alliance – Page 9 – Slugger O'Toole

Alliance Party launch huge manifesto

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on April 20, 2011, 12:45 am

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David Ford 2011 campaign launch speech wordle - wordle.net

The Alliance Party manifesto should come with a health warning. Dropping it on your toe could cause serious injury. On Monday, the DUP’s director of elections Simon Hamilton described his party’s spiral bound book of promises as “probably one of the most detailed and most comprehensive manifestos that any party will do in this election or indeed any party in any election in Northern Ireland’s history will have put forward”. A short-lived claim, as the very next day the Alliance …

Alliance PEB preview

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on April 13, 2011, 3:00 pm

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Alliance have avoided producing a traditional Political Election Broadcast and instead created something novel and modern. No voxpops. No politicians walking towards the camera struggling to remember their lines. No perfect families sitting in showhouse sets. It would be interesting to see the viewing figures for PEBs. Do people stick with them, or do they reach for the remote and channel-surf as they might do during the normal interstitials? It’s a shame that given the effort and thought that went …

Alliance: all (about leading) change

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on April 5, 2011, 1:00 pm

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Alliance leading change banner

Alliance launched their election campaign this morning but gave away little about the specific contents of their upcoming manifesto. The paper copy of David Ford’s speech this morning was titled: “Ford launches Alliance campaign saying the party is leading change”. Certainly it seemed like the party leader was embarking on a record breaking attempt to overuse the word change. If his short speech was passed through Wordle, the word “change” would overshadow all other content. [Ed – by popular demand, …

Looking back at Alliance’s conference … who were looking forward

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on January 24, 2011, 9:30 am

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The basic mood of Saturday’s Alliance conference was upbeat. Very upbeat. Elected representatives, ordinary members and recent joiners alike were proud of their accomplishments in 2010, framing them as positive achievements rather than having beaten other parties or candidates. I didn’t hear a single person gloating about Peter Robinson’s loss in East Belfast or his wider family issues this time last year. About three hundred members turned up for conference. It’s perhaps a sign of the party’s confidence that they’re …

Harry Hamilton (Alliance)

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on January 22, 2011, 3:26 pm

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The higher profile new members of the Alliance Party were today welcomed to the bosom of the conference at the Dunadry. David Ford named them in his speech, and seats had been reserved in the front row of the hall. I caught up with Harry Hamilton during the lunch break. He explained why he was drawn to Alliance and confirmed that he was willing to serve the party in the future if he was required. The official line is that …

Alliance Party Conference live #allconf

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on January 22, 2011, 10:30 am

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The post has been updated with audio from most of the sessions during the day … and there’s one last post reflecting back on the conference mood, the party’s future and quick interviews with David Ford, Naomi Long and Andrew Muir. — After the award of prizes … … the remaining delegates debated (well, spoke in agreement of) two motions. Neither could be described as the party breaking new policy ground – though both do speak into important issues in …

Alliance Party Conference preview #allconf

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on January 21, 2011, 8:30 am

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It’s the Alliance Party Conference on Saturday. Their agenda has still not been announced as it is being franticly reshuffled after the late confirmation that Fine Gael’s leader Enda Kenny is able to attend. This time last year, the likelihood that policing and justice would be devolved was much talked about at conference. Behind the scenes, Alliance’s Executive had already discussed how they might approach the new ministry and the potential for David Ford to grab the post. Alliance’s leader …

Another one bites the dust … Harry Hamilton joins Alliance

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on January 14, 2011, 11:51 pm

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As mentioned in the comments below yesterday’s post by Andrew about the number of members taking advantage of the UUP early leavers’ scheme, Harry Hamilton has joined the Alliance Party. When he quit the UUP on the eve of their party conference, it was noted that he would “be open to an approach from the Alliance Party” that has already become home to fellow UCUNF Westminster Candidate Paula Bradshaw. Having missed the UUP conference, he’s signed up in time for …

The five, five words of Christmas (incomplete)

Blank on December 23, 2010, 8:39 pm

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Christmas messages run through Wordle. Does what they say a lot, say a lot? DUP Christmas, God’s, Northern, Ireland, birth Sinn Féin Sinn, Féin, Ág, águs, leis UUP Northern, Ireland, Unionist, People, party SDLP: No Christmas message as yet Alliance: No Christmas message as yet Blank

Gerry Lynch: ‘purely a staffing matter’?

