Divided opinions on councillor ban plan
MEMBERS of Stormont's environment committee yesterday considered a private members bill from Dawn Purvis to end dual mandates as councillors and MLAs.
According to the PUP representative, 67 of the 108 MLAs are also councillors.
Yet despite this large number of dual mandates, there has been muted opposition to her proposal so far.
The DUP is believed to have been uneasy about the proposed ban on being a councillor and an MLA at the same time, but has been reluctant to be seen to be defending double jobbing.
Only the Alliance Party has been prepared to speak out against the measure.
If Ms Purvis gets approval for her bill when it completes its passage through Stormont, it will be possible to hold almost any full-time job you can imagine — doctor, teacher, carpenter, road sweeper, sailor — and be a councillor. Yet it will not be possible to be an Assembly member and a councillor, despite the fact that councillors are part-time roles that only get allowances rather than full-time salaries.
Stephen Farry, Alliance MLA for North Down, said that he accepted that it was unsustainable to be both an MP and an MLA. But being a councillor and an MLA was a different matter, and should be allowed.
“This is reaching the level where some MLAs are now stepping down from their council role and the expectation that most others will address the issue at the next local government election. I think that there is a loss of perspective on this,” he told the News Letter.
“The post of councillor is not a full-time job. The role of councillor has been designed to function alongside office holders having full-time jobs whether in the professions, business, the farm or factory.”
He added: “Therefore, there should be no reason why someone could not be both an MLA and also a councillor. Indeed, an argument can be made that the posts can be mutually reinforcing. The only real problem arises where there is a conflict of interest.
“This clearly applies to a MLA being both a minister and a councillor. Indeed, David Ford stepped down from Antrim Borough Council promptly after becoming the minister of Justice.”
Mr Farry said that he had found that being a councillor — “particularly the way in which it increased my knowledge of local issues” — had added to his understanding of being an MLA..
“Equally, as an MLA I feel that I can help my council with some local issues or ensure that there is a voice for how Assembly decisions can impact upon local government. There is also an overlap within constituency work.”
But Ms Purvis says the public have “made it quite clear that they are opposed to dual mandates”.
“There is something absolutely wrong with holding two or more positions at one time,” she told the News Letter.
But why then is it acceptable to hold any other full-time job and be a part-time councillor, but not be an MLA and a councillor?
“If you are a doctor or teacher, the public are clear on your role and how you are held accountable. They know how you earn your money and what you do to earn your money,” she said. “The same is not true of public representatives.”
Ms Purvis said that the current set up “preserves power in the hands of a few”.
“We make better policy and legislation the more diverse our political representatives are.”
Among those giving evidence in favour of Ms Purvis yesterday was professor Rick Wilford from Queen’s University who agrees that the dual mandate of councillor and MLAs is unacceptable.
He pointed out that it was not, for example, possible to be a councillor and a member of the Scottish and Welsh Assemblies.
But the News Letter asked the politics academic why it was permissible to hold other full-time jobs and be a councillor?
“A carpenter or a doctor or a teacher, to use your analogy, is not the same as being an MLA. For me, being an MLA is a 24/7 job that should not be impeded in its pursuit by any other other representative role.”
He said that having joint councillors and MLAs “doubles the problem of incumbency which is a problem in itself”.
“There is very little turnover seat to seat, election after election.
“It blocks off the sort of talent that are undeniably exists out there and needs to be cultivated.”
The Ulster Unionist South Antrim MLA Danny Kinahan recently stood down as a councillor so that he could focus on being an MLA.
Antrim council was meeting during the day, when he was at Stormont.
“The end result was I wasn't doing my job properly,” he said.
“One of the main driving forces is that we have a whole lot of people in South Antrim who are very good and queuing up to get into politics and we would be holding them up by not standing down,” Mr Kinahan said.
Yet after the 2005 local elections the News Letter was told by a major unionist party that it had struggled to find a candidate for what would have been a guaranteed seat in a council.
So is there really a pool of people bursting to get into politics, but held back by a self-interested cabal? Or is the truth that the public at large is quick to criticise politicians but not willing to get involved itself?
Asked if she had any evidence that there was a well of people out there who were keen to get into politics, Ms Purvis said: “I don’t know if it is there. But I think if [being a councillor and MLA] was ended, it is up to parties to be pro-active, to go out and get new members and bring in new blood. To make politics interesting and motivate people to get involved.
“There is a larger pool of people who are capable than the small pool of people who are currently in politics.”
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Belfast
Tuesday 29 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 12 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South
