Brazen double crossing of voters on double jobbing
07 December 2010
With Stormont due to again consider the Purvis Bill on Council and Assembly double-jobbing, TUV Leader Jim Allister has entered the controversy with an attack on the DUP’s intended abandonment of its General Election pledge to stop its MPs double-jobbing.
In a statement Jim Allister said:-
“The ease and effrontery with which the DUP, within a mere 6 months, shreds one of its headline manifesto pledges from May 2010, betokens the inner contempt with which they hold the electorate.
“Under pressure from the scandal of double jobbing, the DUP, in the General Election, made a virtue out of proclaiming its end. Their Manifesto (p 70) could not have been clearer:
“Following the Westminster election, successful DUP candidates will step down within weeks from the Northern Ireland Assembly, as early as practically possible. The Party Leader will be the only DUP MP representing the Party at both the House of Commons and Stormont for a further Parliamentary term.”
“Now, within months, this solemn pledge is in tatters as the DUP decides voters in Northern Ireland do not deserve either promises to be kept or full-time MPs or full-time MLAs, though double-jobbing part-time MPs will, of course, pocket the full-time salaries. It seems for the DUP pandering to its MP’s egos is more important than their first duty, keeping their word. But, then, of late, breaking its pledges has become an art form for the DUP.
“This is not an issue of tactics; it’s an issue of honesty and integrity.”
