East Belfast - Ea2

Election Communication

East Belfast Constituency

Naomi Long “Alliance is working to build a

“Improving community relations must be the biggest priority for our Assembly - not an optional extra. Only Alliance is providing credible answers to the problem of how we deal with our divisions.”

united community in Northern Ireland. The Agreement is not the ceiling of our ambition, but the

“Only Alliance asks the awkward questions that need to be asked, and raises the difficult issues that need to be raised.”

foundation on which we can build a shared society. “Alliance is working for an open, free and fair society. Only Alliance rejects the notion that we must all be boxed into ‘two communities’. “Alliance is working to give everyone something better than tribal politics – a genuinely shared future.”

East Belfast

THURSDAY 29th MAY 2003

www.allianceworks.org Published by Jim Hendron on behalf of Naomi Long, both at Apartment 1, 44 Cyprus Avenue, Belfast, BT5 5NT. Printed by GPS Colour Graphics, Alexander Road, Belfast, BT6 9HF.

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Naomi Long

Alliance Works ~ Tribal Politics Doesn’t www.allianceworks.org

Naomi Long Works • Born and raised in East Belfast, educated at Mersey Street PS, Bloomfield Collegiate and QUB, she now lives with her husband in Ballyhackamore. • Youth organisation leader and member of choir, drama group and congregational committee in her local church. • A member of Belfast District Policing Partnership Board, she recently met local PSNI chiefs to discuss crime against the elderly. • Has called for the introduction of a compulsory levy for plastic shopping bags and for action to stop companies using unnecessary packaging. • Is opposed to the introduction of top-up fees for Northern Ireland university students. • Has developed proposals to address the shortage of ‘lollipop’ people in East Belfast and across NI. • Has demanded that the statutory agencies work to remove sectarian and paramilitary graffiti and murals and illegal flags. • Has campaigned for the introduction of the right to third party Planning appeals. • Has campaigned for the introduction of “Hate Crimes Legislation” to give tougher sentences for crimes motivated by racism and sectarianism.

East Belfast Naomi Long, 31, is a Belfast City Councillor and Civil Engineer. As a young woman, she brings a fresh perspective to East Belfast. In the last elections, Alliance was the only pro-Agreement party elected on the first count in East Belfast. This time, vote for the only united, genuine pro-Agreement party that can win in East Belfast. A vote for Alliance is the only vote to tackle sectarianism and segregation and make the Assembly work - for everyone. Making the Difference in East Belfast When elected to the Assembly Cllr. Naomi Long will campaign for: • More police on the beat • Removal of sectarian flags and graffiti • Additional integrated school places for East Belfast • Introduction of right of third party planning appeals • 1 year’s free nursery education for all children

Five Years of Wasted Opportunities The Agreement has yet to be properly implemented. Traditional parties have pursued their own narrow agendas and bickered over issues such as policing reform rather than working together for the good of all. Even today, rather than looking to a shared future together, the UUP and the SDLP are moving to the extremes, looking over their shoulders at the DUP and Sinn Féin. Meanwhile on the streets, sectarianism, segregation and law and order remain major problems. Sectarianism Costs Sectarianism and segregation carry huge human and financial costs. More and more people are living almost parallel lives with a bare minimum of contact with those on ‘the other side’. Huge resources are wasted in providing separate facilities that could be better invested in improving public services. Why do we persist in forcing people into boxes called unionism and nationalism? Apartheid never worked in South Africa. It can never work here. Making the Difference Healing our community divisions must be the biggest priority for the Assembly. Unless we seriously address these problems, they will eventually destroy the Agreement and all that has been achieved so far. Alliance is the leading cross-community and anti-sectarian voice in Northern Ireland. Alliance is the political voice of those who work to create a united community, characterised by sharing not separation. Alliance offers everyone an invitation to join something different, something better than tribal politics – a genuinely shared and non-sectarian future. For Alliance, the Agreement is not the ceiling of our ambition. It is the foundation on which we can build a better future.

The full Assembly Manifesto, and detailed policy papers are available from www.allianceworks.org or by phoning 9032 4274

Naomi Long

Alliance Works ~ Tribal Politics Doesn’t Back in 1998, people voted for a new beginning. While in many respects Northern Ireland is better than before, the progress that people had a right to expect has not occurred.