This Council area effectively amalgamates Ballymena, Larne and Carrick Councils.
Unionist-Loyalist heartlands and as the saying goes, keeping “your head as low as a catholic in Larne”
Ballymena is in North Antrim constituency.
Larne and Carrick are in East Antrim.
Results.
DUP 16. UUP 9. TUV 5. UKIP 1.
SF 3 SDLP 1.
Alliance 3.
Independent 2.
SDLP Perspective.
Poor. SDLP did not run any candidates in Carrick and will be disappointed in not taking a seat in Larne. This looks bad for 2016. Sinn Fein did take a seat in Larne (and did not stand in Carrick). SDLP took its sole seat in the Ballymena area and SF took two there.
Alliance are usually the beneficiaries of nationalist reluctance to stand in these areas but dont look to have done as well as they should. The Alliance Assembly seat in East Antrim is still safe. Less so, the Sinn Fein seat.
The North Antrim Sinn Fein seat looks safe. SDLP regaining a seat there looks impossible, even when the nationalist heartland of The Glens are added (The Glens is in the Causeway Council area.)
The erstwhile spiritual home of the DUP is increasingly the spiritual home of Jim Allister’s breakaway TUV. Looks like the TUV could pick up Assembly seats in North Antrim and East Antrim.
Keeping An Eye On the Czar of Russia 
The Sinn Fein seat in Larne is really a Carnlough vote, the SDLP gifted this to SF at the last election by shafting Danny O’Connor. Martin Wilson had no history in the area either as he was Larne based not Coast Road based whereas McKeown, although not a Carnlough man at least lives there. Sinn Fein are not as strong as they look, but the SDLP will not dislodge them. Martin Wilson is not well known and has simply not done anything in the area outside of Larne to warrant election. The FFer that lives in Carnlough could, he has links to both Larne and Carnlough and no one will doubt his republican credentials, and if, as Fianna Fail has said, they are to run in 2019 the shinners could well be in trouble.
I believe that the Coast Road has the possibility of electing two nationalists. But as of yet the nationalist vote has not materialised.
Gerardine Mulvenna for Alliance did very well in the area when you consider the squeeze was on for nationalists votes
I thought that Reid would have got in in Ballymena. A better man than Declan O’Loan for me, O’Loan comes over as a bit arrogant. Ballymena should have done better for nationalism.
The SDLP Assembly performance in 2011 was poor in East Antrim.
Danny O’Connor deserves a lot of respect because of the way he suffered after his surprise election to the Assembly.
Ultimately these days his voice is not “political” and I have little time for the views he expresses. He does of course have the right to express them but they are not views that belong in any political party with a SDLP type ethos.
The “Carnlough” situation goes back to the days of John Turnley.
It seems to belong more in the Glens than in Larne. Danny O’Connor (previously SDLP) cannot have helped the SDLP candidate in Larne.
As Danny said to me regarding the SDLP disciplinary body when he refused to back SSM, Are catholics no welcome in the SDLP? He did not help Wilson but there again Wilson did not help Wilson, he is practically unknown north of Ballygally. A weak candidate from a weak party which gifted the seat to SF. carnlough is not and never has been natural shiner country. The SDLP have made it so. I do agree it is more akin with the rest of the Glens.
By the way – did you not notice the ex Shinner Margaret Anne McKillop getting a seat in the middle Glens? That was a real coup for SDLP. Has there ever been a defector from SF winning for the SDLP before?