Deirdre Heenan: DUP pays a big political price for playing high-stakes poker

Jeffrey Donaldson was foolish to think that Boris Johnson’ s government would give in to the DUP’s wrecking-ball politics and now the future appears bleak for his party

Jeffrey Donaldson won a seat in Lagan Valley, but it was a bad election overall for the DUP. Picture: PressEye

The result of the Northern Assembly election is a symbolic breakthrough for Irish nationalism.

Sinn Féin has won the most seats and will therefore take the role of First Minister. The DUP, which has headed every power-sharing government in Belfast since 2007, suffered bruising losses. So, what next for Jeffrey Donaldson and his party?

The DUP championed a hard Brexit, but is incapable of acknowledging the consequences of this folly. After months of threats, its ...