We need to talk about the co-option system in the assembly - the one that allows for MLAs to be replaced without any return to the public means that a seat won by a party at an assembly election stays with that party until the next.
I am not proposing we move toward a by-election system; I fully appreciate the arguments that put the need to maintain the numbers in the assembly and the consideration of minority representation in many constituencies. These are all valid points of concern, but that does not mean that what is there at present cannot be improved upon.
Since 1998, co-options have risen in every assembly mandate bar one. During the 1998-2003 mandate, just three of the 108 MLAs were co-opted. By the time we reached the 2017-2022 mandate, that number had risen to 29 of the 90 MLAs being co-opted. That’s right, nearly one-third of all the MLAs were co-opted by 2022.
With the recent Westminster election, we have now seen another round of co-options to the assembly as former MLAs were elected to the House of Commons. At the time of writing, there are now eight co-optees in the assembly, and North Antrim has a majority (three out of five) of its MLAs being co-opted.
The recent story of Alex Easton, elected as an independent in 2022, being replaced by the DUP’s Peter Martin brings home the need to reform this system, not because of the people replacing MLAs who leave. In this mandate, I know many of the replacement MLAs, and they are, without question, serious people who will work hard for their constituents. Yet we must seriously look at the co-option system so that when elected MLAs step down, those who replace them have their positions enhanced when they take over.
One of the first serious reforms is a return of a version of what we had before. Before an election, every candidate should be required to publish a list of names of replacements that would be sourced to stand in should they step down during their mandate. These names would be available for voters to see before they cast their ballot and determine who they could get if an elected MLA stands down.
Co-options will continue to be a feature of our political system, but their growth confuses voters. This system can be improved and reformed to make co-options more accountable to the electorate and help give those who take them a higher degree of legitimacy in the assembly
Had we had these rules in place, it would have meant that Patricia O’Lynn would have had to name Sian Mulholland on her list before she reigned as an MLA in 2023, and likewise, Alex Easton would have had to name Peter Martin on his.
In recent elections, the issue of who replaces someone leaving the chamber has been an issue. The change outlined above would remove this from the debate. Before casting their vote at an assembly or Westminster election, voters would be informed who ill replace someone before they vote to elect their local MLA or whether they want an MLA to become their member of parliament.
The second reform would be that you are out for the rest of that mandate once you leave the chamber during an assembly term. Co-options to the assembly should be used to genuinely replace people who step down for health reasons or want to do something different with their careers. If an MLA stands down, for whatever reason, they should be out of the assembly, and if they want to return, they can do so by standing at the following assembly election.
Co-options will continue to be a feature of our political system, but their growth confuses voters. This system can be improved and reformed to make co-options more accountable to the electorate and help give those who take them a higher degree of legitimacy in the assembly.
We have seen ministers in the executive who were co-opted from Sinn Féin and the DUP who have gone on to be re-elected. Coming in during a mandate has not been a barrier for many in having successful political careers. This column is trying to advance the argument that we can use appropriate guardrails around this process to make it more transparent and build community confidence.
Recent debates have shown that the current system can often create confusion. As we debate reform proposals for the assembly, co-options should be at the top of the agenda.
