Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) – Slugger O'Toole

SDLP leader faces election telling party members that ‘we didn’t turn this ship round just to sail in circles’ #SDLP26

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on September 12, 2026, 3:45 pm

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Matthew O'Toole, Claire Hanna and Colum Eastwood

The SDLP gathered in the Crowne Plaza hotel for their annual conference. Claire Hanna’s leader’s speech was concise, punchy and well received. But the good reception in the hall now needs to transfer to a good reception on the doors, and high preferences on ballot papers if her party’s ambitions to grow are to be realised. One of the recurring themes of this year’s conference was disappointment at the performance of the Executive and the lack of delivery. The SDLP …

TUV conference – seeking to capitalise on growth in the polls with an instruction to members to “go back to your constituencies as evangelists for Ulster”

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on March 21, 2026, 6:14 pm

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Around 150 TUV members gathered in the Royal Hotel, Cookstown for their annual conference under a banner of “Bringing Strength to Unionism”. They’re easily the most vocal audience of the (many) local party gatherings I’ve attended in recent years. Every seat seemed to have been provided with a union flag, but people applauded so vigorously they mostly forgot to wave the flags. The party is on an election footing and there was an emphasis on translating growth in the polls …

Alliance Party Conference – a heartfelt appeal for hope to prevail over fear amid tight margins in two elections next year #APNI2026

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on March 14, 2026, 5:53 pm

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Party president David Alderdice opened proceedings with a call for members look forward with “hope not fear”. That’s the strapline that the party is using to externally frame their policies and values, speaking into local and global conflict and social divisions. But it also speaks loudly to the internal challenge of the upcoming local government and Assembly elections. Maybe electioneering has totally changed, but the conference felt like a missed opportunity to spur unelected members on to get out and …

Ulster Unionist Party conference report – well attended but at times unexpectedly muted #uup25

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on October 11, 2025, 5:16 pm

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Mike Nesbitt standing on stage at UUP 2025 conference

Within minutes of starting, the 220 seats in the Crowne Plaza ballroom were nearly full of Ulster Unionist members and conference observers. (The back row filled first.) The defeated Slovakian football team had spent the night in the hotel, and at times it felt like the UUP delegates will similarly tired and jaded. While the attendance will have pleased organisers – who followed the SDLP pattern of not streaming the conference online – and the morning’s smorgasbord of speakers were …

SDLP Conference Report – seeking to build something new that values hopes over fears #SDLP25

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on October 4, 2025, 5:16 pm

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Clare Hanna surrounded by family and political colleages at the conclusion of her speech at the October 2025 conference. The conference stage backdrop is a vivid red colour.

Last year’s conference witnessed the baton of leadership being passed from Colum Eastwood to Claire Hanna. A year later, the new leader was benefitting from a reinvigorated internal party machine. Hanna was less reticent and more forthright in discussing her vision for Irish unity, and was supported by Assembly colleagues who felt confident to celebrate their work in Opposition up on the hill. Executive parties have to make a show of highlighting delivery in their conference panels and speeches, sometimes …

Taoiseach Micheál Martin delivering the Seamus Mallon ‘Shared Home Place’ Lecture

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 22, 2025, 11:45 pm

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Taoiseach Micheál Martin delivered the annual Seamus Mallon ‘Shared Home Place’ Lecture in the Navan Centre & Fort in Armagh this evening. You can watch back the full event which was chaired by Hume Foundation vice-chair Dawn Purvis. Allen McAdam, Dr Kate Clifford and Deirdriú McQuaid joined the Q&A after the lecture. Some snippets from the Taoiseach’s speech: This year, I also announced a new dimension to the Shared Island Initiative that is directly inspired by Seamus Mallon – the …

WATCH: How To Lose A Referendum #imaginebelfast

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on April 7, 2025, 9:10 am

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Panel sitting in front of an audience - from left to right, Mark Devenport, Aaron Callan, Emma DeSouza, and Quintin Oliver

The Referendum is an attractive democratic tool – ‘let the people decide!’ – however, the practice can often differ from the theory, as the world has witnessed in recent years – the 1973 Border Poll, the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement vote in 1998, the Alternative Vote outing in 2011, Scottish independence referendum in 2014, the EU poll in 2016 and the Brexit aftermath, and many in the Republic of Ireland (Lisbon, Nice, families and care, divorce, abortion, equal marriage et al) …

