The starting gun has been fired in the most keenly anticipated election race in Northern Ireland for decades.

The DUP is set to launch one of its most important ever campaigns to recapture the East Belfast Westminster seat it lost in a stunning upset in 2010.

One of the party's leading figures in the east of the city has laid down a marker by claiming that unionists are agreed the seat "needs" to be back in DUP hands.

And in a significant move, the party has also admitted for the first time it has regrets over its handling of the flag protests, which erupted in December 2012.

Meanwhile, the Alliance Party has already hit back on the up-coming election, accusing the DUP of showing the same arrogance that it claims cost it the constituency five years ago.

Today the Belfast Telegraph launches a major series 'East', which will examine the fierce battle for hearts and minds ahead of the crunch parliamentary contest between Naomi Long of Alliance and the DUP's Gavin Robinson.

The series will tell the stories of the people who live in East Belfast and the issues which affect them. On Thursday our exclusive opinion poll will predict what could be the result in May's general election.

After DUP leader Peter Robinson lost the seat in 2010 the party pledged to win it back next time. Key to this was the recruitment of Sammy Douglas, a well-known figure in church and community circles, who became an MLA. He told the Belfast Telegraph that he regretted a joint operation by his party and the UUP to hand out leaflets blaming Alliance for the Belfast City Council flag decision.

"Could we have done things differently? I would say yes, if I look back we probably could have done," he said.

"I don't think any of us anticipated the whole reaction on the streets."

He also spoke of the perception that the DUP had lost touch with its working-class Protestant base in the east of the city.

"I think over the years there was a drift away from that for one reason or another.

"There certainly has been a realisation to reconnect with working-class communities." He said that loyalists actively worked to make sure that Peter Robinson lost the 2010 election.

"There were people in East Belfast who just wanted to get Peter Robinson out," he said.

"I know for a fact some of the loyalist paramilitaries at the time wanted him out. They canvassed against him in some areas."

The DUP is understood to be preparing for a major canvass in the constituency this Saturday, bringing hundreds of members from across Northern Ireland in to gather support.

Mr Douglas is convinced that unionists from all parties want to see the seat back in DUP hands.

While there has been speculation about a single unionist candidate, no agreement has been reached so far.

But Alliance has attacked what it believes is DUP arrogance that Peter Robinson's party is bound to win the seat back this May.

Belfast councillor Michael Long, husband of sitting MP Naomi, said: "The frustrating thing for a lot of people is that since 2010 the DUP seem to think it is their seat, and that they are just borrowing it and are on notice.

"I think it was that kind of arrogance which was what lost them the seat."

Mr Long said he did not believe that the row over the removal of the Union flag from City Hall, which led to weeks of loyalist protests and violence, will be a major factor in the poll.

He talked about the loyalist hate campaign that resulted in threats against his wife."It was certainly very disturbing to have someone call to your house and say that a death threat has been issued against your wife," he said.

"It's a very unpleasant situation to be in. All of the people involved faced a very difficult time.

"We all had to stand together. We thought the councillors had taken the best decision. But it was a difficult and unpleasant time. Now, looking back, I think most people see it was the best decision at the time to move things forward."

Spotlight on East Belfast key seat

East is a series which matters to people right across Northern Ireland. Since 2010, when Alliance's Naomi Long ousted DUP leader Peter Robinson, East Belfast has rarely been far from the news headlines. The battle for power has been one of the fiercest in Northern Ireland and in May it will be the result many people look to first.

The battle to win hearts and minds there has meant the rising issues have entered the main body of politics as the ruling party, the DUP, find ways to respond to the loss of one of its heartlands. That means what happened in the East affects us all.

All this week the Belfast Telegraph is focusing on this key battleground of the general election. We'll be looking at the issues at stake, talking to people on the ground, and, crucially, publishing an exclusive opinion poll on which way the seat might go.

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