War in Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis at home is the time to lead rather than leave government, Alliance leader Naomi Long said today

The Justice Minister told delegates that an extra four Alliance MLAs in the present Assembly would have pushed through progressive legislation such as the party’s Hunting Ban, which was defeated by other parties at Stormont.

In her speech, she said: “We’re emerging from a pandemic, fighting a battle against climate change, facing a cost-of-living crisis and there’s a war on our doorstep in Eastern Europe.

“This is not the time to walk away from government, this is the time to lead in government.”

Mrs Long said the resignation of First Minister Paul Givan as part of the Democratic Unionist Party’s strategy against the Northern Ireland Protocol while no longer able to cause the collapse of the Assembly “has deprived us of that working Executive, at a time when many key decisions still depend on it.”

The Alliance leader said voters should examine the party’s record in the current Assembly over the last two years during which it sponsored five major bills on issues from animal welfare to integrated education.

Referring to Alliance MLA John Blair’s bill to outlaw hunting animals with dogs, Mrs Long said:

“John Blair’s bill to ban hunting of mammals with dogs was voted down by Sinn Fein supported by some in the DUP. Despite Mary Lou McDonald telling animal welfare organisations in the south that when the next opportunity arose, Sinn Fein would vote for a hunting ban, instead block it on a Second Reading.

“John’s Bill failing is a good illustration of two things – it shows us what happens when other parties who talk the talk but fail to walk the walk have majority; more importantly, it shows us the difference that more Alliance MLAs would make. Just four more Alliance MLAs would have delivered the Hunting Ban in Northern Ireland. Let’s sure we’re back in the next mandate, with those extra MLAs, to finish the job.”

At the start of her speech, Mrs Long revealed that over the last two years of lockdown Alliance has recruited more than 300 new members to what she claimed was “the fastest growing party” in Northern Ireland.

Referring to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the sanctions against Vladimir Putin and his allies, the Justice Minister said steps had to be taken to ensure that Northern Ireland does not become “a haven for dark money” belonging to the oligarchs.

She reminded delegates that Alliance’s sister liberal party in Ukraine – Sluha Narodu (Servant of the People) – is the party of the country’s besieged President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“I think none of us can fail to have been impressed by his composure and leadership as Ukraine has seen war waged by Russian troops on the streets of their towns and cities, or to be moved by the horror of the scenes unfolding in a nation only a three-hour flight from here.”

On the elections in May, she said people have “had enough of the constant dramas and the political soap operas. They want politicians who don’t just identify more problems – or worse still, add to them – but who are focused on finding solutions, on making things better.”

The Alliance leader said it was “hard to fathom how we are again without an Executive only two years after restoration. It seems that some politicians are addicted to crisis and conflict, and simply not up to the job of actually governing.”

On Brexit and the Protocol, Mrs Long said the DUP put faith in Boris Johnson who promised them an “oven ready” Brexit which “turned out to be a turkey.”

She continued: “What never fails to surprise is the eternal willingness of some to put their faith in a man and a party which with consistency throws them under the bus. Indeed, some parties have spent so much time under the bus over the last few years, you would be forgiven for mistaking them for Translink mechanics.”

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