Previewing Imagine! Belfast Festival of Ideas & Politics – running from 24-30 March #imaginebelfast

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on March 9, 2025, 10:01 am

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screen grab of the Imagine Belfast festival website homepage - the background image features painted clown faces. The text says - Helping you make sense of a crazy world, Belfast's Festival of Ideas and Politics

Imagine! Festival of Ideas & Politics is back with a week-long programme to help you make sense of a crazy world. More than 90 events across seven days, with the festival organisers collaborating with lots of grassroots organisations and activists to bring small ‘p’ political issues to fore in accessible yet meaningful ways. Here’s my pick from some of the discussions, workshops, exhibitions, films, comedy, lectures, talks, music and theatre. Monday 24 March There’s an embarrassment of riches on the …

WATCH BACK: Former North Belfast politicians reflect … at the North Belfast Festival #LookNorth25

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on March 5, 2025, 2:01 pm

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Former politicians Alban Alban Maginness and Noreen McClelland in conversation with David McCann as part of Look North: The North Belfast Festival on 28 February 2025.

You can now watch back Friday evening’s panel discussion at Look North: The North Belfast Festival. Slugger’s David McCann was in conversation with two retired politicians. Noreen McClelland was an SDLP councillor for the Glengormley urban DEA on Antrim & Newtownabbey Council (and served as Deputy Mayor), having previously been part of Newtownabbey Borough Council. Alban Maginness was a Belfast City Councillor representing Castle and Oldpark DEAs, and was elected as an MLA for Belfast North. In 1997, he became …

Alliance Party Conference report #apni25

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on March 1, 2025, 4:49 pm

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deputy leader Eoin Tennyson hugs Alliance leader Naomi Long, while audience stand to applaud

The 2025 Alliance Party conference comes shortly after the first anniversary of the restoration of the Stormont institutions, and a day after the Programme for Government was finally agreed and published. It also marks a changing of the guard within the party with manifesto-supremo and deputy leader Stephen Farry absent for the first time in perhaps 35 years. I’ve been attending and writing up online coverage of party conferences for a mere 15 years. Back in 2010, party met in …

Creating a Culture of Accountability: Lessons from a Year in Opposition … SDLP’s Matthew O’Toole delivering the latest Ulster Talks lecture at Ulster University

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on February 18, 2025, 10:06 pm

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Matthew O'Toole speaking at Ulster University

Belfast South MLA and Leader of the Opposition Matthew O’Toole MLA delivered the latest in a series of ‘Ulster Talks’ at Ulster University this evening. His lecture’s title was “Creating a Culture of Accountability: Lessons from a Year in Opposition” using the themes of Process, Power, Persuasion, and People … four Ps, almost Presbyterian! Matthew’s address was followed by a response by Professor Stephen Farry (now Co-director of Ulster University’s Strategic Policy Unit and Professor of Strategic Policy In Practice) and …

The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland: Beyond Unionism and Nationalism … watch back the book launch

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on October 23, 2024, 11:26 pm

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The academic team who study the sentiment and opinion of political party members and elected representatives turned their gaze to the Alliance Party some years ago. The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland: Beyond Unionism and Nationalism was launched this evening in Ulster University. You can watch back the speeches, responses and Q&A. Dr Máire Braniff introduced proceedings before Dr Clare Rice and Prof Jonathan Tonge highlighted some of the findings. Dr Sophie Whiting chaired a panel of journalists and party …

SDLP conference – two leader’s speeches delivered to packed room of rapt delegates #sdlp24

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on October 5, 2024, 5:09 pm

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For the third weekend in a row, the Crowne Plaza’s ballroom was hosting a party conference. The SDLP adopted their traditional long and thin configuration – 240 seats laid out, for those who count these things – bringing back memories of the same room delivering a former new leader’s moment in the light back in 2011. There was an upbeat mood at the SDLP conference. Throughout the speeches and discussions, there was an emphasis of stepping up, stepping forward, and …

UUP Conference – new leader calls for hope at disappointing party conference #UUP2024

