.
O'Neill thanked voters in a post on X earlier.
Different dynamic in Fermanagh and South Tyronepublished at 02:12 British Summer Time 5 July
Enda McClafferty
BBC News NI political editorIt always was a gamble for Sinn Féin to pull [former MP] Michelle Gildernew out of that race considering there were only 57 votes in it the last time around.
You consider as well the difficulties that the Ulster Unionist candidate has had.
We've heard earlier Tom Elliot talking about the fact that the other parties didn't really put their shoulder to the wheel when it comes to getting out on the ground to canvass for Diana Armstrong.
So she was in a sense in a weakened position because we all remember when Tom Elliot fought that battle he did have DUP canvassers on the ground with him, so it's a very different dynamic this time.
Old grudges surfacing in South Downpublished at 02:10 British Summer Time 5 July
Jake Liggett
BBC News NI
Image source, PA MediaThe former DUP MLA Jim Wells has arrived at the count centre in Craigavon, except this time he is a TUV candidate.
He is running for a seat in his former constituency of South Down.
It has been two years since the DUP selected Diane Forsythe ahead of him to contest the Northern Ireland Assembly election.
Mr Wells left the party after the long-running dispute. He is now a member of the TUV.
The two unionists now go head-to-head against either other for the first time, although neither are expected to win the seat.
Image source, PA MediaSwann all smiles at count centrepublished at 02:07 British Summer Time 5 July
Robin Swann has arrived at the Magherafelt count centre with a huge smile on his face - and so he should if predictions from UUP sources are to believed.
Speaking to BBC News NI he does go as far to say he has won the seat , but does say that from the feedback he is receiving, it is looking good.
He praises his team who he says have worked tirelessly across South Antrim and says the engagement he received knocking the doors has been "positive across the entire constituency".
SDLP outpolling Alliance in Belfast Southpublished at 02:05 British Summer Time 5 July
Catherine Morrison
BBC News NI at the Titanic Exhibition CentreThe SDLP is "very confident" Claire Hanna will be re-elected in South Belfast and Mid Down.
A source said she is outpolling her closest rival, Alliance’s Kate Nicholl by three to one in areas such as Stranmillis and Ormeau.
She is doing well in more traditionally unionist areas like Cairnshill.
TUV intervention could be 'sad day for unionism' - Doddspublished at 02:01 British Summer Time 5 July
Mike McBride
BBC News NI
Lord Dodds says he is keeping a close eye on how the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) polls in certain areas.
The former DUP party leader says that if a "TUV intervention" leads to a split unionist vote in key constituencies then that could result in non-unionists gaining seats.
He says this could particularly be the case in areas like Belfast East and Lagan Valley.
Lord Dodds says "there will be severe questions for the TUV to answer if that happens", describing it as a "sad day for unionism".
UUP 'cautiously optimistic' in Fermanagh and South Tyronepublished at 01:56 British Summer Time 5 July
UUP candidate Diana Armstrong says she is feeling "very confident" of winning Fermanagh and South Tyrone, which Sinn Féin won at the past two elections.
She says she and her team have covered the "entire constituency" and the hard work has seemingly paid off.
But with counting still to be done, Mrs Armstrong says she is remaining cautious, given how tight the battle has been in the past.
"I'm feeling confident because I have faith in my campaign and my team," she says.
Green Party leader arrives at count centrepublished at 01:51 British Summer Time 5 July
Adam Mandeville
Live page reporter
Mal O'Hara, leader of the Green Party in Northern Ireland, has arrived at the Titanic count centre in high spirits.
He is a candidate in the Belfast North constituency.
Mr O'Hara recently told BBC News that, despite its electoral struggles in previous years, party membership in Northern Ireland is now more than 700 - the highest in a decade.
The party is running candidates in 11 of Northern Ireland's 18 constituencies.