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'No pretence of respecting Trump', Alliance leader says

Brendan Hughes
BBC News NI political reporter
Alliance Conference: Leader's speech

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.

Power-sharing still at risk

In her conference speech, Long warned party 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"A man and a woman standing outside railings, behind them a grand looking white washed Belfast City Hall. The man has grey hair swept to the side and blue eyes. He is smiling at the camera. He is wearing a grey hoodie over a grey jumper. The woman is a head or so smaller than him and has white short hair. She is wearing a white coat with a white and blue scarf on. " class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/>

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