Alliance Party

The Alliance Party should lead the economic debate by ending its Brexit Reversal Policy…

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a crowd of people holding signs and flags

The UK governments’ formal accession to the CPTPP trade area this weekend should be the catalyst for the Alliance Party to review its Brexit reversal policy. On Sunday, the Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenock signed a treaty which gives the UK access to the £12 trillion Indo Pacific trade bloc and a chance for the UK to expand beyond the confines of the European Union. Admittedly this is one of the very few trade-deal successes that we have witnessed …

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The Good Friday Agreement 25 Years on and the ‘Test’ of the Alliance Party…

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This Easter marks the 25 year anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement (GFA). The anniversary is being marked in the context of the absence of the Assembly and a functioning Executive. This has placed in focus the number of years in which the strand one institutions of the GFA have not functioned in the period since 1998. One major difference between 1998 and 2023 is the position of the Alliance Party. In 1998 Alliance secured 6 seats in the 108 …

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Alliance Party Conference #APNI2022

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After a two-year gap, the Alliance Party conference returned exactly two months before the Assembly election. Deputy leader Stephen Farry must have been relieved that he didn’t have to step in to deliver the leader’s speech this year! There were plenty of party stalwarts in the Crowne Plaza seats, and plenty of fresh young activists who weren’t on the scene two years ago. Yet the mood was slightly muted, at least until the leader and her deputy spoke. That can’t …

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Let’s put our values into practice in how we govern, argues Naomi Long

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If we are to make progress in Northern Ireland’s society, we need to reflect carefully on our core values and ensure that these are reflected in the way government works. This is the message put forward by Naomi Long – leader of the Alliance Party and justice minister – in the second of the Holywell Trust’s Forward Together podcast interviews of Northern Ireland’s political leaders.  Among the points stressed by Naomi is that violence is not acceptable as a means …

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Alliance: Now (or never) is the time to move beyond sound bite success to real world delivery…

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In earlier articles I’ve written that as someone still fundamentally pro-union. To recap, I’ve felt electorally disenfranchised for quite a long time by two unionist parties that have refused to reflect my general social outlook. Apart from a vote for David Ervine in East Belfast in 1997, I voted UUP. They lost me post-Trimble. So, I’m politically homeless. Like many on either side of the community. The Alliance Party should fill that void. But it doesn’t. Not because it is …

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Alliance conference in party mood despite leader’s absence #APNI2020

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Alliance delegates gathered again in the Stormont Hotel for their annual conference, marking the 50th anniversary of the party’s formation and celebrating a year of growing success at three successive elections (local, European and Westminster). The mood was upbeat, attendance was strong, yellow clothing was prevalent, and while there are no elections just around the corner to fire up the crowd, there was a sense of achievement and satisfaction at the party’s fortunes.

Three figures were notably absent including party leader Naomi Long who had been diagnosed with a severe respiratory infection and was on bed rest and fluids under doctor’s orders. Deputy leader Stephen Farry delivered the conference main speech which also held from PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne, former Secretary of State Julian Smith, and young councillors.

Northern Ireland looks set for the most unpredictable general election in its history

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With the names of the candidates for this year’s general election finalized, Northern Ireland looks set to have an uncharacteristically unpredictable election, with seemingly competitive races in 10 of its 18 constituencies. The chart above shows the results of this week’s new LucidTalk poll, compared with the poll from August this year and previous election results. It suggests that support for Sinn Féin and the DUP has fallen back from levels at previous elections, and that Alliance have built on …

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The Alliance Party surge could spell trouble for the DUP at Westminster

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With a UK general election expected to be weeks away, local parties are bracing themselves for another round of elections, on what would be the eighth occasion that Northern Ireland has gone to the polls since 2015. Given that the Conservative government relies upon the DUP’s 10 MPs for their wafer-thin majority, the battle for Westminster in Northern Ireland is likely to receive more attention in Great Britain than historically has been the case. The big story of recent elections …

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New way of consulting with civic society is part of the talks negotiations, discloses Naomi Long

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Creating a new mechanism for consulting with civic society is part of the talks negotiations aimed at getting Stormont back, Alliance Party leader Naomi Long has disclosed.  Naomi is a newly elected MEP, former MP and has just resigned her role as an MLA.  She was interviewed in the latest Forward Together podcast. “We need to find a role for engaging with civil society,” suggests Naomi.  “I think there is a lot of good work that goes on in our …

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The Alliance Party’s gains in the local and European elections won’t necessarily lead to Assembly election success

