Blair concerned provisions not in place for local Electoral Office closure

Alliance South Antrim MLA John Blair has said he is “extremely concerned” about the immediate closure of the Newtownabbey Electoral Office, set to take effect from Monday, January 7th. The office, located on Portland Avenue, Glengormley, is the latest in a round of closures the Electoral Office NI has been making, it says due to […]

Alliance welcomes support for position on Robinson Centre renaming

Alliance Councillor Michael Long has welcomed the support from the SDLP and Sinn Féin to have the new East Belfast leisure centre renamed when it opens later this year. Councillor Long – Alliance Group leader on Belfast City Council – said that while Alliance had always opposed the “various Peter Robinson vanity projects” it the […]

Online pre school and primary school admissions issues

Alliance’s Strangford MLA, Kellie Armstrong, has received assurances that today’s crash impacting the Education Authority’s online admissions application will not impact children entering pre school and primary school this September. Kellie has received a number of contacts from concerned parents who had tried to apply online for pre school and primary school places for this […]

“Politics is poorer for his passing” says Long after death of Paddy Ashdown announced

Alliance Leader Naomi Long has expressed her sadness after the death of former Lib Dem leader Paddy Ashdown was announced. Mrs Long said: “This is very sad news tonight. Paddy was a genuinely inspirational and dynamic politician who I’m glad I had the opportunity to meet. “A great orator and enormously charismatic figure, he was […]

Muir welcomes Council decision to back LGBT Awareness Week

Alliance Councillor Andrew Muir has welcomed Ards and North Down Council’s decision To back a request from the Rainbow Project to light up Ards Town Hall for LGBT Awareness Week. A similar Alliance proposal had previously been defeated, but this time around the vote narrowly passed by 19 votes to 18. Andrew said: “I am […]

Immigration restrictions bad our economy and our society

Alliance Economy spokesperson Stephen Farry MLA has responded to the publication of a long awaited White Paper on Immigration from the Home Office, stressing that immigration is a positive for the UK, including Northern Ireland. Mr Farry has further cautioned against a one-size fits all approach. The Alliance Party has already raised concerns regarding Northern […]

Creating a dementia-friendly borough is key

Speaking after her award win, Councillor Gerardine Mulvenna said: “Everyone knows someone whose life has been impacted by dementia, either directly or through a loved one. My mum lived with dementia so I personally experienced it. Therefore we have a responsibility to educate ourselves about the condition and do what we can to help raise […]

Families deserve answers from DUP and Sinn Fein on Muckamore inquiry – Bradshaw

Alliance Health Spokesperson Paula Bradshaw has welcomed the direct apology from the Department of Health to the families of patients at Muckamore Abbey Hospital – but noted without any effort being made by the largest parties to put a Health Minister in place, there can be no adequate answer to the families’ appeal for a […]

Prime Minister arrogant and foolish to dismiss People’s Vote

Alliance Party Deputy Leader Stephen Farry MLA has responded to Prime Minister Theresa May’s dismissal of a second referendum, which came during her statement on last week’s European Summit to Parliament. Stephen Farry said: “This is an unprecedented political crisis for the UK. The Prime Minister needs to be clear that if a negotiated Brexit […]