"We haven't gone away, you know"
That was what Jim Allister promised during his speech after the final election result was declared. After the obvious parody of Gerry Adams' comment on the IRA, some Sinn Feiners shouted "get your own lines". But up at Stormont this will be no joking matter.
The TUV leader lost his seat, but was the winner in every other way (what is the opposite of a Pyrrhic victory?). He vowed to contest North Antrim at the next Westminster election. That could be quite a contest, presumably against Ian Paisley Jr. Over the weekend UCUNF tallies had suggested that the TUV had outpolled the DUP in the constituency.
Mr Allister also told the DUP's Stormont team that his vote amounted to a series of "P45s" for those MLAs who had put their chequebooks before their consciences. He wants to build an anti-power sharing bridgehead at Stormont.
The DUP Director of Elections Jeffrey Donaldson denied that his party would go back into its shell and head in the direction of the TUV. But in her acceptance speech Diane Dodds (who came in under quota) promised to thwart the republican agenda. She refused to shake Bairbre De Brun's hand.
Who shakes whose hand doesn't really matter, but the key question will be whether this means things slow down even more at Stormont. Will we get the devolution of justice by Christmas?
Jim Nicholson (who got more TUV transfers than Diane Dodds) didn't hide his enjoyment at being elected for the first time ahead of the DUP. He pledged that "we're back". and although he couldn't say to what extent the Cameron factor had helped him stabilise his vote, he argued that it had added more support than it had cost.
European elections are different, and this may be a high water mark for Jim Allister, given the expenses saga and the ability to use a European poll as a protest vote. But if the three way split in unionism was replicated in the next Assembly election, it could mean that Sinn Fein become Stormont's biggest party.
Under the the biggest party, even if it doesn't come from the biggest designation has the right to appoint the First Minister. Could unionism wear that? Maybe they should be changing the titles to Joint First Ministers now.
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