North Antrim DUP MLA Mr Storey lost to Alliance candidate Patricia O’Lean in the North Antrim, while Mr Begs of the UUP also fell victim to the Alliance’s increased vote in the East Antrim.
Both were longtime MPs, with Mr Begs holding a seat in Stormont since 1998.
When the results for North Antrim were announced, a former UTV political editor described the Alliance’s profits as “amazing”.
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Former DUP MLA Mervin Story. Photo: Stephen Davison / pacemaker
Ken Reed tweeted: “The most amazing result of the Assembly is here in North Antrim. @PatriciaOLynn from Alliance takes the place of Mervyn Storey of DUP. ”
Mr. Story polled 500 more votes for the first preference (6747) than his candidate Paul Fry, but he did not do so well with the transfer votes and was eventually eliminated from the race.
Ms O’Lynn collected 4,810 votes, but attracted a large number of transfers to overtake Mr Storey.
The DUP man, who has been an MLA for 18 years, spoke to the News Letter on Sunday and said he was looking forward to the next chapter of his life.
“The thing that has remained for me and I have quoted it many times in the last few weeks is Romans 8 vs. 28. For me, my faith is central to who I am and all things work together for good,” he said.
“During this campaign, I said I wanted to [God’s] will, and if that is God’s will at this point in my life, then I must obey it.
“I am particularly disappointed with my staff because there is uncertainty about what they are facing. I’ve been in politics for 18 years, and I’m 58, so another door is opening.
“My employees have done me endless services – which have helped me and have helped so many thousands of people over the years.”
Mr. Story also served as Secretary of Social Development and Finance in Stormont and was a member of the NI Police Council for several years.
Asked if he would withdraw from the chosen policy now, Mr Story said: “I just don’t know. I will not make reckless movements.
“My focus over the next few weeks will be on how to deal with depletion. You have three months, I understand from the point of view of the office, so we have all this to settle.
“There is still a backlog in the work of the voters we dealt with, things that are important to these people, so we have everything we have to deal with. The door won’t close tomorrow. “
Mr Story said he still had “work to do in the next few months”, but looked forward to seeing more than his two grandchildren.
Commenting on the wider political situation, Mr Story said: “The party has a huge responsibility and a lot of work to do and, more importantly, trade unionism has to look at itself for a very, very long time, because you have seen a toxic brand of trade unionism. which brought nothing but division in trade unionism.
“This must end, otherwise there will be no political unionism in the future.
In the East Antrim, Roy Begs of the UUP was re-elected five times since first entering Stormont in 1998, but it was clear from the early stages of the count that he was not voting well.
In a brief statement on social media on Saturday, Mr Begs, one of the more conservative figures in the UUP, responded to a benefactor who said: “Thank you very much for your kind words. Politics is a rough game, but other doors are opening. “
Mr Begs was Vice-President of the Northern Ireland Assembly and served on both the Public Accounts Committee and the Infrastructure Committee.
After graduating in engineering from Queen’s University in Belfast, he worked in production management before entering politics.
His first vote of 3,549 was much lower than his UUP candidate and poll leader John Stewart with 6,195.
His defeat erased the name Begs from local politics for the first time since his father, Roy Sr., was elected to a failed assembly in 1982, before continuing to serve as an East Antrim MP from 1983-2005.
John Stewart was pleased with his own performance, but described his victory as “bitter” due to the loss of his party colleague.
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