David Ford said: “Alliance is the only party with the leadership to say it like it is. We are the only party that leads change and goes against the flawed and damaging populism of the other main parties.
“Each one of the other main parties is conservative in essence as they maintain division. We are the only radical party, as we are the only one that is genuinely presenting an alternative to those who maintain segregation.
“Its time politicians caught up with the people of Northern Ireland. We are leading that change.
“The need to tackle division has become public currency thanks to us. We talked about it first and we have continued to lead the way on campaigning for, and delivering, shared education, shared services and shared spaces.
“This is a very exciting time for Alliance. The past year has seen us gain our first elected MP and has seen Alliance provide the first locally-elected Justice Minister in 40 years. Our party is growing and growing, with new members from right across the community joining us. This year, we have the potential to create even more positive headlines in the forthcoming elections. Positive politics works and we will prove this again in the Assembly and Council elections.”
ENDS