Jayne McCormack
BBC News NI political reporter

There is a lot of chatter here in Belfast from the Alliance camp - but not about their chances in Belfast.

Their attention has turned to North Down where it sounds positive for Stephen Farry, the party’s deputy leader.

It’s not clear how it will play out, but party sources indicating he is head-to-head in some boxes with Alex Easton of the DUP.

We’ve still got a while to wait before we get a result in Belfast - time for a sugar hit and coffee break.

Image source, Pacemaker

With the Conservative's projected majority, former Ulster Unionist leader Mike Nesbitt has warned it is English nationalism which unionists should be wary of.

"I think the great irony of all of this is that for decades unionists have looked over their shoulders and decided that Irish nationalists were the great threat," he said.

"...and then more recently it was Scottish nationalists, but actually it’s English nationalism which is posing the existential threat to the future of the union."

Reflecting on the central cost of Northern Ireland, he added unionists would have to "start making a much better case for remaining part of the United Kingdom".

Turnouts hitting 70% and 80% in North Belfast have the DUP nervous, the SDLP's Nichola Mallon has said.

"It is a reflection of the anger that the people in north Belfast feel with the DUP," said Ms Mallon, who is her party's deputy leader.

On her decision not to run in the constituency, Ms Mallon said she had listened "long and hard", and that running would have been a "vanity project".

While admitting his party may not have the same power it did at Westminster, the DUP's Sammy Wilson says the full Brexit deal is "far from done" and Boris Johnson may find some difficulty within his own party.

The DUP's Gregory Campbell's East Londonderry seat seems pretty safe but he says he's never presumptuous.

He told BBC Radio Ulster's William Crawley this campaign was "a clean fight but a relatively low key one".

He says he doesn't go along with the "pessimistic view" that Boris Johnson would "ride roughshod over everybody".

"His central focus will be his mantra about getting Brexit done," he said.

"He will be the PM that has to be seen to cement the union rather than oversee structural cracks within the union."

Stephen Farry, Alliance candidate in North Down, is not making any predictions just yet, but is bullish about his party's vote share.

"Our vote is up significantly," he said, commenting on the vote in the constituency.

"We think we have done well but we will see exactly how well we have done soon."

Noting the popularity of the constituency's former MP Lady Hermon, Mr Farry said he was hoping he had attracted some of her voters.

A very precious cargo... Northern Ireland's only off-shore ballot box arriving in Ballycastle from Rathlin Island.

Image source, Steven McAuley/McAuley Multimedia

The BBC's Mark Simpson says Foyle and North Belfast are expected to be the key constituencies to watch tonight in Northern Ireland.

Sinn Féin TD Eoin Ó Broin and DUP MLA Edwin Poots are side-by-side in the BBC News NI studio tonight - and seem to be striking a conciliatory tone on getting Stormont back up and running.

"If the DUP focus less on the hard Brexit politics of Westminster, and more on working together with the rest of us to try and serve the common interest here, I think we could have a result," said Mr Ó Broin.

"I welcome that he wants to work together, because that is what the people are demanding," said Mr Poots.

Going by the exit poll prediction, the DUP's role propping up the government may be no more.

However, the party's East Antrim candidate, Sammy Wilson, believes it could still have an impact on the final shape of the Brexit deal, saying it is "far from done".

"It hasn’t gone totally... the full deal is not yet completed," he said.

Speculating Boris Johnson could have "difficulties in his own party", he said he expected there to be "opportunities as the rest of the deal has to unfold".

Reporting live from outside Downing Street, BBC News NI's Economics and Business Editor John Campbell has said the projected result means checks on goods going between NI and GB can be expected in a little over a year.

With the current schedule, trade talks between the UK and EU are set to begin in March, and will have a focus on keeping things “as frictionless and pain-free as possible”, said John Campbell.

While there might be a dog fight expected in North Down - things are looking pretty straight forward in Strangford, a seat currently held by the DUP's Jim Shannon.

According to the BBC's Robbie Meredith: "There is probably more chance of martians invading Bangor tonight than Jim Shannon losing his majority."

Things in North Down are a lot more intriguing, after Sylvia Hermon, who held the seat for 18 years, stepped down.