Alliance Party Leader | East Belfast MLA
email: naomi.long
@mla
.niassembly.gov.uk | Facebook: Naomi Long
Only rarely check in. No DMs - pls email for reply 🙂
This relentless intimidation is as pointless as it is despicable. No consideration for users, concern for young children who are frightened or parents disrupted. I contacted
@belfastcc
&
@PoliceServiceNI
after last night: this just reinforces urgent action needed.
@EastBelfastGAA
We are currently at the scene of a security alert following the discovery of a suspicious object at playing fields in the Church Road area of east Belfast. Closure between Manse Road and Ballygowan Road. Access to schools in the area from Manse Road. Further updates in due course
1. It wasn't frictionless re-entry, hence the heat shields
2. It wasn't "hand-knitted" code, but complex, cutting-edge maths & computing
3. It wasn't achieved by "can do" spirit, but years of planning by experts
4. The solution to frictionless trade does exist: it's called the EU
"If they could use hand-knitted computer code to make a frictionless re-entry to Earth’s atmosphere in 1969, we can solve the problem of frictionless trade at the Northern Irish border" -- Boris Johnson in Monday's
@Telegraph
I have a letter from a Nigerian Prince thanking me for my kindness and assuring me he has $10,000,000 which he will transfer to me if I send my bank account details.
How on earth can
@DUPleader
complain about the "pan-nationalist front" in North and South Belfast when they formed a pan-unionist coalition in North Belfast and Fermanagh South Tyrone?
I mean, seriously?
The total lack of self-awareness is astonishing.
In the last 72 hours, I've been called a c*nt, a hateful sh*t, a t*rd, told my dad "should have pulled out" and now this ⬇️
The relentlessness of this squalid and misogynistic abuse on Twitter is genuinely appalling.
However, it will not silence or deter me.
Get a life, lads.
🧵So, having become accustomed to seeing my posters burned on bonfires, I honestly thought nothing could shock me anymore. However, late last night I received photos of effigies of me,
@moneillsf
and
@MaryLouMcDonald
hanged on the bonfire at Glenfield in Carrickfergus. >
Whenever the DUP are ready to apologise for Red Sky, NAMA, RHI, Brexit, overplaying their hand throughout the Withdrawal negotiations, trusting Boris, and collapsing the Assembly, we'll talk, Carla.
Until then, focus on sorting the mess you created.
Arlene Foster has no claim to speak on behalf of NI. She isn't First Minister & can only speak for the DUP. NI voters wanted to remain in the EU, including the customs union.
I'd tag her in this but I don't want to bother the staffer who tweets for her. They've had a rough day.
No, Sammy. You're the one who needs to build a bridge...and get over it.
It's a nonsense project.
We need investment in health, education and infrastructure not this giant unionist umbilical cord.
These are "real law breakers", burning buses, terrorising passengers and attacking police.
Let's focus on that and getting this stopped before someone loses their life.
This is not protest. This is vandalism and attempted murder. These actions do not represent unionism or loyalism. They are an embarrassment to Northern Ireland and only serve to take the focus off the real law breakers in Sinn Fein.
My thoughts are with the bus driver.
A few years back, during COVID, Laurence Fox tweeted about my appearance on Twitter, kicking off a week-long troll-fest of misogynistic abuse and bullying on my account.
Good to see him exposed for who and what he is.
#LongRunsTheFox
as they say.
Thread
Thanks to all who expressed solidarity over the last few days. Your kindness is an antidote to the bile.
I'm fortunate: I'm strong, with an amazing support network of people who love and respect me. Anyone who thinks bullying will break me clearly doesn't know me. >
I felt physically sick at those photos - not just at the effigies but at the festering hatred and sectarianism they represent; hatred that not only persists in our community but is being passed on to the next generation as normal.
This has to stop.
Our children deserve better.
Those of us who live here know how the border works. We know there actually was a hard border for over 80 years. We also fully appreciate the sensitivities of this issue.
Don't peddle lies about something so serious. Unlike you, we'll have to live with the consequences of it.
I am on the border between NI and ROI. Travelling in a straight line, one enters and exits the RoI a number of times. There could never be a hard border here. The UK has declared it would never seek to impose one. The whole thing is a red herring.
I get trolled a lot, falsely accused of hating loyalists and unionists. Nothing could be further from the truth.
I'd love to know what those people make of loyalists burning my image in an act of intimidation and blatant hatred.
Burning people's images isn't culture, folks.
