Long first took political office in 2001 when she was elected to Belfast City Council[9] for the Victoria ward. In 2003 Long was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly for Belfast East,[9] succeeding her fellow party member John Alderdice. In 2006 she was named deputy leader of her party.[9] In 2007 she more than doubled the party's vote in the constituency, being placed second ahead of the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party. The overall UUP vote, however, was 22%. At 18.8%, her vote share was higher than that for Alderdice in 1998.
On 10 December 2012, Long received a number of death threats and a petrol bomb was thrown inside an unmarked police car guarding her constituency office. This violence erupted as a reaction by Ulster loyalists to the decision by Alliance Party members of Belfast City Council to vote in favour of restricting the flying of the Union flag at Belfast City Hall to designated days throughout the year, which at the time constituted 18 specific days.[15][16]
In 2015, Long lost her seat in the Commons to Gavin Robinson of the DUP, as a result of a five-party unionist pact in the constituency which saw the UUP, UKIP, TUV and PUP all stand aside in favour of Robinson.[17]
In August 2016, Long called for Sinn Féin's Máirtín Ó Muilleoir to stand aside as Minister of Finance during an investigation of the Stormont Finance Committee's handling of its Nama inquiry, while Ó Muilleoir was a committee member. This followed allegations that his party had "coached" loyalist blogger Jamie Bryson prior to his appearance before the committee.[21]
In November 2016, Long criticised Sinn Féin and the DUP for delaying the publication of a working group report on abortion, which recommended legislative changes in cases of fatal foetal abnormality,[22] calling on the Executive "to act without further delay to help women who decide to seek a termination in these very difficult circumstances".[23]
Leader of the Alliance Party
On 26 October 2016, Long was elected Alliance leader unopposed following the resignation of David Ford.[24] In the first manifesto released under her leadership, Long affirmed her commitment to building a "united, open, liberal and progressive" society. Her party's legislative priorities were revealed to include the harmonisation and strengthening of equality and anti-discrimination measures, the introduction of civil marriage equality, development of integrated education and a Northern Ireland framework to tackle climate change.[25]
In the 2017 Assembly election, Long topped the poll in Belfast East and was returned to the Assembly with 18.9% of first-preference votes. The election was widely viewed as a success for Alliance, with the party increasing its vote share by 2 percentage points and retaining all of its seats in a smaller Assembly. The party subsequently held the balance of power at Stormont.[26][27]
Following the collapse of talks to restore devolution in February 2018, Long reiterated her view that the pay of MLAs should be cut in the absence of a functioning Executive.[29] In March 2018, Alliance launched its 'Next Steps Forward' paper, outlining a number of proposals aimed at breaking the deadlock and Stormont.[30] At the 2019 Alliance Party Conference, she accused Secretary of State for Northern IrelandKaren Bradley of an "appalling dereliction of duty" over the ongoing stalemate, saying that she had made "no concerted effort to end this interminable drift despite it allegedly being her top priority".[31]
In the 2019 local elections, Alliance saw a 65% rise in its representation on councils. Long hailed the "incredible result" as a watershed moment for politics in Northern Ireland.[32]
Long was elected to the European Parliament as a representative for Northern Ireland in May 2019 with 18.5% of first-preference votes, the best ever result for Alliance.[33] She was subsequently replaced in the Assembly by Máire Hendron, a founding member of the party and former deputy lord mayor of Belfast.[34] She then replaced Hendron in the Assembly with effect from 9 January 2020.[35]
In 2019, Long became the first Northern Ireland politician to have served at every level of government.[36][37]
In March 2022, Long told the Alliance Party Conference that "some politicians are addicted to crisis and conflict and simply not up to the job of actually governing".[38] Long led Alliance into the 2022 Assembly election on a platform of integrated education, health reform, a Green New Deal, tackling paramilitarism and reform of the Stormont institutions.[39]
Minister of Justice
On 11 January 2020, following the restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly after three years of stalemate, Long was elected Minister of Justice in the Northern Ireland Executive.[40] On 28 January, Long announced that she would progress new domestic abuse legislation through the Assembly which would make coercive control a criminal offence in Northern Ireland.[41] In June 2020, Long commissioned a review into the support available for prison officers following concerns about absence rates.[42] That same month, she announced her intention to introduce unexplained wealth orders in Northern Ireland to target paramilitary and criminal finances.[43]
In November 2020, Long said she was seriously reconsidering her position within the Executive following the DUP's deployment of a cross-community vote to prevent an extension of COVID-19 regulations. She told BBC News, "I have asked people to desist from this abuse of power because it will make my position in the executive unsustainable."[44]
Personal life
Long is a member of Bloomfield Presbyterian Church. Following the Church's decision to exclude those in same-sex relationships from being full members, she expressed "great concern" and stated that she "didn't know" if she would remain a member herself.[45] She is married to Michael Long, an Alliance councillor on Belfast City Council and former Lord Mayor of Belfast, and son of the engineer Professor Adrian Long.[7][8] Long and her husband are the first husband and wife to have both served as Lord Mayors of Belfast.[46]
In August 2017, Long revealed that she had been suffering from endometriosis and would undergo surgery for the condition.[47]
