At the 2015 general election, the middle ground of English, Scottish and Welsh politics eroded overnight, and this week’s election saw no hint of a comeback; the ‘big two’ brands of Conservative and Labour won out.

In Northern Ireland, what was left of our own middle ground was brushed aside. Of 18 seats, the DUP took 10; Sinn Féin won 7. The remaining seat went to an independent unionist.

The results were shocking but not entirely surprising; a series of events since last summer’s Brexit referendum have made a trajectory towards the ‘extremes’ a logical conclusion.

These include last winter’s fallout over the botched Renewable Heating Incentive (RHI) scheme, the collapse of Stormont in January and our snap Assembly election in March.

That campaign was a turning point; very quickly it drifted away from all things RHI towards issues around the Irish language and same-sex marriage, amongst others.

Sinn Féin campaigned against DUP “arrogance” with a new kind of RHI: “Respect, honesty, integrity,” and it worked.

At the polls, a nationalist “surge” changed everything, not least bringing an end to the unionist majority at Stormont, held since the inception of the state in 1921. Ahead of Thursday’s Westminster election, something had to give.

Today’s electoral map of Northern Ireland, effectively split in half, tells its own story after Sinn Féin’s share of the vote rose further by 5% and the DUP’s by 10%.

Whereas the west and all constituency areas bordering with the Irish Republic opted for Sinn Féin – for MPs who refuse to take their seats at Westminster – the east is dominated by unionism. There is no middle ground.

Similarly, the wider UK map shows a sharply divided political landscape. Whereas the Lib Dems stepped up in 2010 to form a coalition government, no other party except the DUP was willing to do the same this time.

Mrs May says a deal with the DUP will bring “certainty” to the UK, yet even if the DUP dedicates itself to an agreement, can she be sure of her own MPs following her lead in the House of Commons? The government’s majority, after all, will be 3 seats.

And what about bringing certainty to Northern Ireland, where inter-party talks aimed at getting Stormont up and running again are scheduled to continue? If they do continue, that is. Finding a Secretary of State for Northern Ireland who is at least perceived by nationalists to be neutral will prove troublesome, to say the least.

For the foreseeable future, the only party representing Northern Ireland at Westminster will be the DUP. They will be in, or at least facilitating, a Tory government. This can go very well, or very badly.

Meanwhile, what are the incentives for Sinn Féin to return to Stormont? Maybe there are more in sitting back and watching how this Westminster arrangement and upcoming Brexit negotiations pan out.

What becomes of the smaller parties? Are respective mergers on the way? Pundits have linked the SDLP with an arrangement with Fianna Fáil, which has already expressed its intention to organise in the North. Will the UUP look towards unionist unity?

Whatever the parties do, the market for middle ground parties in Northern Ireland appears to be closing. Just like in England, Scotland and Wales, the big brands are winning out.