WE may be only fresh from an assembly poll, but political parties undoubtedly remain on an election footing.
Voters are guaranteed to return to the ballot box within the year when local government mandates are due to expire.
And the DUP's stubborn refusal to return to Stormont, combined with turmoil in Downing Street, means a snap assembly or even general election is a possibility.
With that in mind, the results of the latest Institute of Irish Studies-University of Liverpool/The Irish News opinion survey make for fascinating reading.
Asked which party would get their first preference vote if another assembly election was held tomorrow, Sinn Féin emerged as clear winners once again.
The results suggest Michelle O'Neill's party could even surpass its record-breaking performance in May and cross the 30 per cent threshold for the first time.
Sinn Féin is now polling more than 10 percentage points ahead of the DUP, which suffers a further drop from its election performance of 21.3 per cent to just 20.1 in this survey.
Alliance, meanwhile, is up almost two points to 15.3 per cent, confirming its status as Stormont's third largest party.
While the SDLP will also welcome a slight rise in support, its announcement today that it intends to form an official opposition at Stormont will come as no surprise.
Having lost a third of its seats in May, including that of its only executive minister, Colum Eastwood's party needs a distinctive message that will resonate with new or erstwhile voters. Its recall of the assembly tomorrow will be an opportunity to set the tone.
That Stormont session will also heap further pressure on the DUP to end its hugely damaging boycott of the devolved institutions.
At a time when the cost-of-living crisis has left many households struggling to cope, it is unconscionable that one party is able to prevent millions of pounds being released to assist those most in need.
On the protocol issue, today's poll indicates that a clear majority of voters - including DUP supporters - believe negotiations between the UK and EU are the best way to resolve the crisis.
Only 14 per cent of DUP voters and 5 per cent of Ulster Unionists said they were against greater diplomatic engagement to break the impasse.
The toxic legacy of Brexit includes political paralysis at Stormont and chaos within the Conservative Party.
It is vital that all politicians commit to a new spirit of partnership and problem-solving and return to the jobs they were elected to.
