PA MediaCopyright: PA Media
Some big news tonight for one of the UK’s most marginal seats, Fermanagh and South Tyrone in Northern Ireland, where the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) says it will not stand a candidate.
Instead, DUP leader Gavin Robinson encouraged all unionists in the area to back the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP candidate Diana Armstrong.
It’s a move that’s likely to make Sinn Féin’s task of holding on to the seat much harder.
The party retained Fermanagh and South Tyrone in 2019 by just 57 votes – the slimmest margin of victory of any constituency in the UK.
That came after the DUP stood aside and backed the UUP’s Tom Elliott, who previously won the seat (with the DUP’s backing) in 2015.
The sitting MP, Sinn Féin’s Michelle Gildernew, announced last week she would not be standing again.
Earlier today, Pat Cullen, the head of the Royal College of Nursing, stepped down, announcing she is seeking Sinn Féin’s nomination to stand as their candidate this year.
A full list of candidates standing in all 18 constituencies will be available on BBC News NI when nominations close on 7 June.