David Ford to stand down as an MLA

Former Alliance Party leader @DavidFordMLA is to step down from Stormont at the end of this week. Read more here: https://t.co/N1JUXn1hyO pic.twitter.com/OsBSxO330K — BBC News NI (@BBCNewsNI) June 25, 2018 David McCannDavid McCann holds a PhD in North-South relations from University of Ulster. You can follow him on twitter @dmcbfs

Naomi Long officially takes over as party leader telling the public “Vote Alliance and get Alliance”

No real surprises here but Naomi Long was officially endorsed by her party colleagues tonight as the leader of the Alliance Party. Long has previously served as the party’s deputy leader under David Ford and was the MP for East Belfast from 2010-2015. She has been credited for her work in building the Alliance party in her East Belfast constituency since she was elected to the Assembly in 2003. Speaking about her vision for the party she said; I am …

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Interview with outgoing Alliance leader David Ford

INTERVIEW with David Ford MLA who has announced that he will stand down as leader of the Alliance Party tomorrow at noon. He speaks about the highs and lows of his time in office, the challenges facing the party in the future, and dodges the issue of how long he will stay as MLA for South Antrim.

Why Alliance must pass on the Department of Justice

The election is over, the results are in, and the signal being sent by the electorate in Northern Ireland is clear and unambiguous. The DUP’s position as the dominant party within a socially and economically conservative administration has been comprehensively re-endorsed, alongside their coalition partner, Sinn Féin. There has, fundamentally, been no change at all in the balance of power in Northern Ireland. No reasonable person could deny that the DUP victory is a remarkable accomplishment on many levels, the work …

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Ford to attend interfaith service for all victims of Easter Rising

David Ford is to attend an interfaith service for all victims of the Easter Rising at Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin. The event will see the unveiling of a was inscribed with the names of all those who lost their lives during the Rising namely members of Irish Volunteers, Irish Citizen Army, British Army, Dublin Metropolitan Police and Royal Irish Constabulary, as well as civilians. Speaking about the decision, Ford said; This memorial is inspired by the International Memorial of Notre …

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When your leader is your greatest electoral asset, use them

LEADER RATINGS – Back in October, Mike Nesbitt had the highest rating of the five party leaders. Peter Robinson languished behind, only ahead of Alasdair McDonnell. Fast forward five months and two leadership changes later, Arlene Foster is top of the polls. Though much less of a bounce for Colum Eastwood who should be worried that he’s rated alongside Arlene Foster in the eyes of nationalists and barely ahead of David Ford.

Interview with David Ford: “don’t bother summoning the men in grey suits, just tell me”

TELL ME when it’s time to go says Alliance leader David Ford. In this interview with Slugger he talks about Alliance’s electoral appeal, new parties in NI, switching to use council areas for Assembly constituencies, taking Executive meetings out on the road, the balance of funding between prison and community/probation services, joined up working across the Executive, Alliance’s approach to the Justice Ministry after May’s election, public and political support for refugees and asylum seekers in NI, and his thoughts on the Irish election and the impact of the EU referendum on the Assembly campaign.

“We say it’s highly improper and unorthodox, effectively OFMDFM are seeking to resist the grant of leave against the Department of Justice.”

A Belfast High Court judge has adjourned the application for a judicial review of the controversial new law criminalising the paying for sex following a last minute intervention by the Northern Ireland Attorney General on behalf of the Office of the NI First and Deputy First Ministers (OFMDFM). Interestingly, as the BBC report notes A barrister representing the [NI Department of Justice] confirmed it was not opposing Ms Lee’s application for a judicial review of the new law, on the basis that an arguable …

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Ford: People give more consideration to their family’s Christmas budget than the Executive gave to Northern Ireland’s budget

OPPOSITION FROM WITH IN: As Arlene Foster prepares to leave the Department of Finance, Alliance had a little parting gift for her on the day she becomes DUP. Following a meeting of the Executive, party leader, David Ford announced that both Stephen Farry and himself, voted against the budget before the Executive.

