'No pretence of respecting Trump', Alliance leader says

The leader of the Alliance Party has said she will "make no pretence of respecting" US president Donald Trump.

Naomi Long told her party's annual conference in Belfast they were "taking a stand" by not attending the White House for St Patrick's Day events.

But she said Alliance would "continue to engage" with those in Washington DC who "remain genuinely interested in Northern Ireland and its future".

Long said a "window of opportunity" exists to have "serious dialogue" about reforming Stormont's devolved institutions.

The Alliance conference this weekend is its second since Northern Ireland's devolved government was restored in February 2024 following a two-year collapse.

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) had blocked the institutions in protest at post-Brexit trade rules, but ended its boycott after a deal with the UK government.

Alliance has two ministers in the four-party executive at Stormont, with Long serving as justice minister and Andrew Muir as agriculture minister.

In her conference speech, Long warned party members the power-sharing institutions remained at risk.

"Any one of the scandals and disputes over the last year could have upended the institutions, and who's to say that something in the coming year won't?"

The Alliance leader has long argued for changes to voting procedures and to prevent any single party vetoing the establishment of the devolved institutions.

Long said that with Stormont functioning and new UK and Irish governments in place, there was a "crucial window of opportunity to have a serious dialogue about reform".

Stormont parties and executive ministers usually travel to the US in March for engagements surrounding St Patrick's Day.

But this year Sinn Féin, Alliance and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) have said they will not attend the White House's celebrations.

It follows criticism of Trump's stance on the Israel-Gaza conflict.

Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, a DUP assembly member, has said she will go to Washington DC.

She said it was important to "maintain long and rewarding" relationships with the US.

Addressing her party conference, Long said that while others would go to the White House, Alliance was "taking a stand and declining to do so".

"To be clear, I respect the right of US citizens to elect whomever they wish as president," she said.

"I also respect the office of president. However, I do not and will make no pretence of respecting the current office-holder."

But the Alliance leader said her party colleague, assembly member Nuala McAllister, would be in Washington "to discuss the issues of policing and institutional reform with interested parties".

The Alliance Party is the third-largest in the Northern Ireland Assembly and in local councils following elections in recent years.

It has one MP following the 2024 general election, after losing its seat in the North Down constituency but gaining one in Lagan Valley.

The conference is Alliance's first since assembly member Eóin Tennyson was elected as the party's deputy leader.

In October, he succeeded Stephen Farry, who stepped down after losing his seat as MP for North Down.

Analysis by Brendan Hughes, BBC News NI political reporter

Alliance's conference slogan this year is "leading change", but there is no sign of a change of leader.

Naomi Long is now in her ninth year in the role - the longest serving of the main Stormont parties.

The change that Alliance really wants to see is reform to Northern Ireland's power-sharing structures.

It believes amendments to voting mechanisms would prevent larger parties wielding a veto, breaking Stormont's many cycles of collapse.

But one year since devolved government was restored, is Alliance any closer to that goal it so often talks about?

Long says the UK and Irish governments need to use their influence to make it a priority.

But convincing them, as well as her partners in the four-party executive, remains a key challenge.