THE figures speak for themselves. Since the same people were also filling in lilac coloured ballot slips last Thursday you can expect the same kind of result today when the local council votes are counted.
Figures only tell part of the story, however.
The SDLP's total vote didn't fall that much from 1997, only 20,000 across the north. What is most telling is that SF got practically all the new young nationalist voters. Take South Down for example. But Sinn Fein's vote doubled from 5,000 in 1997 to over 10,000 this time. Eddie McGrady didn't attract a single new vote it would seem.