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on September 28, 2024, 4:17 pm

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The UUP conference began with a closed session that was supposed to ratify Mike Nesbitt as their new leader. The suggestion that he’d rather wait until he could address the members in person seemed to be ignored, and a vote to ratify him went ahead. It was one of a number of semi-chaotic moments. The agenda stretched from eleven o’clock to half past three, with a series of panels and speeches, a long lunch break, and a guest speaker slot …

#GE2024 postal ballot and proxy vote statistics

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 23, 2024, 3:34 pm

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Bar chart showing 2019 and 2024 valid postal ballots returned and included in the General Election poll by constituency along with the percentage change in postal ballots returned and proxy votes issued between 2019 and 2024 by constituency.

With the 4 July General Election being called during school holidays in Northern Ireland (and much of Scotland), was there an increase in the number of postal ballots and proxy votes issued? Yes and no. The statistics for 2024 have been published by the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland this afternoon. (link to 2019 stats) Postal Ballots The number of postal ballots issued jumped from 16,993 in GE2019 to 25,747 in GE2024. That’s a 52% increase. Not every postal ballot …

Lost deposits by party and by gender (spoiler: men always ‘out-deposit’ women) #GE2024

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 10, 2024, 8:30 am

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Chart showing percentage of men and women who kept their deposit when standing in NI at General Elections between 1997 and 2024

While the DUP suffered losses at last week’s General Election, they continue their record streak of never having lost a deposit at a Westminster election – general or by-election – since 1997, and probably quite a lot further back too. Historically, the DUP have been most vulnerable to losing their deposit in Belfast West and South Down. In 2024, Foyle, Belfast West and Newry & Armagh were the lowest, though all with a vote share double what’s required for their …

Visualising majorities #GE2024

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 9, 2024, 8:30 am

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Chart showing the size of Northern Ireland constituency majorities at the 2019 and 2024 General Elections, sorted in order of increasing majorities in 2024

Until I looked the constituency majorities together for the 2019 and 2024 General Elections, I hadn’t spotted that the sweet spot for Alliance is a shade under three thousand votes for their wins at both elections. Two versions of the chart: one in order of increasing majority at GE2019, the other in order of increasing majority at GE2024. I find my eye catches different details and looks for different stories depending on whether the focus is on the old or …

Visualising NI constituency turnout and party support #GE24

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 8, 2024, 8:30 am

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Chart showing the change in the vote share of major parties (TUV, DUP, UUP, Alliance, SDLP, Sinn Féin and People Before Profit) in the 2019 and 2024 General Elections.

If a picture’s worth a thousand words, there here are three charts to help your eyes unpack some of the shifts in voter behaviour at Thursday’s General Election! Turnout across Northern Ireland’s 18 constituencies was low. Very low. The final NI figure of 57.45% dipped below the 2010 slump (57.99%) and – correct me if I’m wrong – is the lowest turnout for any General Election in the last 50 years. (Note that turnout at by-elections can be much lower: …

#GE24 candidates in numbers and charts

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on June 8, 2024, 12:42 am

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Stacked bar charts showing the number of candidates (split by male and female) in each NI constituency at GE2024, and another chart showing the proportion of male and female candidates in each of the 18 constituencies.

The statement of persons nominated – ‘candidate lists’ to you and me – for the General Election have been published by the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland. Here’s a numeric breakdown of the people seeking your vote on 4 July. 136 candidates are running across the 18 constituencies. That’s a third more than 2019 (102), but two fewer than a previous high watermark of 138 in 2015. Just 2 parties are running in all 18 Northern Ireland constituencies: Alliance and …

VIDEO: Sunningdale Agreement 50 Years On

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on May 30, 2024, 11:52 am

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Brian Faulkner resigned as chief executive of the short-lived Northern Ireland Executive, and the Sunningdale Agreement collapsed on 28 May 1974. You can now watch back a series of panel discussions that were held in Ulster University to look back at Sunningdale on Tuesday, the 5oth anniversary of its collapse. Session One – The Negotiations – Sean Donlon, Noel Dorr, Lord Paul Bew, Prof Paul Arthur (chair) Session Two – Perspectives on 1973/4 Power-sharing NI Executive – Hugh Logue, Chris …