@DUPleader
You ignored the business community, farmers, civic society and the majority of NI voters, instead propping up a now imploding Tory Party run by Brexit fanatics.
You had real influence.
You could have delivered the deal NI so needed.
You didn't.
That's your record.
#GE19
It's a heavily edited version of his story.
McElwee was sentenced to 20 years for possession of explosives and the murder of Yvonne Dunlop, a 26-year-old mum burnt alive when one of the firebombs destroyed her clothes shop.
Her story matters: it must not be erased.
40 years ago today, at 11am, Óglach Thomas McElwee from Bellaghy died after 62 days on hunger strike in the H-Blocks of Long Kesh. He was a political prisoner; unbowed and unbroken. This is his story.
You know what would help as we face into a tough 6-week lockdown?
If the DUP and SF would quit the recriminations and blame game. Both have made serious mistakes: neither have been perfect.
Let's focus on getting it right from here on in for the sake of the entire community.
Delighted & v honoured to be able to fulfil the role of Minister of Justice in the new Executive. Challenging days ahead but also reasons for hope & optimism.
Look forward to working with stakeholders & DoJ staff to continue to deliver on ambitious programme for justice in NI.
1. With a weak pound these savings won't exist.
2. The 40000 people projected to lose their jobs in NI won't be going abroad.
3. The cost of non-luxury goods will actually rise.
It's like chopping off our heads and telling us we'll save money on hats.
Utterly pathetic.
Duty-free shopping with the EU is coming back, if we leave without a deal.
People travelling to EU countries will be able to buy beer, spirits, wine and tobacco without duty being applied in the UK.
🍺🍷Read more👇
.
@eastantrimmp
asks the Prime Minister to explain, “how Northern Ireland can remain a full part of the United Kingdom if people coming from the rest of the UK into Northern Ireland have to pass through a border control post?”.
So we need abortion laws "tailored to the needs" of NI but we can't have a Brexit deal similarly tailored to address NI particular needs?
Am I the only one sick and tired of the double standards that say we have to be exactly like the rest of the UK except when it suits the DUP?
.
#10YearChallenge
In 09/10, I was Cllr, Lord Mayor, MLA & plus Deputy Leader.
Since then, been MP & now MEP & Leader.
Ups & downs incl. surgery for endometriosis & cancer plus a death threat or two 🤨
But, still standing 😎
And excited for the
#New20s
Thank you & HNY! 🥳
Opened Twitter this evening to see quite a few men saying I lack courage as I have no testicles.
The two aren't linked, lads.
Some of the most courageous people I know are women.
Some of us are even brave enough not to hide behind anonymity when expressing our views online.
The withdrawal agreement was only necessary because you campaigned to leave.
It was not a bad deal for NI: it hss the overwhelming support of NI business & community.
As for how to negotiate? Please. No Executive for 2.5 years? You're in no position to offer advice.
"It is important that all options are on the table"
DUP leader Arlene Foster says she wonders if people who call for a no-deal
#Brexit
to be taken off the table have "ever been engaged in negotiating"
To everyone who helped search for
@davidaalliance
Thank you. He has been found, is with me and getting the help he needs.
All of you have proven how powerful Twitter can be and I am forever grateful.
Instead of lighting up buildings in solidarity with either 'side' in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, maybe we should instead light a candle for peace in the darkness of war, and in memory of all those whose lives have been lost. My prayer is for peace and justice for all x
The DUP seem to be having a collective meltdown over the last 24 hours at the "shock" revelation that Ireland fully intends to protect its national interest in EU Brexit talks.
What did they expect? That Ireland would meekly follow the UK lemming-like over the cliff?
If the DUP don't want to do the job, they could not sign in and forfeit their salaries. But they won't, of course.
They'll just stop every other MLA from doing all of the job they were elected to do.
I told the SOS, anyone blocking election of Speaker should lose their salary.
I can’t find the tweet asking me this but the answer is yes. If the newly elected MLAs sign the roll but don’t elect the Speaker they will still get their wages.
#stormont
#onthehill
State of that.
Terrible spelling, shocking layout, bad punctuation. And that's before you start on the rubbish content.
A pigeon locked in a room for an hour with a keyboard could have produced better, tbh.
I know I'm meant to be hurt or offended but all I feel is pity...
These were not last minute additions. There are photos of a children's "fun day" taking place at this fire while our effigies were hanging on it. Some local businesses even sponsored it.
