Belfast’s new Lord Mayor is from our sister party, the Alliance Party

With the polls closed in the combined European and local elections 2009 and the first results awaited, here is some cheery news from our sister party in Northern Ireland:

Naomi Long of the Alliance Party is the new lord mayor of Belfast.

The east Belfast councillor defeated the DUP’s William Humphrey by 26 votes to 24 in a vote at a council meeting on Monday afternoon.

She takes over from Sinn Fein’s Tom Hartley and is the first woman to hold the post for nearly 30 years.

The 37-year-old is the deputy leader of the Alliance Party and represents the Victoria ward. She has been a member of Belfast City Council since 2001.