Success of the Alliance party is indicative that Northern Ireland is now changing for the better

24 April 2024

STRANGFORD’S newest Alliance MLA, Nick Mathison, believes that the development of Mid Down Integrated College is pivotal to meeting the demand for integrated education.

One of the stories to come out of the May 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election was the close contest between Mr Mathison and TUV candidate, Stephen Cooper to secure the last seat for the constituency.

In an exclusive interview with the Down Recorder, the 44 year-old spoke about his time growing up in Newtownards, living in England with his wife Sarah, working for a non-profit law firm and returning to Northern Ireland to enter politics.

“I spent my childhood in Newtownards,” Mr Mathison said.

“Growing up I always had an interest in politics, but I was never obsessed with politics.

“When I was growing up there was too much of a fixation on whether you were a unionist or a nationalist and like a lot of people my age at the time, that never really mattered to me.

“I was more interested in the politics of social justice and fairness, but felt the political conversation focused too much on what side you took – it didn’t really include people like me who didn’t have a side.”

Mr Mathison attended Regent House Grammar School and went on to complete an honours degree in English Literature and Theology at Queen’s University Belfast.

While studying at university, Mr Mathison met his future wife Sarah, who was training to be a teacher having travelled from England.

After they both finished university, the couple moved to a town just outside Nottingham, England, where Mr Mathison worked at a non-profit law centre.

“I loved working for the firm because it really gave me the opportunity to help society’s most vulnerable,” he explained.

“We were based in a working-class and rough area of the town, so it meant we dealt with serious issues.

“We’d inform the most vulnerable people of their housing and welfare rights and ensure they were treated fairly by other government authorities. I found it to be very fulfilling work because we were able to make a difference to the lives of so many people.

“Working for the law firm was my first hook into becoming more involved in politics so I could help influence policy and decisions that impacted people who were less fortunate than myself.”

While working for the law firm, Mr Mathison and his wife were debating moving back to Northern Ireland to establish a new life for them and their young family.

“For all its shortcomings, Northern Ireland is a great place and it does have that pull on you to come back,” he said.

“We spent ten years in England but we missed the beautiful scenery of the Mourne Mountains and Strangford Lough, so we decided to move back.”

After coming home in 2013, Mr Mathison became involved with the Alliance party which he described as a “natural gravitation”.

“Alliance have always had a proven track record of making a difference to society and championing progressive causes, especially when it comes to issues the LGBTQ community face.

“I started doing some campaign work for Chris Lyttle over in East Belfast during the 2016 and 2017 Assembly elections and loved it. I became hooked and I started to believe that it was something I could do.”

Mr Mathison would realise this ambition in 2019, he was elected to Ards and North Down Borough Council as a councillor for Newtownards and later became Alliance’s group leader on the council.

“At first I found it daunting, but also really rewarding,” he said. “It was a very diverse council, so we had to strike a balance with the other parties to get things done and ensure that everyone in the community was listened to.

“A year later we had the pandemic, so it was a very busy and difficult period for us, but I am proud of our record in the council.”

In 2022, Mr Mathison was selected to run as an Alliance MLA for Strangford along with Kellie Armstrong.

While Mrs Armstrong was easily elected with over 7,000 votes, Mr Mathison said he was convinced that he would not be elected.

“That day was a wide spectrum of emotions,” Mr Mathison recalled. “On one hand I was so delighted for Kellie and it was a really proud moment. For myself, however, I had a lot of ground to cover. It was so close between myself and the TUV candidate, and I left the count hall pretty deflated and felt that the ship had sailed and that there was no way back.

Campaign

“A number of people who worked on our campaign, who knew more about elections and the count process than me, kept saying I was still in with a chance.”

As more results came in, Mr Mathison accumulated enough transfers that he was able to leapfrog the TUV and SDLP candidates.

“When the final result showed that I’d been elected to the last seat, it was complete elation. I am so grateful to the voters for entrusting me to represent them and fight for the issues they hold dear.”

Since becoming an MLA, Mr Mathison has been a champion of delivering and encouraging integrated education.

He is an avid supporter of the development of Mid Down Integrated College, which is due to be developed at a location between Saintfield and Crossgar.

“Integrated education is something that is very important to me,” Mr Mathison said. “My wife teaches at Millennium Integrated Primary School, so we know that there is a huge demand for more integrated education to be delivered.

“I think the development of Mid Down Integrated College would be a brilliant first step in delivering for that demand because we know that it is something that locals are keen to see be finalised.

“Kellie and I have been working very closely with each other at Stormont to champion more funding for integrated education projects. Having a divided education system doesn’t make sense anymore and integrated education shouldn’t be seen as a measure to try and dilute anybody’s religious or political beliefs.

“It’s about acknowledging that there has been a societal change and that people want their children to go to an inclusive school where everyone is represented.”

Mr Mathison has also said that the number of “false dawns” for the Ballynahinch bypass project was an “absolute disgrace”.

“The terrible tragedy that occurred two weeks ago in Ballynahinch has once again focused everyone’s minds that this scheme must be delivered,” Mr Mathison said.

“It’s ridiculous that it has been

promised on so many occasions and yet we are no closer seeing it developed.

“There will be more accidents and terrible tragedies like this unless we have a safe road that is able to divert traffic and access the town safely. It’s also needed to bring the town forward and give people the opportunity to explore the town and visit all the amazing local cafes and shops.”

Mr Mathison says he is still optimistic that much can be achieved in Northern Ireland between now and the next election.

“I remind myself every day that it is a privilege to be an elected representative. It’s a responsibility I don’t take lightly and I am absolutely loving the role. I have had the opportunity to meet so many interesting people and it’s an honour to know that people are entrusting me to represent them.

“The success of the Alliance party is indicative that Northern Ireland is changing for the better. We are a region of minorities, but I feel that people strongly believe that our party offers stability when other parties are happy to use their veto.”

He added: “We have a huge responsibility to deliver and although we

have had two years of our mandate with no government, I am more than confident we can deliver for the entire community.”

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