What kind of parent would see that and think it's acceptable for their child to see? >
No Anne. Just no.
You can't talk about the oppressed rising up against their oppressor, like you are the oppressed.
You can't talk about colonies rising up against the Empire, like you are the colonised.
You can't compare fishing to slavery.
You were a Tory: you have no clue.
I'm not sharing the images due to risk of distressing families who have lost loved ones by suicide. And because they are utterly sick.
I will, however, be sharing them and the pictures of the bonfire builders standing proudly in front of their creation with with the police.
People shouldn't believe everything they hear on TV?
I'm struggling to believe that someone who was worried about his eyesight would test it on a public road for 60 miles, with his wife in child in the car and *still* be advising the government.
Unbelievable, indeed.
If you wonder how the Irish Language Act ended up a key issue after years of SF & DUP being in govt together without it, you need look no further than the antics of Campbell, Givan and others who persistently mock the language and disrespect those who speak it.
Shameful.
It really is needed.
This banner is not just profoundly stupid (England is not now and never has been or could be in Ireland) but it sends out a hostile and offensive message to anyone English or of English extraction on this island.
Respect, Equality, Integrity anyone? 🙄
John Bercow is the Speaker that not just Parliament but the UK needs right now.
He has just schooled Rees Mogg on Erskine May and parliamentary procedure. He is defending not just the primacy of Parliament but the fundamentals of our parliamentary democracy.
If you, like me, have a DUP MP this is the utter contempt in which they hold you. Right up there with "Let them eat cake".
If you voted for them? Think hard before trusting them with your vote again.
They're not in politics to serve you: they're in it to serve themselves.
Unwanted touching/groping is sexual assault. Sexual assault is a crime. The perceived "charm" of the perpetrator is totally irrelevant.
I really despair that we still need to have these conversations with other women in 2021.
The charming Stanley Johnson can be a little over-friendly -indeed handsy - but I don’t believe this is one for the police. Officers should focus their limited resources on investigating real crimes.
In 2019 Jeffrey said he could live with himself if Brexit cost NI 40k jobs, yet a single poll suggesting some job losses for DUP MLAs next year, gets this reaction.
If your job is at risk, think about that.
You aren't the DUP's priority and neither is our economy: The DUP is.
Having seen the utterly vile and depraved video of those revelling in the murder of Michaela McAreevy, I feel sick. This gratuitous sectarian hatred is a cancer in our society that needs rooted out. I've raised it with
@ChiefConPSNI
and will also be raising it with
#GOLI
.
#shame
Sadly, science has yet to provide a cure for bigotry, homophobia or, indeed, stupidity.
If we could cure those, LGBTQ+ people would be much less likely to be unhappy and much more likely to be accepted and treated as equals.
By driving in that state 200 miles to his elderly parents' home, placing them at risk, too?
You advised anyone who had the virus not to go out for ANY reason, not even food or medicine.
You're the Health Minister: stop defending his reckless, selfish behaviour. He should go.
I know how ill coronavirus makes you. It was entirely right for Dom Cummings to find childcare for his toddler, when both he and his wife were getting ill.
People hating on drag queens reading stories to kids have little to do.
As a kid, I recall annual panto where the principal boy was a girl and the panto dame was a man and no-one felt the need to hold an exorcism at the theatre.
#NoPlaceForHate
.
@eastantrimmp
Sammy Wilson says the government's decision to withhold its
#Brexit
legal advice "confirms in people's minds it has something to hide".
The DUP, Ulster Unionists and the TUV all released statements questioning why there seemed to be a lack of royal paraphernalia on offer in a particular Tesco store in Northern Ireland.
✍️
@AllanPreston
Amazing result for
@allianceparty
and a watershed moment for NI politics. So grateful to everyone who voted to make the
#AllianceSurge
a tsunami!
This can be the beginning of a new politics and a new future for all of us:
#JoinUs
and be part of it.
So, not the Silver Wedding anniversary we planned. Not even the back up plan, given new Covid rules.
But...we're here, we're well, we're together and, after 25 years, we're raising a glass of bubbly to the next 25 🍾🥂
@CllrMichaelLong
You over-played your hand, undermined Theresa May's much better deal and then trusted Boris and the ERG to care about NI.
They never loved you, Ian. They just used you.
And now we're all paying for it.
