Alliance candidates 'won't be going away' following abuse, says Naomi Long

Alliance leader Naomi Long has said her candidates are "more committed and "won't be going away" following an increase in online abuse directed at the party during the UK General Election campaign.

Speaking at her party's manifesto launch following a question from Belfast Live, the East Belfast candidate said it is important for her to take a stand against the abuse.

"My message to those behind that abuse, assuming they are not bots because I think some of them are, is you can throw whatever you want at our candidates but we will not be going away," she said.

Read more: Sorcha Eastwood opens up about husband's battle with rare form of blood cancer

Read more: Full list of candidates running in the General Election in Northern Ireland

"We will not be resiling from the positions that matter because they are positions of principle and they matter to us.

"In some ways, the more abuse that is levelled at our candidates, the more committed we are to standing up to those people because we might be a lightning rod for the anger and the fury that is being stirred up in society but if it isn't us, it is often somebody more vulnerable and so it is important for me that we take a stand against that abuse."

Ms Long said that she has no time for the politics of abuse and derision of others and said it is not what her party is about.

"We are about policies, we are about positivity and we are about leading change. Those who try to pull us down will not succeed and so I would advice them to get a hobby and do something more constructive with their time because we are not going to be deflected from our objectives because of it."

The party's Lagan Valley candidate Sorcha Eastwood was one of those candidates who received abuse after she spoke to Belfast Live last week on her husband's cancer journey.

Addressing the abuse she faced, Sorcha said that it has had a great impact on her family.

"I don't even know what to say because it has been so horrific," she recounted. "You expect a rough trade in politics but those comments absolutely crossed the line and went beyond what was acceptable.

"It was not just offensive to my family but to any family going through cancer right now. Thankfully people from right across the political spectrum understood that those comments were not reflective of the vast majority of people and the support from right across the community has been incredible.

"Some people have gone well beyond a line."

Ms Eastwood said that she thinks some of the abuse that she has received has been orchestrated.

"I think some of it has been orchestrated but others are just opportunistic," she said. "I do certainly think there has been a level of orchestration but we are fighting a positive campaign, we are fighting a progressive campaign and we are fighting to win but we will absolutely not be deterred by those who seek to intimidate."

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