The problem with unelected MLAs

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Parliament Buildings at Stormont

July 05 2021 11:00 AM

It’s not unusual for us to talk about a democratic deficit – the shortcomings of our political system make for a rather long list. Given the alternatives, there’s a practicality to voters’ attitudes to Stormont . We’re under no illusions, but until someone comes up with a better idea we’ll stick with it. Mandatory coalition might not be working as well as it should, but at least it’s at work, which it wasn’t for almost three years between 2017 and 2020.

Though, when we say at work, that doesn’t mean the Executive is always prepared to take the hard decisions. Instead, when it suits both sides they are content for Westminster to dig them out of a hole. Ironically, even Sinn Fein, who are unwilling to take their seats in Westminster, are happy for London to legislate on the Irish language. Such is the world of politics here.

Another issue which raises eyebrows is the proliferation of unelected MLAs. We report today that 20 of our sitting MLAs have been replaced or will be replaced by party colleagues. Like everything else with domestic politics, it takes a bit of explanation as how we ended up in this situation.

Legislation introduced in 2010 allows parties to replace outgoing Assembly members with a politician of their choice – but the practice has been controversial.

There are, of course, genuine reasons why MLAs need to be replaced — the eradication of double jobbing among political representatives being a significant one. It goes with the territory where parties stand in both Westminster and Stormont elections that there’s an inevitable movement of people between both parliaments – and this brings an inevitable level of chopping and changing. Add into the mix that Northern Ireland is a small place, with a relatively small pool of political talent and you can see why parties want to maximise their electoral potential by using their best candidates as they see fit.

The issue that needs to be addressed is the lack of accountability over the replacement of MLAs. By-elections are expensive and if run in the traditional manner, will just be seen as benefitting the bigger parties. If an independent MLA or an MLA from one of the smaller parties vacates their seat, any first past the post by-election will obviously be won by the best supported party, which places the smaller parties and independent candidates at a serious disadvantage.

However, that doesn’t mean we should give up. The taxpayer is paying almost £1m in salaries for our unelected MLAs. A little thinking outside the (ballot) box could go a long way, especially if it means we are only served by representatives we vote for.

The problem with unelected MLAs

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