DUP MP Ian Paisley points across the chamber at Conservative benches and says: "What did we do to members on those benches over there to be screwed over by this protocol, ask your hearts, what did we do? It's an insult to our intelligence to say it's a teething problem"
The Secretary of State for NI has just conceded in Parliament that Govt are about to break international law.
His defence seems to be that "it's only in a very limited way".
I'm not sure you can be a little bit illegal. It's a bit like being a little bit pregnant.
Us: Stay at home. Protect the NHS. Save Lives.
Them: Well, you're a special case. You're savvy. You can use your judgement. You do what suits you best. Rules are for the rest, not for us.
5 years ago I was diagnosed with malignant melanoma. Now I have an almost invisible scar under my watch.
I never forget it's there. What it represents. How lucky I am to be here.
I look at my watch & remember: Time is precious, spend it wisely.
#cancer
#5YearsClear
#survivor
The phrase you were looking for is 'I'm genuinely sorry and will do better in future".
And maybe leave out the whole East Germany/Stasi/blame the public thing. It was your fault and wearing a mask really isn't comparable to that level of oppression.
You're welcome.
DUP MP Sammy Wilson told me he "didn't have a mask on, should have had it on and am offering no excuse" re the train pic, he added: "it is sad that we have now become like east Germany under the Stasi where members of the public think it is acceptable to act as snoops".
Thank you to all who came out in the cold, rain & dark today to vote. It matters that we all participate.
If you
#VotedAlliance
, a special thank you for supporting for our campaign.
And if you
#VotedAlliance
in
#EastBelfast
, a very personal, very sincere thank you from me. 💛
Peanuts compared to what the Brexit shambles you also walked us into will cost us, Sammy.
Not to mention the Tory cuts you enabled while propping them up only to be dumped when no longer required.
If you can be easily bought, you can also be sold...
Today, I was called a baby killer, Nazi, genocidal and told I'd roast in hell by people who clearly hoped I would.
Many pro-choice activists receive this daily. Many pregnant women face worse to access medical care.
It won't deflect me from supporting a woman's right to choose.
DUP MP Sammy Wilson has claimed “all evidence shows” the EU is responsible for the political crisis in Northern Ireland, which has seen “the collapse of the Good Friday Agreement”.
My mum was a ropeworker 'til I was born, my dad shipyard man 'til he died when I was 11. Mum raised me on p-t work, in 2up-2down with an outside toilet off Dee Street for the first half of my life.
Middle class, socially privileged, insulated by money? Yeah. That's me. 🙄
@Bd777Dee
@RuthDE
@richardtgarland
@naomi_long
@allianceparty
Alliance has nothing to offer anyone. A vile clique of lecturing middle class hand wringers who cannot understand the Ulster conflict bc they (or their parents) used money & social position to insulate themselves from that conflict. They are, tbqh, snobbish liberal scum!
"Unionism has very much been ignored in these negotiations..."
Eh? DUP MPs who represent a minority view on Brexit in NI, far from being ignored, have had unparalleled access to two successive PMs.
If deals keep getting worse for unionists (and they do), own it.
You did this.
I'd appeal to any Conservative MP who knows a no deal Brexit will be catastrophic for the UK, to put country before party, cross the floor and stop this reckless government destroying our economy, stability and future prospects.
#StopBrexitSaveDemocracy
Spotlight travels to the Indian Ocean to investigate another luxury holiday taken by the North Antrim MP Ian Paisley. Lyndsey Telford reports.
#SpotlightNI
Love these photos of my Mum & Dad before they were married and then just after I was born. They married late, so I was a bit of a surprise 🙂
Miss them both every day but particularly on anniversaries. Dad passed away 37 years ago today and mum 11 years ago on 2nd March. 💔😢
To save some people a lot of tweets & faux outrage, take it as read that I unreservedly condemn:
1. All flags on lampposts
2. All bigotry and sectarianism
3. All glorification of terrorism
4. All illegality and criminality
Attempts to insinuate I don't will be ignored/mocked.
The smears, lies and abuse I have seen directed at
@ErvineLinda
tonight and over recent weeks has been nothing short of scandalous. It is bullying of the worst kind.
Linda has served the people of East Belfast for years, and does not deserve anything but respect and support.
This kind of comment from MPs like Priti Patel demonstrate not only profound ignorance of and insensitivity about our history but also reckless indifference to the impact on relations today.
Truly grim.
A leading Tory Brexiteer says UK should threaten Ireland with food shortages to get it to capitulate on the Backstop.
Someone will be needing the history books out over in Whitehall.
