Mr Farry has been deputy leader of Alliance since 2016 and said it had been a privilege.

Alliance Party deputy leader Stephen Farry said the result was ‘disappointing’ for him personally.

Naomi Long also said her party could be in contention to win seats in up to six constituencies in Northern Ireland

Chris Heaton-Harris said the powersharing executive needs to make choices over how it spends funds.

A meeting between some senior DUP officers has been described as ‘Game Of Thrones stuff’.