stephen farry

Alliance conference in party mood despite leader’s absence #APNI2020

| Readers 1443

Alliance delegates gathered again in the Stormont Hotel for their annual conference, marking the 50th anniversary of the party’s formation and celebrating a year of growing success at three successive elections (local, European and Westminster). The mood was upbeat, attendance was strong, yellow clothing was prevalent, and while there are no elections just around the corner to fire up the crowd, there was a sense of achievement and satisfaction at the party’s fortunes.

Three figures were notably absent including party leader Naomi Long who had been diagnosed with a severe respiratory infection and was on bed rest and fluids under doctor’s orders. Deputy leader Stephen Farry delivered the conference main speech which also held from PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne, former Secretary of State Julian Smith, and young councillors.

Alliance demands better from parties, politicians and the Secretary of State #apni19

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READ AND LISTEN BACK to the main speeches at today’s Alliance Party Conference on the second anniversary of the last NI Assembly election and exactly two months before the next local government poll. Naomi Long pulled no punches in her criticism of Secretary of State’s “appalling dereliction of duty” to restore the Stormont institutions.

The Power of Part Time Higher Education – transforming lives & careers in NI with the OU

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PART TIME education is in the Open University’s DNA says its director John D’Arcy. With the highest number of part time students of any higher education institution in NI, and with students spread across 18 constituencies, the DEL committee hosted the OU up in Parliament Buildings last night and learned first hand about the transformative impact it has on its students.

David Ford: we are more committed to transforming Northern Ireland than you, Mr Robinson #ap2015

| Readers 1953

This year’s Alliance Party conference was focussed on party members and supporters rather than reaching out to the public at large. Delegates were reminded about the core party values and principles. There were no visiting clerics or representatives of loyalist band forums. No one from the Syriza Greek government. Instead, Alliance heard from friends in the victims, integrated education, science, arts and environment sectors. While Peter Robinson was criticised for making DUP victory in East Belfast his number one priority, …

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St Mary’s: Accommodation or Integration?

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At the heart of the debate on the future of St Mary’s College is a wider one about the future of education in Northern Ireland. How do we want our children to be educated? Do we want a system that prioritises parental choice between different sectors or one that maximises opportunities for children from different backgrounds to learn together? A number of recent developments highlight a lack of unified education planning by the Executive. Last Friday the DUP launched its …

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Platform for Change panel of politicians fails to inspire about how to overcome political inertia

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Platform for Change’s latest – and perhaps last – panel event was hosted last night by Mark Carruthers in the Crescent Arts Centre. Around 40 people attended the session with its bizarrely worded title: Political Inertia to a Flourishing Society – How? The six panellists from centre-ground parties made four minute opening statements before the discussion was opened to the floor. Alasdair McDonnell (SDLP leader, MP & MLA) had come straight to the venue from the airport. He said there …

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Are unionists ‘…committed to drastically lowering people’s standards of living’?

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This is a quick companion piece to Mick’s on welfare reform cuts. Gerry Adams issued a longish statement last week on the issue, which presumably can be taken as the current Sinn Féin position. These are a few relevant extracts: The DUP has repeatedly demonstrated an unwillingness to participate positively in any of the institutions. Instead it has adopted a tactical approach aimed at serving the political agenda of a fundamentalist rump in their party rather than the needs of the …

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Alliance Party urges society to step forward … while it deals with past week’s comments by Anna Lo #AP2014

| Readers 191

Today’s Alliance Party conference came just days after Anna Lo’s perfectly valid – though politically thoughtless – comments about her personal views on Irish unification were reported as part of her interview with John Manley in the Irish News. It was hard to avoid the annual party member get-together being seen through an Anna Lo lens. It was the topic of conversation amongst delegates. I talked to no one who was upset by Anna’s aspiration. No matter whether accused of …

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“the current system is inefficient and we need to examine the case for reform of teacher education provision”

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The BBC reports on the latest attempt by the Northern Ireland Employment and Learning Minister, the Alliance Party’s Stephen Farry, to reform the teacher training system here.    It follows the publication of a report on the first stage of the Study of the Teacher Education Infrastructure in Northern Ireland.  From the ministerial press release “The research concluded that Stranmillis and St. Mary’s are the only teacher training establishments in the UK which receive premia additional to their core funding. The cost …

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“A considerable element of this will be financed by charging higher fees to students from England, Scotland and Wales.”

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With the headlines grabbed on Thursday, and the Northern Ireland First and deputy First Ministers off to Hollywood [USA], the only thing left for Employment and Learning Minister, Stephen Farry, to do was to inform the NI Assembly of the details on tuition fees. According to the BBC report “These decisions are a clear indication that the executive is working for Northern Ireland,” [Stephen Farry] said. “For our future students, for our graduates and indeed for their families and the economy. “A considerable element of …

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NI University tuition fees to be kept at current levels, “subject only to an inflationary rise”

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As the BBC reports, Northern Ireland Employment and Learning Minister, Stephen Farry, has confirmed that the bread promised by the First and deputy First Ministers in July, will be on the menu. But we’ll have to wait until Monday to see the details – the NI Assembly being the appropriate place to make such an announcement.  [But we need headlines now! – Ed]  Indeed. Those details would include whether or not the proposals include students from England, Scotland and Wales. Because there …

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Alliance go back to college and work – what did their manifesto say about DEL?

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stephen farry alliance

In the end, I never got round to reading the 150 page Alliance manifesto before the election. On Friday night, the five main parties informally ran d’Hondt to select their ministries – and announced the informal selections via the Executive’s twitter account, controversially some suggest – allowing them to spend the weekend making informed choices about suitable ministers from their elected MLAs. With nine ministries selected, Alliance had no option but take the remaining Department for Employment and Learning as …

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Don’t you just love North Down

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One of the biggest surprises of the European election in 2009 was just how well the Green’s Stephen Agnew and the then Alliance Ian Parsley did. Both polled so far beyond expectations they were in the running for the Slugger Awards ‘up and coming politician’ gong (is it a ‘gong’?). A lot of water has passed under Parsley’s bridge since then – a jump to the Conservatives and subsequent failed run for Westminster beneath the UCUNF banner. With The UCUNF …

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