With 25.5% of the popular vote, Sinn Féin consolidated its position as the North's largest party in last week's Westminster elections. The rise in Sinn Féin's vote share and the retention of its five seats showed that the party's message of equality and Irish reunification resonated with the electorate. Michelle Gildernew's victory in Fermanagh/South Tyrone, where she faced incredible odds including a single candidate supported by all the unionist parties and vote splitting by the SDLP, was particularly sweet. Free article