Naive to think you can be in the Cabinet and be independent

They would have to take responsibility for Cabinet decisions, even those they found distasteful, writes Alison O’Connor

IT’S like the new version of an old Irish joke. When is an Independent TD not an Independent? Answer: When he has been appointed a Cabinet minister, and takes decisions that go down like a lead balloon in his own constituency.

It’s been fascinating to watch our own independent political species, of late. They have been throwing shapes since long before the general election, when they rode high in the opinion polls, and fancied themselves as kingmakers in a new political era.