Labour Party Conference 2023

Buoyed by an overwhelming by-election win taking a seat from the SNP in Scotland this week, Labour will host their annual party conference in Liverpool from Sunday 08 to Wednesday 11 October.

With a General Election looming and the party ahead in the polls, Labour will begin to set out their campaign strategy this weekend with a series of speeches, training sessions and fringe events. Coming just days after Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn MP made his first official trip to Belfast, and with future EU relations remaining a key priority for the party, Northern Ireland is expected to be a key talking point in and out of the conference hall.

With many in anticipation of a new Labour government, the conference is set to attract large numbers of business leaders and campaigners. Sir Keir Starmer MP will deliver his leader’s speech at 2pm on Tuesday 10 October, while deputy leader Angela Rayner MP will address delegates on opening day. Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn MP will take part in several fringe events related to Northern Ireland.

 NI on the Conference Agenda

The conference period will feature several NI focused fringe events, including:

• Good Friday 25 Years On: An Agreement for a Shared Future, Sunday October 8 – Chaired by Sinn Féin’s John Finucane MP, this panel will feature Michelle O’Neill MLA, Hilary Benn MP and Baroness Frances O’Grady, Former General Secretary of the TUC.

• From Peace to Prosperity: How Northern Ireland Can Transform Its Economy Over the Next 25 Years, Monday 09 October – Hilary Benn MP, Simon Hamilton, Managing Director at Confluence Consulting and Kate Jennings, Policy Director at Logistics UK.

• Retail Northern Ireland Reception, Monday 09 October – Led by Retail NI, this reception will be addressed by Hilary Benn MP.  

What can we expect from a Labour Government?

• Labour currently has a healthy lead in the polls, sitting at 44.1%, compared to the Conservatives on 27.5%.

• They will hold a fringe event titled ‘Rebooting and Levelling up for the Next General Election’ on Tuesday October 10.

• Under a Labour Government, Northern Ireland and the entirety of the UK can expect to move closer to the EU in terms of reputation and alignment on post-Brexit trading processes.

• This week, the Labour leader said a border poll on Irish reunification is “not even on the horizon”, adding that he would like to achieve a better deal with the European Union if he becomes Prime Minister.

• In January, Sir Keir vowed to repeal the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill if it was on the statute book when he came to power. The bill passed into law last month, but Mr Starmer said this week that any legislation without the support of victims is “wrong in principle”.  

• There is speculation that Hilary Benn MP will move into the role of Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. Currently Shadow Secretary of State, Benn has demonstrated a genuine interest in Northern Irish affairs and taken a proactive approach to the region. In 2022, Mr Benn published a report entitled ‘How to Fix the NI Protocol’ in which he offered various remedies to resolve the Stormont collapse and associated issues.

Brown O’Connor bolsters senior team with new Head of Healthcare Communications

Managing Director, Arlene O’Connor with Vicki Caddy who will be the agency’s new Head of Healthcare Communications.

Public Affairs and Strategic Communications advisory firm Brown O’Connor has bolstered its senior team with the hire of Vicki Caddy as its new Head of Healthcare Communications.

Vicki Caddy joins Brown O’Connor from a leading charity where she was previously Head of Communications.

Prior to this, Caddy also has 8 years’ experience working as a Director at another leading PR agency and an agency career spanning three decades. She is a CIPR Chartered PR Practitioner.  

Director and Founder of Brown O’Connor Communications, Arlene O’Connor said:

“Vicki is highly respected in the industry and brings extensive experience on both the agency and in-house side in senior communications roles and is the right person to lead our healthcare communications portfolio of work.”

“Our integrated public awareness campaigning, media relations and public affairs work has seen considerable year on year growth and now is the right time to add to our senior team.”

“We are excited about the development of our healthcare communications specialism and Vicki will oversee this work with some of our high-profile clients in the health and social care sector.”

