'Alliance a party on the up' as Naomi Long calls for Stormont reform at conference in Belfast

Alliance is a party on the up.

Just once glance at the car park of the Stormont Hotel in east Belfast where the party gathered for its annual conference at the weekend would confirm that.

Not a parking space could be had at 9.30am.

The party has consistently established itself as the third strongest in Northern Ireland’s elections and it now boasts 17 MLAs in the newly reformed Stormont Assembly and two ministers in the Executive.

Perhaps, more importantly for the party, its arguments for reforming the institutions are starting to cut through.

Tanaiste Micheal Martin addressed the party’s dinner on the Friday night.

He has previously spoken of the need to reform the institutions to prevent another collapse but his words came right out of the Alliance Party playbook.

“I don’t think any party wants that and I am certain that the public would have zero tolerance for another cycle of suspension, disenfranchisement and political torpor,” he told the gathering.

“And therefore I have said it makes sense for us to look now at what we can do to make the institutions more stable and effective while, of course, retaining the agreement’s foundational commitment to meaningful power sharing and inclusiveness.”

The words were well received by the Allaince party faithful and it was a theme the Alliance leader returned to in her speech to the conference, but this time there was more than a hint of frustration in her tone.

“I am weary of successive governments telling us privately that we have won the intellectual argument on reform,” she said.

“This isn’t an intellectual debate. Our institutions have failed to operate for five of the last seven years. This is a real problem with real world consequences and requires real and urgent action to prevent any repeat.”

Mrs Long challenged the Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris, who enjoys power- lifting in his spare time, “to step up and do some seriously heavy lifting on reform of the institutions, sooner rather than later, unless you want to be permanently burdened with a large share of the blame for any future collapse.”

It’s a message that will resonate with an equally weary electorate, most of whom have grown tired of stop start politics and who are becoming increasingly impatient with institutions that have been down more often than they’ve been up while public services have been decimated. The DUP and Sinn Fein insist they want to make politics work, but, for as long as they have the power to torpedo the institutions, the Stormont structures will look perilously fragile.

The protestations of the two main parties, that they are committed to devolution clearly cuts no ice with the Alliance leader: “The only possible reason for those parties to argue that they should retain the power to collapse the institution is if they intend to either use that power or use the threat of using it to control the Executive,” she told conference delegates.

“Both are a form of ransom politics. Neither is democratic or acceptable.”

What is evident from the conference is that there is a spring in the Alliance party’s step and a confidence that it has not yet hit its electoral high water mark.

Mrs Long urged Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to call an election sooner rather than later.

“The only thing this morally bankrupt government can do to protect democracy now is to call a General Election. And the sooner the better, because conference, we are ready. Ready for change and ready to bring change,” she said.

Retaining the Deputy leader Stephen Farry’s seat in North Down is, she said, the party’s top priority, but she listed East Belfast, Lagan Valley and the new South Belfast and mid- Down seats as targets in the forthcoming Westminster election.

That in turn will lead to more questions about whether Mrs Long - who’s obviously enjoying her return stint as Justice Minister - will make a bid to unseat the DUP Deputy leader Gavin Robinson in east Belfast.

It’s a decision she says she has not yet thought about, but if her ambitions for her party are to be realised, Naomi Long may have to reach a conclusion sooner rather than later.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know.