Alliance not taking position in border poll campaign may ‘make sense’, says Long
The party leader said members could decide the best option is to ‘step back’ from taking a formal position in the event a referendum is called.
Alliance leader Naomi Long has said it might make sense for her party not to take a position on any future referendum on Northern Ireland’s constitutional status.
Ms Long said the party membership may well decide it would be better to “step back” from a border poll campaign and essentially treat it as a conscience issue, with Alliance representatives free to vote how they wished.
Her remarks ahead of her party’s annual conference in Belfast this weekend strike a somewhat different tone to previous comments she made back in 2022 when she suggested Alliance would “undoubtedly” take a position on the constitutional question in the future.
The non-aligned Alliance Party has made gains in a series of recent elections in Northern Ireland, growing from the fifth largest party at Stormont to the third by building a support base among an increasing cohort of people in the region who identify as neither unionist or nationalist.
In a pre-conference interview with the PA news agency, Ms Long was asked whether Alliance runs the risk of undermining its pluralist credentials if it takes a side in any future referendum.
The East Belfast Assembly member, who serves as Justice minister in the Stormont Executive, made clear the constitutional question was not currently a priority for her or her party.
But she acknowledged the issue was “inherently tied” to Northern Ireland’s narrative and, as such, the party was willing to participate in discussions around how the future might look like either continuing as part of the UK or in a united Ireland.
Ms Long said the conversation over the prospect of a potential border poll had now a “degree of energy around it”.
But, in respect of any future referendum campaign, she stressed that Alliance party members may decide it best not to pick a side.
“I suppose in some ways it kind of makes sense, because when you think about it, whilst I understand the dynamic of people wanting to be involved in the campaign or wanting to be involved in that politics, we have always said in the party that you don’t elect politicians to make decisions on the constitutional question, that’s going to be a referendum, every individual will have their own vote, including every individual member of the Alliance Party,” she said.
“And whatever position the party might decide to take, it will be up to individual members of the party how they actually vote when it comes to a referendum in the ballot box.
“So, in some ways, what parties say on this issue is less relevant than what individuals vote on the issue.
“Now, of course, there will be people who want to hear your thoughts, want you to express your views, want to know your thinking on the issue.
“But, for us, it’s not the prevailing priority.
“And so there may well come a time where the party decides they’re not going to take a position, they’re going to step back and do what we do on a number of other issues, particularly on life and death issues, step back and say ‘this is a matter for the public to determine for themselves with a free vote and for our membership to do likewise’.
“And I think whichever decision is taken, provided it is taken democratically, I don’t actually have an objection.”
Asked if Alliance may treat a border poll as a matter of conscience, Ms Long replied: “Yes, it could be, and that’s an option that’s always been open.
“And I’ve always been clear: the first decision is whether or not to take a position.
“The second decision, if you decide to take a position, is which position.
“But you could decide right at the outset that we’re not going to engage at a formal level as a party in this debate, we’ll allow individual members to decide to engage in whatever shape or form they wish.
“And that might be more attractive to some members of the party, and that’s a conversation we’ll have at the point where we are having a conversation about a referendum.
“But, for now, where we are united is that, first of all, our priority is building a united community and, secondly, that we’re willing to engage in those discussions about the future of the UK and about the future shape of Ireland, because both of those conversations are really relevant to the people who live here.”
Under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, the responsibility for calling a border poll rests with the incumbent Secretary of State.
He or she is obliged to trigger a referendum if there is evidence of a shift of opinion within Northern Ireland in favour of constitutional change.
However, successive UK governments have declined to make public the criteria and metrics that will be used to determine any change in public sentiment.
Ms Long said without clarification on that issue it was difficult to tell whether Northern Ireland was any closer to a border poll in 2025 than it was in 1998.
She said: “From my point of view, are we closer?
“It’s hard to know when you don’t know where the goal posts are.
“And I think that’s something that the Secretary of State needs to make clear.”
Ms Long will use her conference speech on Saturday to again call for reform of the Stormont institutions to change peace process structures that give the largest unionist and largest nationalist parties a veto power to collapse devolution.
The party also wants to amend rules that render the votes of non-aligned MLAs essentially meaningless in certain decisions that are currently determined by how nationalist and unionist members vote.
“We’re only as stable today as we were the day before we collapsed the last time (in 2022),” Ms Long said of the devolved institutions.
“I want to be sure that we have that stability, that underpinning of everyone around the table being equal, and everyone knows that they don’t have an ejector seat that will take the Executive down with it.
“They can walk (out), of course they can, that’s democracy, but they shouldn’t be able to take the Executive down with them.”
Asked about her own political future, the party leader said she believes she has a lot more to offer.
“I fell into politics and maybe at some stage I’ll fall out of it, but right now I’m in love with it, and I’m enjoying what I’m doing,” said Ms Long.
“I think there’s still a lot we can achieve as a party.
“I’m still really ambitious for Alliance, and I have lots of ideas about how we can get to the next stage.
“So, I think there’s a job for me to do.
“But, look, every year I vacate the party leader’s office at our AGM.
“Other parties don’t all do that, but I do.
“People have a right to put their name in for that post.
“And if somebody comes and taps me on the shoulder and says, ‘I think it’s time to pass the baton on’, I would be more than happy.
“Or if I feel that I’ve done everything I have to do, I’ll be happy to pass the baton on.
“The important thing is for now I’m working for what I believe is in the best interests of the party and the best interests of Northern Ireland.
“I still feel there’s work left to be done.
“And, so far, the party agrees.”
