“Heel dragging” on key priorities at Stormont could impact on the Alliance Party’s future participation in the Executive, its leader Naomi Long has warned. Addressing the party’s annual conference on Saturday, Long criticised the instability of Northern Ireland’s powersharing government and the “cost of division” on public services. Now the third-largest party in the Executive, its “continued participation in the Executive cannot and should not be taken for granted”, said Long. The next Assembly elections will take place in May 2027 and Long rejected claims that Alliance’s vote had “plateaued”. Long warned against viewing “every international conflict through the lens of our local divisions” in the North.

Source: The Irish Times March 15, 2026 05:54 UTC