Mr. John McCallister:

No. One of the professors very categorically indicated this was not going back. One of the bigger criticisms I laid out in the Second Stage debate was of the arrangements between 1921 and 1972, where there was no real opposition that could provide choice and change, with today's opposition being tomorrow's government. We did not have that. It was all focused on creating a single-party state. Even as an independent Unionist, the electoral system was changed in 1929. That was not about excluding nationalism but it was as much about the worry of independent Unionists with the move from proportional representation to the first past the post system. The d'Hondt mechanism gives a guarantee in the government if a body reaches a certain size. There would have to be a seismic shift in voter intention.

We are absolutely committed to genuine power sharing but it must be about how departments work together and co-ordinate, with the government acting as one unit. That is very important.