“The lasting impacts of the Covid pandemic, lack of an Executive and Assembly, and the sustained pressure on health and social care sector means that getting the message right, influencing decision makers and raising awareness is now more important than ever.”

Belfast Film Festival announces opening and closing films and extends solidarity to writers

Belfast Film Festival has announced its opening and closing films for its 2023 programme in November with Andrew Haigh’s ALL OF US STRANGERS and Yorgos Lanthimos’ POOR THINGS leading the programme of events.

Both films have stormed the latest film festival circuit, garnering rave reviews and whispers of OSCAR, BAFTA and SAG nominations. 

Opening Night Film

Festival opening night will screen ALL OF US STRANGERS and boasts Irish actors Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal whose characters’ chance meeting punctures the rhythm of their daily lives. This will be the third time director Andrew Haigh has wowed Belfast after bringing his debut WEEKEND in 2011, and Oscar nominated 45 YEARS in 2015 to the festival.

Irish actors Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal star in All of Us Strangers which will open this year’s Belfast Film Festival.

Closing Night Film

Closing the festival is the outstanding, outlandish and outrageous POOR THINGS from mastermind director Yorgos Lanthimos and Irish production company Element Pictures, starring Emma Stone, Willem Defoe and Mark Ruffalo. Hotly tipped for a shower of Oscar nominations and winner of the Golden Lion at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, this is an exciting coup for Belfast and is sure to be the talk of the city for weeks to come. 

Writers’ strike

Standing in solidarity with all those writers who have just ended their strike for fair wages across the world, the festival has chosen this year to champion the recent Writer’s Guild of America strikes by screening a host of films about screenwriters and will host a talk with world-renowned screenwriter JOHN SAYLES and producer MAGGIE RENZI. The festival will also screen a selection of their work.

World renowned screenwriter John Sayles and producer Maggie Renzi will visit Belfast for this year’s Belfast Film Festival in a special tribute to their work and the work of screenwriters.

 Michele Devlin, Director of Belfast Film Festival said:  

“We are thrilled to present a fantastic line-up of new international film, an impressive selection which includes titles from every continent across the world.  In this year’s programme we are focussing on the current industrial action in the entertainment sector particularly the WGA and SAG strikes. We are so pleased to welcome Oscar nominated screenwriter and director John Sayles and producer Maggie Renzi who will be jointly presented with the festival’s prestigious Réalta award for Outstanding Contribution to Film.”

Belfast Film Festival will also partner with the new Avenue Cinema to bring the glitz of Hollywood to its Screenwriters on Screen Retrospective with screenings of BARTON FINK, SUNSET BOULEVARD and ADAPTATION remastered and returning to the big screen. 

With a nod to the season and for those who enjoy a fright, there will be a special one-off screening of the FrightFest 2023 hit HAUNTED ULSTER LIVE by Belfast filmmakers Dominic O’Neill and Will McConnell, on Halloween night.

Belfast Film Festival is funded by Northern Ireland Screen, Belfast City Council, the Department for Communities, Film Hub NI, and Arts and Business NI. And proudly sponsored by Yellowmoon, Birra Moretti and Hastings Hotels.

Tickets for the following pre-sale events went on sale on the Belfast Film Festival website on Friday 29th September:

• All of Us Strangers

• Poor Things

• Barton Fink

• Sunset Boulevard

• Adaptation

• John Sayles and Maggie Renzi in conversation

• Haunted Ulster Live

The full Festival programme will be announced on 12th October. 

Latest Fincrime Compliance Report by fscom reveals key anti-money laundering risk areas for banks and financial institutions

fscom Director Philip Creed

Financial services institutions must formalise their Anti-Money Laundering (AML) processes to remain fully compliant and stave off money laundering attempts, a report by Belfast headquartered financial services compliance company fscom has warned.

Based on audits of the AML frameworks of 60 financial services firms, fscom’s Fincrime Compliance Report 2023 examines the challenges banks and financial institutions are exposed to, outlining their compliance responsibilities on areas including Sanctions, Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs), Suspicious Activity Reporting (SARs) and Customer Risk Assessments.

