Election Communication

West Belfast Constituency

Mary Ayers
“Alliance is working to build a “Improving community relations must be the biggest priority for our
united community in Northern Assembly - not an optional extra. Only Alliance is providing credible
Ireland. The Agreement is not the answers to the problem of how we deal with our divisions.”
ceiling of our ambition, but the
foundation on which we can build “Only Alliance asks the awkward questions that need to be asked, and
raises the difficult issues that need to be raised.”
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.”

THURSDAY 29th MAY 2003

West Belfast
www.allianceworks.org 1 Mary Ayers Alliance Works ~ Tribal Politics Doesn’t
Published by Dan McGuinness on behalf of Mary Ayers,
www.allianceworks.org
both at 88 University Street, Belfast, BT7 1HE.
Printed by GPS Colour Graphics, Alexander Road,
Belfast, BT6 9HF.

Mary Ayers
Mary Ayers Works
• Bright young new and enthusiastic face for West Belfast.
• Married with one child.
• Policy and Development Assistant working within the community sector.
• Substantial policymaking experience from working as a research officer for the
Alliance Assembly Party.
• Doctorate from Queen’s on Women and Policing, entitled ‘Violent Femmes’.
• Special interests in Equality issues, community policing, urban regeneration and
sustainable development.
West Belfast
“In this election, you can use your first preference vote to send a very powerful
message. With P.R., every vote counts.
“The past five years have shown that tribal politics can’t deliver for Northern
Ireland. By contrast, Alliance is working to deliver a new vision of how we can
live and learn, work and play together as a society.
“This is your opportunity to say ‘no’ to the failed tribal politics of the past, and to
say ‘yes’ to a new beginning by voting Alliance.”
Mary Ayers will work
• Alliance will place a duty on all Government agencies to promote community
relations.
• Alliance will work to place more police officers on the streets in order to more
effectively combat crime.
• Alliance will implement a strategy to make available places for 10% of our
children to attend integrated schools by 2010.
• Alliance will introduce free personal care for those living in residential and
nursing homes.
• Alliance will work to ensure fair taxation, giving value for money, ending the
abuse of the unfair regional rate.
Alliance Works ~ Tribal Politics Doesn’t
Back in 1998, people voted for a new beginning. While in many
The full Assembly Manifesto, and detailed policy papers are available from www.allianceworks.org or by phoning 9032 4274
respects Northern Ireland is better than before, the progress
that people had a right to expect has not occurred.
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.