Edwin Poots brushes aside poll that ranks him as Northern Ireland's worst leader

By PA

Incoming DUP leader Edwin Poots has brushed aside a weekend poll which suggests his party and the Alliance Party are now on a level footing.

The LucidTalk survey for the Belfast Telegraph gave both parties16 per cent  -way behind Sinn Fein on 25 per cent.

Incoming DUP leader Edwin Poots has brushed aside a weekend poll which suggests his party and the Alliance Party are now on a level footing.https://t.co/YN8VaPwlpx

— Q Radio News (@qnewsdesk) May 24, 2021

Mr. Poots is expected to announce Arlene Foster's successor as First Minister later this week.

He  told Times Radio, the poll reflects public opinion at the time.

“The poll was actually gathered on the week that I was elected, so it’s a reflection of where the party was and not where it is or will be under my leadership,” he said.

The poll also found that Mr Poots’ leadership rival, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, was more popular among DUP supporters by a three-to-one margin.

Mr Poots was ranked by voters as the worst-performing party leader in Northern Ireland, behind the outgoing Arlene Foster.

He was rated as bad or awful by 62% of voters, compared to 50% who said that of Ms Foster.

(Mr Poots was ranked as the worst-performing leader in Northern Ireland by the poll)

Meanwhile, leader of the Alliance party, Naomi Long, said the poll has raised questions over powersharing structures.

Ms Long said the results “challenge the structures of the Assembly”, which reserves the Deputy and First Minister roles for the largest nationalist and unionist parties.

Key decisions are based on the need to secure majority of both nationalists and unionists, a system which could be undermined if Alliance emerge from the next election as one of the largest parties.

Ms Long said: “Crucially, Alliance continues to be snapping at the heels of the DUP, to be the second-largest party in Northern Ireland.

“That is an interesting prospect because it very much challenges the structures of the Assembly, that say if you don’t designate as a unionist or a nationalist, you’re in some way not entitled to represent the people who vote for you, in the same way as other parties.

“It could affect, for example, the first Deputy and First Minister posts, but it will also affect things like cross cross-community voting.

“So, I think the designation system at the Assembly has never been under more scrutiny than it is now, given the progress that Alliance has made.

“For me, that is the response that the Government need to look out in terms of how they accommodate a much larger section of the community that don’t designate as unionist or nationalist, in a way that is fully democratic and fair.”

(The Justice Minister says that Stormont could be revolutionised by the emergence of the Alliance party)