The ‘lone ranger’ is pipped at post for fifth time

The ‘lone ranger’ is pipped at post for fifth time

8 March 2017

HAVING unsuccessfully contested four previous elections to secure the first nationalist seat for the Strangford constituency, the SDLP’s Joe Boyle is used to disappointment.

With one fewer seat available this time round, the Portaferry man realised his chance, as a “lone ranger within a bastion of unionism”, was slimmer than ever.

Despite confirmation he had secured his highest first preference vote with a rise from 2,724 in May to 3,045, Mr Boyle admitted he was “under no illusions”.

Instead, he was resigned to speculation that the last seat would be fought between the DUP’s Peter Weir, who secured 3,543 votes, and the UUP’s Philip Smith, who was expected to better benefit from unionist transfers to bolster his 2,453 votes.

But a Strangford count wouldn’t be the same without a nail-biting Boyle finish. And 10-hours after the count began, the popular underdog was still in the running, challenging the outgoing Education Minister for the fifth and final seat.

It was one of the surprises of the night and although he would eventually concede his fifth defeat, it was an invigorating battle for Mr Boyle, who despite previous insistence he would not run again, has now admitted he would “never say never” to another Assembly contest.

Indeed, he cannot help but wonder, having come so close, what he could do to get those few extra votes needed.

Mr Boyle said he is devastated to have once again disappointed the Portaferry community who he said had answered his call to help push him over the line with a turnout of almost 70 per cent in his home town.

“When I came into this election I would not have believed that I would have pulled more first preference votes than any of the past four elections,” he said. “And if somebody had said I would be challenging the last seat with the Education Minister I would certainly not have believed that.

“I was never under any illusions about what it might be like trying to win a fifth seat.

“I knew I would be an isolated figure standing in the middle of the count hall, a lone ranger in a bastion of unionism.

“I have had four experiences of the final result coming down to the wire and it never gets easier but we have done very well challenging for a fifth seat.”

Mr Boyle said he was surprised by several transfer twists on the night, starting with disappointing transfers from the Green Party, followed by a series of pleasant surprises, not least being favoured over unionist candidates through transfers from the elimination of the UUP’s Philip Smith, which put him 62 votes in the lead.

It was only at the 11th count that he fatally faltered, with a surplus DUP transfer sealing Mr Weir’s success.

“I am always faced with taking on the Unionist family of shades and while they may slate each other on a day to day basis, when it comes to the ballot box they sit tight,” he said.

“That has always been the way, yet I went into the transfers this time, thinking the world would fall around me, it didn’t.”

Entering a “post-mortem period”, Mr Boyle said it will take him some time to recover from the sense he has disappointed his supporters.

He said he must remind himself that if he had been successful in May he would now have lost his seat.

“With every single poster I take down I will think of how close I came,” he said. “I told Portaferry that if they came out to vote I could win it and they were behind me. Portaferry was expecting a result but I did not deliver and I have let them down.

“Politics is exhausting and it interferes with your personal and family life but I have great support at home so, although I don’t know what position I will be in by the next election, I would never say never. I would love to deliver the prize.”

Flicking through dozens of messages of support received on Friday, Mr Boyle said this goodwill was one of the reasons he continued to put his name forward for election.

“Let’s hope this time round,” wrote one, “Come on Joe, I am praying for you,” said another, while a third message summed up his fight; “I have no finger nails left,” she said.