JUST when you thought this British government couldn’t be shamed, it goes and does a climbdown. At the time of writing, Boris Johnson is still attempting to brazen out the Downing Street lockdown parties controversy but reintroducing double jobbing for Stormont MLAs somehow proved a step too far.
Less than a week after news of the controversial proposal emerged, it looks like it’s been jettisoned for good. While there were attempts to justify what was widely regarded as an undermining of democracy, the realisation that only the DUP supported the return of dual mandates sunk in at the eleventh hour.
We’ll probably never know if it was a deliberate attempt to make life easier for Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, who if elected to the assembly in May would have remained as a Westminster MP until the next general election, but it certainly walked and quacked like a duck. Whatever the origin or the motivation, it played only to the DUP’s advantage.
In December, this newspaper reported on the conundrum facing Sir Jeffrey as he seeks to transition from being an MP to an MLA. In addition to having to select two assembly candidates from a shortlist that also includes sitting MLAs Edwin Poots and Paul Givan, the DUP is preparing to defend a Westminster seat where Alliance made big inroads at the last election.
The return of dual mandates would have made the switch a lot less complicated and delayed the party any potential embarrassment in the Lagan Valley by-election triggered by Sir Jeffrey’s return to Stormont.
The DUP leader’s mood yesterday reflected his predicament – an escape hatch with his name on it suddenly locked by those he regarded as allies.
Efforts to put on a brave face proved futile as the swagger of recent days gave way to public humiliation brought about by the British government’s U-turn.
Questions still remain about why the DUP supported a return to double jobbing if not solely for self-interest, while speculation about its choice of Stormont candidates in Lagan Valley will only intensify over the coming days.
No doubt there’ll be heightened agitation around the protocol and no shortage of Sinn Féin-themed dead cats from the DUP to distract from this embarrassing episode but there’s little doubt that what appeared to be Sir Jeffrey’s bespoke salvage operation backfired spectacularly on the DUP.