To everyone who contributed to Alliance's largest ever vote, thank you from the bottom of my heart. ☺️💛
You ensured the
#AllianceSurge
continues: we're now 3rd largest party in NI, 2nd in Gtr Belfast; have reps at every level of govt;
Cont...
Tomorrow, I'll be doing my job as always.
I will not be deflected.
I will not be bullied.
I will not give anyone that power over me.
In the words of one of my favourite poets...
These daily threats, via statements from terrorists or their spokespersons, is completely unacceptable.
They represent no-one: they aren't stakeholders or commentators, but criminals and abusers.
The only statement I want to hear from them is that they've disbanded.
The UVF is reviewing the “basis” for its ceasefire amid concerns “talk of joint authority has pushed the organisation to the edge”.
Elements of the UDA are understood to be following suit.
People waiting years on surgery, parents donating toilet roll to schools, people's benefits stripped away, no Exec for 2 years and Brexit looming yet people are anmoyed by a poster for Britain's Got Talent & rhyming "Derry" with "Merry"?
We are better than this, surely?
Easter Sunday is a celebration of the Christian gospel of love triumphant over hate, hope over despair, reconciliation over brokenness.
The images from across Northern Ireland today instead are of property destroyed, lives endangered.
Stop this now, before lives are lost.
Cowards hiding behind weasel words.
This was no accident. A gun was picked up deliberately, fired indiscriminately and murder committed intentionally.
A young woman died. Whether she was your target or not, her murder was no accident.
Own the shame of what you have done.
The lack of any compassion, of ordinary human kindness and decency, of even a cursory recognition of the seriousness of what people are facing in both the question and the reply is deeply shameful and morally repugnant.
At times I despair.
.
@itvnews
Please don't say NI doesn't want this deal. The DUP might not, but they do not represent a majority. They're the largest party, but still only represent a minority.
🔸️
@allianceparty
's best election in 42 years.
🔸️11.6% of the vote.
🔸️Fifty three seats.
🔸️Representation on 10 out of 11 Councils.
You demanded better.
Help us deliver it.
Be part of the
#AllianceSurge
#JoinAlliance
The ONLY reason there are changes to damaging Protocol is because DUP took difficult decisions, pushed hard for change, bore demeaning and scoffing from other parties including Sorcha
Smirking, condescending, insulting - misplaced, nasty arrogance dripping off Alliance tonight..
No surprise to see Jamie throwing his toys out of the pram because I'm doing exactly what I was elected to do with an inclusive mandate.
Maybe he'll tweet about Diane Dodds who was invited to attend by Michel Barnier (who arranged the meeting) but didn't turn up to put her case.
A grown-ass man treating the future of NI, its devolved institutions, and its people as one big joke.
Nothing new, but I wonder if those struggling to pay their bills, to see a doctor, to deliver our public services, or save their businesses are laughing? I doubt it.
#Shameless
NEW DUP MP Ian Paisley Jnr is sporting specially-made stickers saying that the "Northern Ireland Windsor Framework Protocol Doesn't Cut The Mustard", echoing his verdict a few weeks ago.
Sisters, a friendly reminder for elections:
🔸️How you vote is private
🔸️Voter intimidation is illegal
🔸️Women died to get the vote
🔸️Coercive control is abuse
Fixed this for you, Jesse.
🗳 💚💜
It's bad enough that Farage has an almost permanent place on the
@bbcquestiontime
panel, but allowing him to shout over every single panelist is completely unacceptable.
Both Anna Soubry and Amber Rudd were shouted down without any intervention by the chair.
Utter Shambles.
@Jacob_Rees_Mogg
You know full well that filming and photography is heavily restricted in Westminster.
You also know that it is for security reasons so why the deceit?
@adampayne26
I know at this stage this isn't news, but the govt source is lying.
We were not consulted throughout.
We've seen no draft legislation whereas the DUP have not only seen it but been involved in drafting it.
We're also capable of reading it when published without any govt spin.
Day 1 Brussels: done.
✅ New pass issued
✅ Paperwork completed
😎
And, just in case I was feeling home sick:
✅ Lots of flags
✅ Irish Language guides
😄
#HomeFromHome
#EuropeanParliament
The people of Creggan estate who did this are the heroes we need right now.
We need to celebrate what is positive, vibrant and shared more.
Diversity is not a weakness, but a strength. We should embrace it. We are stronger, better together.
#UnityinDiversity
#BetterTogether