The report found the top five AML risk areas in the year to June 2023 to be Compliance Monitoring, Customer Risk Assessments, Transaction Monitoring, Customer Due Diligence, and Enhanced Due Diligence.

While the audits suggested that institutions have increased their vigilance and understanding of the regulatory environment, in part due to the increased scrutiny on banking sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine which led to enhanced screening processes, it concluded that many AML frameworks still do not provide an adequate level of assurance.

When compared with fscom’s 2022 Fincrime Compliance Report, new and emerging concerns were identified around insufficient AML training; a lack of evidence of high-risk client sign off by senior managers; customers being permitted to make transactions before enhanced due diligence measures were applied; insufficient transaction monitoring rules and inadequate investigation of screening hits.

Another issue is a lack of robust customer risk assessments, in particular failing to treat customers or transactions with associations to high risk third countries (HR3Cs) appropriately. As regulations stand, firms must apply enhanced measures to any business relationship or transaction with a person established in a high-risk third country.

Covering the period July 2022 to June 2023, the AML audit reviewed the financial compliance processes of 60 institutions, including Electronic Money Institutions, Authorised Payment Institutions, Virtual Currency Exchanges and Bureau de Changes.

The audit process consists of four elements, starting with an internal review of policies against regulatory obligations; ‘side-by-side’ walk throughs to assess the firm’s operational efficacy; customer due diligence file testing; and staff interviews with employees to gauge their knowledge of the legislation behind their AML framework.

The majority of institutions sampled were UK based, however firms in Ireland, Switzerland, Jersey, Singapore, Lithuania and the Cayman Islands were audited in line with local legislation and regulatory guidance.

Completed annually by fscom’s team of financial crime compliance consultants and led by fscom Manager Richard Dunlop, the report provides wider industry with a series of best practice recommendations to address compliance issues and stay ahead in the ever-evolving financial services landscape. 

fscom Director Philip Creed said:

“We are pleased to share our Fincrime Compliance Report 2023 with wider industry. Though it features the most striking findings, it identifies the new and emerging risks that all financial institutions should be aware of and should serve as a valuable example of the standard required to meet the recommendations of the regulator. Financial services firms are at a constant and evolving risk of money laundering as financial crime actors grow more sophisticated; therefore, we advise them to not only meet their regulatory obligations but to strive for industry best practices.”

To download the Fincrime Compliance Report 2023, visit: https://blog.fscom.co/fincrime-compliance-report-2023.

New documentary set for World Premiere in Belfast reveals one of the darkest untold stories of the Troubles

In ‘Lost Boys: Belfast’s Missing Children’, fresh investigative journalism uncovers an extraordinary tale of child disappearances and murder, MI5 interference, witchcraft and potential cover up.

New documentary ‘Lost Boys: Belfast’s Missing Children’ will have its joint World Premiere in Belfast in partnership with Docs Ireland on Thursday 28 September at the Odeon Cinema and in Dublin on Wednesday 27 September in partnership with the Irish Film Institute (IFI).

During the winter of 1969, young boys started to disappear from the streets of Belfast, never to be seen again. By 1974, as the Troubles were reaching a bloody and vicious peak, five boys in total had vanished within a five-mile radius. The remains of only one, 11-year-old Brian McDermott, were found.

Fifty years later, as the disappearances remain unsolved and families continue to search for answers, filmmaker Des Henderson (How to Defuse A Bomb: The Project Children Story) reopens these largely forgotten cold-cases, talking to fresh witnesses, and unearthing disturbing revelations in secret state documents. Could all 5 disappearances be linked with each other?

