Alliance was founded in 1970 and initially lead by Sir Oliver Napier

2. Background information on Alliance • Alliance was founded in 1970 and initially lead by Sir Oliver Napier • It was controversial as it was against the sectarian and discriminative views of the troubles • Initially set up to attract Catholics who accepted N.I being part of the UK and also to attract Protestants who were willing to meet the Nationalists political requirements His son John Paul said: “Despite entering politics in Northern Ireland's darkest hour, he was eternally optimistic that a meaningful partnership between both sections of the community was possible if people had the courage to reach for it."

3. What is the Alliance Party? • The Alliance party is the fifth largest party of Northern Ireland with one seat in the house of commons. • They also have 2 ministers in the NI executive and 8 seats in the NI Assembly • Alliance have 44 local councillors • Lead by Minister of Justice David Ford • Deputy leader is Naomi Long MP • Minister for Employment and Learning Stephen Farry

4. Alliance Policies • Present themselves as a neutral party however they are slightly Unionist as long as that is the majority view. • Believe in a shared society- against sectarianism, discrimination and prejudice. • Believe that the number of seats in the NI Assembly is too large, want this reduced from 6 to 5 seats per constituency • Alliance leader David Ford was one of the negotiators of the Good Friday agreement Paramilitary Flags “There should be zero tolerance of paramilitary flags. There must be no place in any normal society for the celebration of a culture of violence and intimidation.”

5. Alliance Policies Integrated Education Alliance sought investment and targets for increased integrated education. The Stormont draft contains no targets but does say that "creating more opportunities for shared and integrated education [with a view to achieving a full shared education system in Northern Ireland] is a crucial part of breaking the cycle of sectarianism". Housing Developments Alliance wanted a review of segregated housing and prioritisation of mixed housing. The Stormont draft document addresses this saying: "mixed housing should be considered the norm" and it is "imperative that we prioritise the need to develop more shared housing and neighbourhood schemes". The draft also says "a landmark review of residential segregation and equality of housing provision" should be undertaken

6. Reasons for the Alliance success • The STV voting system makes it a lot easier for Alliance to obtain votes because many people put them as their second choice. • The Alliance positions in the NI Executive as Minister of Justice and Minister of Employment and Learning give them a lot more credibility and makes them more trusted in the Assembly. • Anna Lo and Naomi Long represent women of Northern Ireland. • Represent equality and appeal to all types of people

7. Examples of Alliance set backs • Still don’t have enough seats to make a significant difference as they rely on second choice votes through STV. • It has been claimed that Naomi Long only achieved her seat as protest votes against Peter Robinson worked to her advantage • The position of Justice Minister can result in flaring up troubles • Assembly still dominated by DUP and Sinn Fein • Accused of not having the mandate for two executive positions • Department of Employment and Learning may be combined with education, said to be to save money however may be to reduce Alliance significance

8. Alliance election results Assembly Election 1998: 6.5% of votes and 6 MLA’s 2003: down to 3.7% and 6 MLA’s 2007: increased 5.2% and 7 MLA’s 2011: increased again to 7.7% and 8 MLA’s General Election 1997: 8.0% of votes and 0 MP’s 2001: decreased to 3.6% , stayed at 0 MP’s 2005: 3.9%, 0 MP’s. 2010: 6.3% and obtained 1 MP seat