Stormont seats up for grabs as Allister, Easton and Elliott head for Westminster
Stormont will never be quite the same again as Jim Allister – the man who has been a constant thorn in the side of the Executive – heads off to Westminster to represent his constituency on the green benches.
Even the TUV leader’s harshest critics begrudgingly acknowledge the role he played in forensic scrutiny of a range of issues.
But he is not the only MLA on his way out of the Assembly – as the UUP stalwart Tom Elliott was elevated to the House of Lords in the Prime Minister’s dissolution honours list.
The Fermanagh MLA is the current chair of Stormont’s agriculture and environment committee where he is widely respected.
While it could be legally possible for him to retain his Assembly seat while holding a peerage, it is expected that he will leave the Assembly – potentially creating space for the party’s defeated Westminster candidate Diana Armstrong to take up his seat.
Jim Allister’s departure leaves the party with a decision to make about who will attempt to fill the leader’s shoes.
Ron McDowell is probably the party’s most high-profile member – and has proven an effective operator in Belfast City Council where he has scrutinised issues such as its Irish language policy.
However, as a Belfast councillor it could cause problems if the party parachuted him into the North Antrim constituency.
The TUV already has experienced councillors in the North Antrim constituency such as Timothy Gaston and Matthew Armstrong. Allister Kyle – who performed well in the general election in East Londonderry also knows the constituency well.
Dr Dan Boucher, who defected from the DUP over the Protocol but is currently not elected could also perform well in the role given his role in developing party policy.
Alex Easton is also leaving Stormont after becoming the North Down MP – but he has remained tight lipped about who will replace him.
He has previously said that he will give his Assembly seat to an independent. That has fuelled speculation that he may hand over the reins to another former DUP colleague, Jonathan Bell, who fell out with the party over the RHI debacle.