Alliance launches campaign to secure first ever South Down seat
Alliance candidate Cllr Patrick Brown has officially launched his campaign to become South Down’s first Alliance MLA in this May’s Assembly election.
Alliance activists, canvassers and supporters met at the party’s new campaign office last Sunday at 9 Market lane in Downpatrick, putting some finishing touches to his new base to kick off a canvass of Downpatrick.
Speaking after the launch, Cllr Brown said: “This election offers a huge opportunity to change politics here in South Down and across Northern Ireland for good.
“For the first time in a generation, Alliance has the opportunity to more than double our representation and win seats right across Northern Ireland.
“Here in South Down, we were just 500 votes away from a seat in 2017, and the party’s support has only increased in the area since then.
“It is vitally important we elect as many Alliance MLAs as possible to give Naomi Long a strong team to challenge the constant division and dysfunction of the DUP and Sinn Fein, and offer a genuine, credible alternative to green and orange politics.
“Together, we can elect a new generation of leaderships dedicated to making Northern Ireland work, not holding it back.
“On bringing people together, not keeping them apart. On fighting poverty and inequality, not each other.
“If the people in South Down put their trust in me on 5th May, I promise to be a champion for liberal, progressive politics and a dedicated worker delivering for all”.
Cllr Brown, currently studying for a PhD on welfare issues at Queen’s University, Belfast, has played an active role in Newry Mourne and Down District council bringing many motions to full council meetings and challenging decisions and procedures.