In a real-life thriller, and with the help of criminologist Robert Giles, journalist Martin Dillon and investigative reporter Chris Moore, the film explores every lead to try and find out what may have happened to these young boys. For every stone the team turns over, it becomes clearer that dark forces are at play on an incomprehensible scale. Deep state cover-up sounds like the stuff of conspiracy theory, but this investigation poses some troubling questions. The documentary asks if the state knew more than has been revealed, or even worse, if it was complicit in some way.

Speaking ahead of the ‘Lost Boys: Belfast’s Missing Children’ premiere, Director Des Henderson said:

“When we set out to make this documentary, we knew we were dealing with a sensitive subject matter. Little did we know as we started to investigate, we would find such a sinister set of circumstances surrounding the disappearance of five young boys within the same area.”

“Due to the nature of the revelations in the documentary; there have been many twists and turns in the completion of the film.”

“It has been 50 years since the boys went missing, so we feel like it is now or never for their story to be heard. At the time there was concerningly little media coverage of what had happened, and the boys seemed to disappear from the public’s mind just as quickly as they had from the street.”

“It is unlikely that the boys will ever have justice, given how long ago these crimes took place, but the least we can do is try to expose the truth surrounding their disappearance, and who may have been involved.”

‘Lost Boys: Belfast’s Missing Children’ Producer Ed Stobart added:

“It has taken 5 years of intense investigation to get the film to screen, and along the way we have amassed a huge body of evidence around some of the Troubles’ darkest remaining secrets, many of which extend beyond the cases we set out to investigate.”

“From what we have found, especially around the Kincora Boys Home scandal, there is much more to be told about the ‘Dirty War’ than is fully in the public domain. The security services, MI5 in particular, have a lot of questions to answer.”

“The suffering experienced by the families of the missing and murdered boys, and all those who were abused on an almost industrial scale in Kincora must have been unimaginable. We hope that this film might aid any process that brings them some measure of justice.”

Cancer Focus NI unveils ambitious vision for a smokefree Northern Ireland by 2035

Paula Bradshaw MLA, Chair, All Party Group on Cancer, Dr Bernadette Cullen, Chair, ASH NI, Richard Spratt, Chief Executive, Cancer Focus NI, and Naomi Thompson, Health Improvement Manager, Cancer Focus NI.

Northern Ireland by 2035

Action on Smoking and Health (ASH NI), a subcommittee of Cancer Focus NI, has today launched their manifesto and vision for a smokefree Northern Ireland by 2035.

The ambitious manifesto advocates for a new comprehensive Tobacco Control Strategy, including smoking prevention programmes available to children and young people, more accessible Stop Smoking Services, as well as increasing the age of tobacco sales to 21 years.

Tobacco stands as the foremost contributor to preventable illnesses and untimely deaths and is inextricably linked with a number of Non-Communicable Diseases including heart disease, cancer, and lung disease. Around 2,200 people die from a smoking-related illness in Northern Ireland each year, with an additional annual 18,000 hospital admissions attributed to smoking.

With its partners, ASH NI campaigns to achieve effective and comprehensive tobacco control policies and programmes, with the primary aim of seeing Northern Ireland become a society where less than 5% of the adult population is actively smoking.

The full manifesto ‘A Vision for a Smokefree Northern Ireland’ can be viewed here: LINK.

Speaking at launch of ASH NI’s Vision for a Smokefree Northern Ireland 2035, Richard Spratt, Chief Executive, Cancer Focus, said:

“We are proud to unveil this ambitious plan for a smokefree Northern Ireland today. Our mission at Cancer Focus through ASH is to see Northern Ireland transformed into a smokefree society where people can enjoy healthier, smokefree lives. We know the devastating impact of a disease like cancer on individuals and their loved ones, so we are committed to advocating for better policies that can help eliminate all smoking related conditions. Setting 2035 as a target will no doubt be challenging, but it will help drive a focused and ambitious aim to see Northern Ireland not just become smokefree, but a healthier and happier place to live”.