Blank on November 16, 2010, 9:07 pm

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Despite attempts via several avenues to get clarity on this I have been unsuccessful. There is a chance the reason behind it being kept quiet is entirely valid but Slugger has not been given even a gentle indication there are issues that mean this post shouldn’t be in the public domain (and more than just me asked or looked into this). I had previously tipped Gerry Lynch, now former Executive Director of the Alliance party, Westminster candidate for East Antrim …

Paula Bradshaw looks through the yellow door

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on November 4, 2010, 10:34 pm

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Paula Bradshaw

One centre right door slammed shut, but another familiar middle of the road yellow door opened and Paula Bradshaw stepped from the remnant of UCUNF across to the Alliance. If you had an overactive imagination you might wonder whether having resigned from the UUP a couple of weeks ago, Paula was tidying around the house and stopped to read some of Ian Parsley’s old Alliance literature piled up in the corner of the room. But perhaps the reality is that …

Don’t you just love North Down

Blank on October 3, 2010, 10:03 pm

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One of the biggest surprises of the European election in 2009 was just how well the Green’s Stephen Agnew and the then Alliance Ian Parsley did. Both polled so far beyond expectations they were in the running for the Slugger Awards ‘up and coming politician’ gong (is it a ‘gong’?). A lot of water has passed under Parsley’s bridge since then – a jump to the Conservatives and subsequent failed run for Westminster beneath the UCUNF banner. With The UCUNF …

2011 Northern Ireland Assembly election

Blank on September 4, 2010, 8:54 pm

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Nicholas Whyte has kindly given Slugger permission to reproduce this article.

The jury is out (for some)

Blank on June 17, 2010, 2:28 pm

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With the publication of the Saville Report focus is now shifting to the possibility of prosecutions, some paratroopers are already under investigation by the Public Prosecutions Service over perjury at the inquiry but it is unknown if any criminal investigations and/or prosecutions will take place over events on the day. The DUP’s Peter Robinson has called for no prosecutions I think from a political point of view I have to say that I do not believe that there is anything …

Alliance a ‘legitimate target’?

Blank on May 12, 2010, 10:13 pm

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Moving from an oppositional role in the Assembly to taking on the role of Justice Minister ran political risks for the Alliance Party. At the time I flippantly noted David Ford had put himself in the firing line in more way than one. However, his and Alliance’s responsibility for the conditions of Republican prisoners has come to the fore as a decent sized crowd made their way to APNI HQ for a protest on their attitude to prisoner rights –something …

East Belfast at the next General Election?

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on May 10, 2010, 5:00 pm

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Naomi Long - Lord Mayor

There are a lot of issues external to the Alliance party and Naomi Long that will impact the next result. How many people used their vote as a protest? Will the TUV implode? Will UCUNF collapse? Will Peter Robinson stand again? Unionist unity candidate? Or will the East Belfast electorate will decide to give their new MP a second chance?

Winners and losers

Blank on May 7, 2010, 6:05 pm

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A few weeks ago I tried to present some ways the parties could judge if the election was a success or not. DUP Retaining seats all their Westminster seats will be the main aim. Adding a seat in South Belfast, as a full gain or countering a single seat loss elsewhere, would also be an excellent result. The can’t expect a gain in vote in percentage or real terms from the last Westminster election as the TUV are now involved …

Robinson defeated by Long in East Belfast

Pete Baker on May 7, 2010, 12:50 am

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The DUP leader Peter Robinson has been defeated by the Alliance Party’s Naomi Long in East Belfast by 12,839 votes to 11,306. The TUV candidate, David Vance, secured 1,856 votes… BBC report here. And where were you? Pete Baker

Poorly spun electoral yarn

Blank on April 30, 2010, 4:18 pm

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I like a bit of spinning and manipulation during an election, it’s a dirty business and most parties are up for some deceit and/or dishonesty. Though Alliance are pushing their luck a bit with the claim ‘It’s Naomi or Robinson’ in their election cartoon – the claim is supported with the essentially correct statistic that only 52 votes separated them in 2007. Though it completely masks the fact that the total DUP vote of 11,155 dwarfed Alliance’s 5,583 and even the UUP were …