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The 2019 United Kingdom general election was held on 12 December 2019. In Northern Ireland, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin remained the two largest parties, with 8 and 7 seats respectively. However, both parties saw sharp declines in vote share from their high points at the previous Westminster election in 2017, with the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and Alliance Party showing the greatest increases in vote share and seats.

As Boris Johnson did not succeed in securing parliamentary support for his revised withdrawal agreement, he chose to call for a snap election, in an effort to win a majority for this agreement. The election marked the end of the confidence and supply agreement between the DUP and Conservative Party, which had been in place following the 2017 election. It was the third election in Northern Ireland in under 8 months, following the 2 May local elections and the 23 May European election, coming amid continuing lack of agreement between the DUP and Sinn Féin to form an Executive.

The usual emphasis on the constitutional question was given pertinence by the potential for a no-deal Brexit and a hard border on the island of Ireland, or a form of Brexit imposing an internal UK customs border in the Irish Sea. Many Northern Ireland parties framed the election as one which would settle these questions, which had seen protracted debate for years after the Brexit referendum. Unionist parties declared the election was a chance to stop the Irish Sea border and defend the Union, while the SDLP and Alliance supported efforts to "stop Brexit" completely via a second referendum. Sinn Féin continued to call for close alignment between Northern Ireland and the EU post-Brexit (known as "special status"), and a united Ireland to avert Brexit in Northern Ireland entirely. On the efforts to restore the Stormont institutions, the DUP maintained it was ready to re-enter the Executive tomorrow, and Sinn Féin was imposing red lines preventing this, while Sinn Féin said an Irish Language Act would be a prerequisite as it could not re-enter government unless it was on the basis of parity of esteem. The SDLP and Alliance held both parties responsible, highlighting the impact the lack of Executive was having on public services, particularly the health service. On

The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) returned in Westminster for the first time since 2017, with gains in Foyle and Belfast South from Sinn Féin and the DUP respectively. 1,293,971 people were eligible to vote, up 51,273 from the 2017 general election. 62.09% of eligible voters turned out, down 3.5 percentage points from the last general election. For the first time in history, traditional Irish nationalist parties won more seats than traditional unionist parties.