David Ford: we are more committed to transforming Northern Ireland than you, Mr Robinson #ap2015

This year’s Alliance Party conference was focussed on party members and supporters rather than reaching out to the public at large. Delegates were reminded about the core party values and principles. There were no visiting clerics or representatives of loyalist band forums. No one from the Syriza Greek government. Instead, Alliance heard from friends in the victims, integrated education, science, arts and environment sectors. While Peter Robinson was criticised for making DUP victory in East Belfast his number one priority, …

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Quid pro quo in assembly speaker appointments

The DUP’s Robin Newton was today appointed as the NI assembly’s principal deputy speaker with support from Sinn Féin. The appointment was confirmed minutes after the East Belfast MLA was confirmed as a deputy speaker joining the experienced John Dallat of the SDLP and Roy Beggs of the UUP. Last week the DUP supported the appointment of Sinn Féin’s  Mitchel McLaughlin  as NI assembly speaker and both partys have been accused of a ‘carve-up’ of top positions at Stormont. The …

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McCann meets…David Ford MLA #AP2014

In my second interview from the Alliance party conference, I was able to chat to the party leader, Justice Minister, David Ford. In the interview we chatted about the conference, his predictions for the future growth of the party and the On the Runs issue. I asked him about the comments made by Anna Lo in the Irish News; If any leading member of the party had said that I have a long term vision that Northern Ireland remains within …

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Alliance Party urges society to step forward … while it deals with past week’s comments by Anna Lo #AP2014

Today’s Alliance Party conference came just days after Anna Lo’s perfectly valid – though politically thoughtless – comments about her personal views on Irish unification were reported as part of her interview with John Manley in the Irish News. It was hard to avoid the annual party member get-together being seen through an Anna Lo lens. It was the topic of conversation amongst delegates. I talked to no one who was upset by Anna’s aspiration. No matter whether accused of …

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Ford accuses Peter Hain of telling “something less than the complete truth…”

David Ford: The system is full of anomalies mostly because the way that the peace process was addressed by the British government making concessions and side deals with whoever was most difficult at the time so that lesser value in our living with those anomalies people like me try to actually get the justice system to work properly today. Mark Carruthers: You can understand how unionists are pretty angry that they can what they perceived the IRA potential people involved …

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David Ford: #ShinnersList letters are not now and never have been a devolved matter…

So in all the obfuscating fog of war, a little more clarity. It seems the Secretary of State was not correct to suggest this had something to do with the devolved institutions: Stormont Justice Minister David Ford said government officials told him five cases were currently being considered under the scheme, and the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) had accepted responsibility for this. “Now I don’t like the scheme at all – it’s not open, it’s not transparent, it’s not something …

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Policing board’s Epaphroditos to Ford’s Nero

Nero is said to have been killed (albeit at his own request – or he may have committed suicide) by his private secretary Epaphroditos. David Ford’s (aka little Nero) solo run to change the rules for appointing the new Chief Constable has been slapped down by the Policing Board. From the BBC: At a meeting on Thursday, board members agreed to formally reject the justice minister’s proposal and told Mr Ford it intends to use the existing rules to recruit …

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NI Justice Minister: “I trust that the executive will recognise that it is the right decision, and that I was right to make it”

In the aftermath of the Northern Ireland First and deputy First Ministers/Executive/Assembly/Policing Board members semi-detached polit-bureau’s kerfuffle over the NI Justice Minister’s proposed changes to the criteria for the next Chief Constable, Liam Clarke reveals some significant correspondence on the matter.  Firstly, the Chief Executive of the NI Policing Board, Sam Pollock, tries his hand at herding cats to put some manners on members of the Board. In his letter to Policing Board members, Mr Pollock wrote: “I am disappointed in the …

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NI Justice Minister: “It is important to note that, in setting some minimum standards, I am not prohibiting the Board from adding to these minimum criteria…”

Whilst Brian may regard them as “surely sensible” changes to the criteria for the next Chief Constable, and they may well be, as I mentioned in updates to a previous post, no sooner had the Northern Ireland Justice Minister, the Alliance Party’s David Ford, announced those changes than the NI First and deputy First Ministers promptly agreed to exercise their prerogative to call his decision into the dysfunctional NI Executive semi-detached polit-bureau  [Where it will be put to the sword… – …

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No, the PSNI Chief Constable hasn’t “the toughest policing job in the world”

Here we are, still sold on the idea of how exceptional we are. Comment on Mick’s post on the appointment of a chief constable failed to notice that there’s  a wider world out there. It’s no longer the case that the PSNI have “the toughest policing job in in the world” and other superlatives. Try the Met which has gone through three commissioners in five years. Race issues,  jihadist extremism and flash rioting in today’s human rights culture make it very tough for …

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