Paula Bradshaw MLA, added:

“I am pleased to see this manifesto launched today; it sets out clear priorities for the Department of Health and an Executive. It also represents an opportunity for Northern Ireland to take the lead on preventative health policy and implement policies that are both progressive and achievable with the right political will. For too long, Northern Ireland has been playing catch-up with other jurisdictions, so now is the time for our political parties to come together for the benefit of the people here and deliver some real change by putting these objectives into action”.

Baker Tilly Mooney Moore celebrates promotion of three auditors to Assistant Manager level

(L-R) Baker Tilly Mooney Moore’s Head of Audit Eimear Brown; Assistant Audit Managers Ashleigh Mooney, Ciaran Hughes, and Emma George; and Audit & Assurance Partner Joanne Small.

Leading Belfast accountancy and advisory firm Baker Tilly Mooney Moore is celebrating the promotion of three former trainees from its Audit & Assurance team to Assistant Manager level.

Ashleigh Mooney and Emma George joined the practice’s Graduate Training Programme in 2019, working to deliver audit and accounting services while completing their qualifications with Chartered Accountants Ireland.

Having worked in the accounting department of a Belfast school, Ciaran Hughes joined Baker Tilly Mooney Moore in 2018. Already qualified with Accounting Technicians Ireland, he went on to achieve accreditation by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants with the support of Baker Tilly Mooney Moore.

Ashleigh, Emma, and Ciaran were promoted to Assistant Manager level in September 2023, working within the Audit & Assurance team to support clients by assessing and managing risk areas to identify areas for operational improvement.

Joanne Small, Audit & Assurance Partner at Baker Tilly Mooney Moore said:

“This group of promotions reflects the first-class service Ashleigh, Ciaran and Emma have delivered throughout their time in the Audit team at Baker Tilly Mooney Moore. From completing their qualifications to increasing their responsibilities on client assignments, all three have demonstrated a commitment to their own professional development. It gives us great pleasure to watch Ashleigh, Ciaran and Emma continue to progress within the firm as they build relationships with clients and deliver trusted business advice.”

Eimear Brown, Head of Audit at Baker Tilly Mooney Moore said:

“We are a busy Audit department providing a quality led service that involves hands-on, partnership working with clients. To continue our success, however, we know the progression and advancement of our teams is vital and so we are thrilled to see Ashleigh, Ciaran and Emma step up to Assistant Manager level.”

New Role: Public Affairs Client Manager / Brown O'Connor Communications

Position: CLIENT MANAGER (PUBLIC AFFAIRS)

Experience: Min 3+ years

Area: Public Affairs & Strategic Communications

Salary: £Excellent  - Available on Request

Based: Adelaide Street, Belfast City Centre 

About Brown O’Connor Communications

Brown O’Connor Communications is one of Ireland’s most trusted and respected communications advisory firms.

Specialist in Public Affairs, Corporate Media Relations, Issues Management & Crisis Communications, the agency was awarded the CIPR Best Public Affairs Campaign 2022/2023 and was named the Chartered Institute of Public Relations Northern Ireland Consultancy of the Year (Small) 2021/2022.

We have a track record for managing and delivering complex public affairs programmes for some of the UK and Ireland’s leading businesses, professional services, charities, trade bodies, interest groups and public-sector organisations.

We help our clients gain impact and outcomes through specialist insight and influence with editors, government ministers and corporate decision makers. 

We are trusted advisors based on our:

• Extensive experience working for high-profile, public facing organisations and delivering our services on a range of sensitive issues.

• Credibility through the people who make up our team and the approach they take.

• Clients who provide endorsement on the reliability and professionalism of our work.

Our Location

Our central office is based in Belfast City Centre managing clients based in Northern Ireland, London, Dublin and the US.

Our Specialist Areas

We are highly regarded for our specialist Public Affairs and Corporate and Strategic Communications services which includes Crisis Communications, Property and Planning Communications, Litigation Communications, Event Management, Political Monitoring and Communication Strategy Development. 

