Opinion

Editorial: Double-jobbing belongs in the past

FOR the prime minister, there is 'Operation Save Big Dog': a desperate plan to prop up Boris Johnson's as the party-gate scandal threatens to topple him.

For the leader of the DUP, meanwhile, it's been dubbed 'Jeffreymandering' - easing Sir Jeffrey Donaldson's transition to Stormont without risking the loss of the party's Westminster seat.

There has been shock in political circles since details emerged of British government plans to lift the hard-won ban on double-jobbing in Northern Ireland.

The move would allow MPs to be elected to the assembly in May without giving up their Westminster seats.

An obvious beneficiary would be DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson, whose intention to lead the party from Stormont would leave it facing the prospect of a tricky parliamentary by-election in Lagan Valley.

Alliance more than halved his majority at the last Westminster poll and would be expected to run a replacement candidate even closer.

Double-jobbing was outlawed in 2016 - and for good reason.

To allow politicians to hog two or three roles clearly hinders their ability to do each properly. It also tends to concentrate power in the hands of a small number of senior politicians and limit opportunities for new faces.

Four of the five executive parties oppose its reintroduction, the exception unsurprisingly being the DUP.

Government peer Lord Caine said the objective was to "support further the functioning of the devolved institutions by providing stability where Northern Ireland parties need to reconfigure their representation across Parliament and Stormont without the triggering of parliamentary by-elections".

It would align Northern Ireland with other UK regions before being banned again at the next Westminster election.

But whatever the intention, the plan will clearly be perceived as providing stability for one party in particular.

To suddenly act, without consultation, just months before an assembly election also amounts to interference in the democratic process and risks further damaging fragile confidence in the devolved structures.

The DUP's claim that the move would "encourage stability at a time when devolution is deeply unstable" would be laughable were the party's repeated threats to bring down Stormont on a range of pretexts not so serious.

Ultimately, the episode only serves to highlight the weak position Sir Jeffrey Donalds on finds himself in and is unlikely to be forgotten in Lagan Valley if voters are denied an opportunity to express their democratic rights.