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As expected, Naomi Long won a seat in the European Parliament following the Alliance Party’s success at the local elections earlier in the month. However, it isn’t necessarily a given that the Alliance Party’s success at the local and European level will translate to success in any future Assembly election. This is because the areas that Alliance increased their vote in aren’t optimal from the point of view of maximizing their representation in the Assembly. Unlike the system in Israel, …

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The implications of Alliance’s successes for how our people are represented and governed can mean win:win all round

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Good to see Newton following up the implications of Alliance’s electoral successes From the Irish Times Sinn Féin and the DUP both want to preserve the veto for their own purposes. How sustainable would that be if Alliance doubled its Assembly representation, given it has just doubled its council and European votes? In theory, none of this would break the rules. In practice, it would make designation – a foundation of devolution – look redundant and perverse. Alliance’s breakthrough could …

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Without getting carried away, we should dare to hope that the Alliance surge will spark a positive response from the DUP and Sinn Fein

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Photo-PA After the European election – zombie or real life, who knows? – we’re in the even odder position of politics in Northern Ireland looking ever so slightly healthier than the politics of the UK as a whole. I compare NI with “UK” rather than “GB” because the Westminster scene presents the DUP with tough choices I’ll come to later. While I haven’t heard a cheep from the Stormont talks as they  (presumably)  prepare to  resume, the Alliance surge in …

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#EP2019-Tell them again: Northern Ireland voted Remain

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There are certainties in Northern Ireland. Everyone goes on holiday in July. A single crash on the Westlink will halt traffic across the country. An Ulster Fry is the best breakfast. The final truth: politics follows a script, the same story over and over again. We have our moments but we tell people that nothing ever really changes. May has been an extraordinary month for Northern Irish politics. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that the past few …

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Long says she is the candidate who can gain transfers to win the third seat

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The Alliance Party launched their European Manifesto today in Belfast with their candidate and party leader, Naomi Long leading the event. The Alliance Leader was keen to stress the recent surge in support for the party at the recent local government elections with a pitch about the “forward momentum” that her party was enjoying in comparison to her main rivals whom she argued where either stagnating or falling backwards. In her remarks she said; Brexit has not happened yet but …

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Seamus Close (1947-2019)

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Growing up in Lisburn, with James Molyneaux’s victory a certainty in any General Election race, the interesting number to find was how well runner-up Alliance candidate Seamus Close polled this time. He was first elected to Lisburn Borough Council back in 1973, becoming the first non-unionist mayor in 1993 …

Centre parties have captured a significant number of seats from both nationalists and unionists at the local elections

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With the counting now concluded in the 2019 Northern Ireland council elections, it is apparent that centrist parties have captured a significant number of seats from both nationalist and unionist parties. However, nationalist parties have captured enough seats from unionists to keep their total number of seats across the councils roughly the same, whilst the number of unionist councillors has dropped substantially. The number of seats won by each party/group in 2014 and 2019 is broken down in the table …

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Alliance Party gains point to a problem within unionism

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Same old, same old. That was the prediction for Northern Ireland’s 2019 local elections. We’ve still gone one more day of results to come but it’s been anything but boring so far. From Aine Grogan’s stunning victory in Botanic to Paul McCusker’s vote tally in Oldpark, there have been some notable headlines in this election. Progressive unionist Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston lost her seat but People Before Profit’s Fiona Ferguson triumphed. The DUP went up and it elected its first openly gay …

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Naomi Long to stand in the European Election

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The Alliance Party Leader, Naomi Long will stand in the European Election. Speaking about her nomination she said; “I am passionate about the EU and the enormous benefits it has brought not only to us in Northern Ireland, but also right across these islands and more widely across Europe over many decades. Maintaining stability, co-operation and collaboration at that level is absolutely vital to our future,2 she said. “The chaos and uncertainty created by Brexit has impacted every aspect of …

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Slugger TV looks at Alliance, Brexit and the Independent Group

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Slugger TV: Episode 23 from Northern Visions NvTv on Vimeo. Latest Slugger TV with Allison Morris and Sarah Creighton discussing the Independent Group, Brexit and the Alliance Party. David McCannDavid McCann holds a PhD in North-South relations from University of Ulster. You can follow him on twitter @dmcbfs

Alliance demands better from parties, politicians and the Secretary of State #apni19

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READ AND LISTEN BACK to the main speeches at today’s Alliance Party Conference on the second anniversary of the last NI Assembly election and exactly two months before the next local government poll. Naomi Long pulled no punches in her criticism of Secretary of State’s “appalling dereliction of duty” to restore the Stormont institutions.