Our Clients

Our consultants work across a range of areas including legal, commercial, financial, financial technology, industrial, manufacturing, public inquiries, regulators, commissions, non-departmental public bodies and the third sector.

Our Approach and Company Culture

The success of Brown O’Connor Communications is based on the performance of its people.

Our rigorous approach delivers positive outcomes for our clients, and we go out of our way to ensure success.

We deliver excellence in all that we do and our team is accountable and responsible for all activity they undertake.

What we offer

22 Days Annual Leave and 11 Public Holidays

Flexible working 1 day per week (Friday)

Paid Annual CIPR Membership

An exciting and dynamic working environment in a city centre-based office

Training opportunities

Mobile Phone allowance

Regular team social events

The Person

Brown O’Connor Communications is seeking a talented and ambitious Client Manager (Public Affairs) to join the team.

This is an exciting and demanding role within a leading consultancy and requires a resilient individual with demonstrable client management and leadership ability.

You may be already working in public affairs or corporate communications in an agency; as an in-house communications manager; in politics; or as journalist.

You will have a deep professional interest in business, the media and politics and have a detailed understanding of the role that media relations, public affairs, and stakeholder relations plays.

Role Specification

Strategic Counsel

Proven client handling skills with experience in managing large accounts, providing proactive strategic advice.

Ability to manage a high level of client interaction and be able to design and implement strategies.

Day to Day Delivery

Proven ability to work in a fast paced, often pressurised, outcome orientated environment.

Create and manage lobbying campaigns securing policy change, legislative change and the smooth running of political engagement programmes.

Oversee the delivery of the Brown O’Connor Communications political monitoring services.

Manage and lead the forward work programmes of All-Party Group at the NI Assembly.

Devise and manage pre-application community consultations for important planning applications.

Write strong editorial content on behalf of clients including press releases, opinion/platform pieces and blogs and ensure coverage across a range of media outlets.

Manage an entire range of suppliers such as photographers, graphic designers, videographers, economists and sectoral experts integral to the successful delivery of client activity campaigns.

Manage public awareness campaigns integrating various methods to create significant public interest.

Be able to create engaging social media content across multiple platforms.

Forward plan to ensure smooth running of client campaigns on time, and within budget.

New Business Development

Take a leading role in new business development and organic growth opportunities alongside company directors and be comfortable in pitching and proposal development.

Supporting successful tender writing from start to submission.

Experience in identifying and converting new business opportunities.

People Management

Line management duties with wider members of team.

Understanding the requirement to work with efficiency and profitably.

Manage team members on client accounts to ensure work is carried out successfully and within allocated budgets.

Work as a team player with Brown O’Connor colleagues to ensure success across client accounts.

Deliver outcomes for clients and work to raise their profile in the media and with key stakeholders in a positive way.

Criteria

3+ years working in the areas of Public Affairs and/or Corporate/Strategic Communications or within a communications environment (Agency experience preferred).

Third Level Degree or equivalent in the preferred areas of Communications, Law, Politics, Business, Social Science or Humanities.  

Possess strong writing and editing skills with ability to write attention-grabbing media material, client correspondence and reports.

An excellent communicator both written and oral.

Commercially and politically aware.

Outstanding organisational skills and ability to manage multiple projects at the same time.

Strong initiative, leadership skills and work ethic.

Ability to hustle to make things happen.

Willingness to work evenings and weekends as required by client and other activity. 

Clean driving licence and access to a car is a must due to client requirements.

Desirable Criteria

Experience in working in a similar role in the Republic of Ireland.

How to Apply

To apply in strict confidence, please send your detailed CV, covering email and the completed response to the set question below, by email, to Brown O’Connor Communications at hello@brownoconnor.com by 5pm Monday 23rd October 2023.

QUESTION: Please outline, with examples, how you meet the Criteria as outlined in the Job Specification (Word Limit 300).

Please state your name and ‘CM Public Affairs’ in the subject line.

