Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI) is a political party operating in Northern Ireland. They were formed in April, 1970 as an alternative to the estabished parties, particularly the Ulster Unionist Party. The party's main ambition was to present a non-sectarian unionist alternative to attract Catholic support for Northern Ireland to remain a part of the United Kingdom.The party was boosted in 1972 when three Members of the Stormont Parliament joined the party (one actually a nationalist). Its first electoral challenge was the District Council elections of May, 1973 when they managed to win a respectable 13.6% of the votes cast. In the elections to Stormont which followed the next month the party polled 9.2% and won eight seats. The then party leader, Oliver Napier and his deputy Bob Cooper became part of the short-lived power sharing executive body.
The APNI's acceptance of the 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement annoyed many of its supporters in the Protestant community and consequently they suffered at the polls. In 1988 the APNI's new leader, John Alderdice called for a devolved power-sharing government.
The APNI polled fairly poorly for the 1996 elections for the Northern Ireland Forum, and the 1998 election for the Northern Ireland Assembly winning around 6.5% of the vote each time. This did enable the party to win six seats in the Assembly.
John Alderdice resigned as party leader in 1998 to take up the post of the Assembly's Presiding Officer. He was replaced by Séan Neeson, who himself resigned as party leader in September, 2001. Neeson was replaced by current party leader, David Ford, a member of the assembly for South Antrim.
The APNI have suffered electorally as a new centrist challenger has established itself in Northern Irish politics, the Northern Ireland Womens Coalition. The APNI are linked with the British Liberal-Democrats.
