Northern Ireland vote: jobs and economy
Voters in Northern Ireland will soon decide which politicians will take a seat in the compulsory coalition of the governing assembly. Carl Dinnen looks at the campaign issues taking centre stage.
Up for grabs on Thursday is not only the voting system but also the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
As ever, the election campaign in Northern Ireland is really two contests – within the unionist and nationalist communities respectively.
Under the unique government arrangements, all major parties are guaranteed seats in the compulsory coalition that emerges.
In Northern Ireland politics there are two main unionist parties and two nationalist parties – with the cross-community Alliance Party in the middle.
Once all the Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) have been elected to Stormont they must select a coalition government with members from all of the main political parties.
There is a suggestion that Peter Robinson could be replaced as First Minister by Martin Maguinness if Sinn Fein becomes the biggest Party.
The very idea of a former IRA leader perhaps leading the government is enough to send Unionist voters running for the safety of their strongest looking party.
Campaigners seemingly have agreed that the main issues are jobs and the economy.
Northern Ireland goes to the polls on Thursday – the same day as the UK-wide referendum on whether there should be a switch to the Alternative Vote (AV) system in elections to the Commons.
The battle over AV entered its final stages on Sunday amid more bitter exchanges between coalition partners.
With just a few days to go before the referendum, David Cameron intensified his attack by branding the proposed system “expensive” as well as “hopelessly unclear, unfair and indecisive”.
His Liberal Democrat Energy Secretary Chris Huhne – who has threatened legal action over claims that AV would cost more – hit back by blaming First Past the Post for the “worst excesses of the Thatcher government”.
Meanwhile, Labour leader Ed Miliband already seemed to be positioning himself for a No verdict, complaining that Nick Clegg’s unpopularity had proved a “massive hindrance” to the Yes campaign.
The interventions came with the latest polling suggesting that AV will be resoundingly rejected by the public on Thursday.
Research by BPIX for the Mail on Sunday found 51 per cent were opposed to the reform, compared with 33 per cent who supported it.