Application Process

Initial shortlisting

Two stage interview

Business Services team grows at Baker Tilly Mooney Moore

L-R: Payroll Administrator at Baker Tilly Mooney Moore Emma Scott, Business Services Partner Stephen McConnell, and Trainee Accountant James Malee.

Belfast accountancy and advisory practice Baker Tilly Mooney Moore has expanded its Business Services department, welcoming Emma Scott and James Malee to the team.

Emma joins the department as Payroll Administrator, while James takes on the position of Trainee Accountant.

Servicing companies across sectors including retail, hospitality, construction and engineering, the firm’s Business Services department operates a full accounting, bookkeeping and payroll processing function.

Emma brings experience to the role of Payroll Administrator, having worked at another mid-tier accountancy firm and as a payroll specialist in the local food processing industry.

Having recently moved to Northern Ireland, James joins the team after holding the position of Accounts Assistant at a practice in Liverpool, where he also studied Accounting and Finance at Liverpool Hope University.

Business Services is one of Baker Tilly Mooney Moore’s specialised areas which also cover Audit & Assurance, Taxation, Restructuring & Insolvency and Consulting.

Stephen McConnell, Business Services Partner at Baker Tilly Mooney Moore said:

“We are pleased to welcome Emma and James to the team. We are a busy and growing department that has the privilege of working with companies of all sizes in Northern Ireland, visiting their premises or working from our offices to operate their accounting function so they don’t have to. With experience in accounting and payroll administration at other leading accounting practices, James and Emma’s knowledge and expertise will enhance and add value to this service.”

Emma Scott, Payroll Administrator at Baker Tilly Mooney Moore said:

“I am thrilled to join the Business Services team at Baker Tilly Mooney Moore. Having spent my initial weeks getting to know the client base, I am looking forward to supporting our specialist team and the wide range of businesses we work with.”

James Malee, Trainee Accountant at Baker Tilly Mooney Moore said:

“It is fantastic to join the Baker Tilly Mooney Moore team and to support clients in areas such as retail, hospitality, and engineering. It is a varied and fast paced role that I have no doubt will be highly rewarding, allowing me to build on my professional experience. The team were sure to give me a warm welcome following my move from Liverpool, and I know I will receive excellent support going forward.”

Alliance Party Reshuffle

The Alliance Party has reshuffled its frontbench Assembly team. Announcing the new spokespeople, which include changes to the portfolios of Education & Justice, the party signaled that the move is in anticipation of its return to the Assembly. “We’re ready to get back into the Assembly Chamber and deliver real change to people’s lives,” the party said.

The party’s leadership and spokesperson roles are as follows:

Leadership:

Leader – Naomi Long MLA

Deputy Leader – Stephen Farry MP

Chief Whip / Reform & Restoration of GFA Institutions – Andrew Muir MLA

Party Chair – Councillor Stephen Donnelly

Party President – David Alderdice

Spokespeople:

Agriculture – John Blair MLA

Communities / Housing / Local Government – Kellie Armstrong MLA

Economic Growth & Skills / European Issues – Sorcha Eastwood MLA

Education – Nick Mathison MLA

Finance – Eóin Tennyson MLA

Deputy Whip for the Assembly / Health Transformation & Patient Access – Paula Bradshaw MLA

Justice / Social Enterprise – Stewart Dickson MLA

Deputy Whip for Local Government / Policing – Nuala McAllister MLA

Violence Against Women & Girls / Domestic & Sexual Violence / Hate Crime – Connie Egan MLA

Anti-Poverty & Social Inclusion / Animal Welfare – Patrick Brown MLA

Early Years & Childcare / Migration & International Relations / Human Rights – Kate Nicholl MLA

Climate Change & Energy / Health Workforce – Danny Donnelly MLA

Infrastructure & Development – Peter McReynolds MLA

Rural Development / Young People / Arts – Sian Mulholland MLA

Transportation / Sport & Community Development – David Honeyford MLA