The Alliance Party are holding their annual party conference in Belfast
Party leader Naomi Long is due to speak at midday
She is expected to say the institutions "are as stable today as they were the day before the last collapse"
Alliance Conference: Leader's speech
That's all from us. Thank you for following our live coverage of Naomi Long's conference speech as Alliance Leader.
She will be live on Sunday Politics tomorrow morning. That's at 10:00 BST on BBC One Northern Ireland and BBC iPlayer.
Brendan Hughes
BBC News NI political reporter
Alliance's conference slogan this year is “leading change”, but there is no sign of a change of leader.
Naomi Long is now in her ninth year in the role - the longest serving of the main Stormont parties.
The change that Alliance really wants to see is reform to Northern Ireland's power-sharing structures.
It believes amendments to voting mechanisms would prevent larger parties welding a veto, breaking Stormont's many cycles of collapse.
But one year since devolved government was restored, is Alliance any closer to that goal it so often talks about?
Long says the UK and Irish governments need to use their influence to make it a priority.
But convincing them, as well as her partners in the four-party executive, remains a key challenge.
"To be clear, our reform proposals aren’t about exclusion or about upending the protections of the Good Friday Agreement. Far from it.
"Under our reforms, those who qualify by mandate would have the same entitlement they have now to be in government. Only if they chose not to – to opt out – they would go into Opposition. No-one would be excluded unless they decide to exclude themselves, and, unlike with the current system, no one party could exclude everyone from the Executive and Assembly.
"Further, by moving from parallel consent to weighted majority voting to measure cross-community consent, everyone’s vote would finally be equal – no party or designation would be more equal than any other."
Naomi Long moves on to reform of the Stormont institutions
She says "Despite the progress we've made, despite all of the positive change Alliance has led in the Assembly and Executive our institutions are as stable today as they were the day before the last collapse.
"That’s why the need for institutional reform remains a priority."
"Each collapse causes immeasurable damage, not only to public confidence but also our public services, finances and right across our society. Indeed, much of the last year has been about trying to catch up and repair some of the damage caused by the last collapse."
"Five years have passed since our exit from the EU and nine years from the Brexit referendum, we’re still awaiting the delivery of a single, solitary benefit – even a glimpse of the sunlit uplands – promised by the charlatans and grifters who promoted this catastrophic political escapade.
"There are, thankfully, some signs of progress towards improved relations with the EU under the current Labour government. We’ve long been clear that the key to resolving the friction caused by Brexit is closer alignment with the EU, so people can interact more smoothly, and businesses can access supply chains seamlessly on both a north-south and east-west basis.
"In the meantime, the Windsor Framework remains the only viable option by which Northern Ireland business can navigate the chaos instigated by others."
"We believe the Prime Minister’s announcement about drastic cuts to the UK’s international aid budget to increase military spending is not only reckless but ill-conceived and short-sighted.
International development is not merely a humanitarian or charitable enterprise. In a world where threats and challenges are increasingly global, it is also an important investment in our national security, stabilising regions where there is instability, sustaining fragile peace and mitigating against the causes of mass migration."
"Of course, we all know the DUP have a history of making terrible political choices, so their fan-boying for Trump has come as no surprise. There is simply no issue they can’t manage to be on the wrong side of.
"However, hearing Gavin Robinson recently parroting the language of “wokery”, like some kind of Temu Trump, on an issue as serious as the need to ensure our police service is representative of the community it serves, is both embarrassing and dangerous.
"But not as embarrassing or dangerous as Poundland Putin, Sammy Wilson, peddling the Kremlin’s lines on the war in Ukraine.
"And while the DUP and UUP will head off to the White House to meet the President, Alliance is taking a stand and declining to do so."
Naomi Long talks about the Westminster election of last year.
She says "As in every election, there were both highs and lows. Undoubtedly, the high was taking the seat in the former DUP stronghold of Lagan Valley with the election of that constituency’s first female, first non-unionist and, most importantly, first Alliance MP, Sorcha Eastwood."
"She’s already blown people away with her dynamism and passion, and is working hard, as ever, to represent and support everyone, without fear or favour, across Lagan Valley."
"However, even in a great election there are always lows and, without doubt, losing Stephen Farry as an MP was a blow to North Down and to Alliance."
Naomi starts her speech by paying tribute to Anna Lo. The former Alliance MLA died in November last year.
Long says "I had the privilege of attending her funeral service at which her family and friends paid tribute to her as a mother, a partner, a friend and mentor and above all as a trailblazer in all she did".
"Throughout those wonderful tributes, one thing really shone through, Anna’s unwavering personal integrity".
You can watch the speech live by clicking on the video at the top of this page
The Alliance leader Naomi Long is set to make her speech at the party's annual conference being held in Belfast.
The East Belfast MLA has been leader of the party for over 8 years.
It's Alliance's 55th Annual conference.
Brendan Hughes
BBC News NI political reporter
A "window of opportunity" exists to have a "serious dialogue" about Stormont reform, the leader of the Alliance Party is due to tell their annual conference.
Naomi Long will warn members at the event in Belfast that the power-sharing institutions remain at risk of being pushed "over the edge again".
She has written to the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, and Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Micheál Martin urging them to make discussions on reform "a priority".
The weekend conference is the Alliance Party's second since Northern Ireland's devolved government was restored in February 2024 following a two-year hiatus.
Welcome to our live coverage of leader Naomi Long's speech to the Alliance Party conference.