大象传媒

I've just recorded tomorrow's Inside Politics, which is on the topic of the Blair Brown handover and its consequences for NI. My guests are Lord Paul Bew and Phil Taylor, Peter Hain's sometimes controversial Special Adviser. Phil parted company with Peter Hain shortly before the former Secretary of State hit the buffers in his Deputy Leadership campaign.

Some senior civil servants used to joke that Phil Taylor was the real Secretary of State. He took responsibility for a lot of the devolved brief and was involved in the proposed introduction of water charges and the ban on new housing in rural areas. On the programme he denies that this was a coherent strategy to twist local politicians' arms, but adds that if it had a positive spin off for restoring devolution then so much the better.

One regret that the former SPAD has is the concession made at St Andrews to throw academic selection back into the political mix. An opponent of selection, he tells me that giving the DUP a veto over the ban was "fundamentally wrong".

Lord Bew (he prefers Paul) may owe his peerage to Tony Blair. But he doesn't seem convinced by those who believe the Northern Ireland experience can be translated to the Middle East.

The programme is broadcast tomorrow at 12.45 on Radio Ulster, and should be up on the web sometime afterwards.

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So Shaun Woodward then. The only minister for whom a move to Hillsborough castle might be considered downsizing. I spent a day with him when he was juggling health and security and was impressed by his drive and determination. But he did have his banana skin - the time when his assessment of the IRA's involvement in crime seemed to differ markedly from that of some of his most senior police officers.

At least he doesn't have to spend too much time reading himself in. And from a media point of view he's good news - the sort of politician who doesn't like to walk past a camera without saying something into it.

Come to think of it, those who predicted Quentin Davies were half right - we got an ex-Tory. And those who predicted Paul Goggins were half right too - we got a former Policing minister. But to be honest, I'm surprised and look forward to seeing the former That's Life producer on his first SoS walkabout.

P.S. He's doing it for free, which means the taxpayer is saving 拢76,904 per year by my reckoning.

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Like every other political hack I've just been watching Tony Blair's final performance at the despatch box. Extraordinary scenes when all sides rose to give him a standing ovation, with David Cameron urging on any reluctant Tories.

As the minutes ticked by I thought the leader of the fourth biggest party was going to get squeezed out. But Ian Paisley made it at the end with a lengthy tribute. He contrasted his often forthright political exchanges with Mr Blair with the courtesy of their personal dealings. The First Minister noted that Mr Blair was taking on a "colossal task" as Middle East envoy and hoped what has happened in Northern Ireland will be repeated.

It would have been unthinkable for the DUP leader to have voiced such sentiments in the days when he used to tell President Clinton and any other international movers and shakers to "butt out". But the unthinkable is commonplace now.

TB welcomed the tribute, adding that he was waiting for the "but" from Ian Paisley, but it never came.

And so TB is exiting stage right - his Northern Ireland peace brokering background not just a chapter for his memoirs or a nice story to tell his grandchildren, but an essential part of his CV for his next job.

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So Lord Ashdown has turned it down and it looks like the two Davids aren't heading Hillsborough way either (aka Lords Steel and Trimble). The rumour going around Stormont today was that the Policing Minister Paul Goggins might get promotion. But could Gordon Brown really hand him the keys to the castle?

There's a certain logic as the next Secretary of State's main job will be handing over the justice powers which Mr Goggins now holds. But it would also be a surprising step up as it would mean him leaping the Minister of State level to somersault from Parliamentary Under Secretary to Secretary of State.

Of course the former Shadow NI Secretary Quentin Davies is now available after his defection from the Tories. He would keep alive a dog lovers' tradition at Hillsborough of which Peter Mandelson was the most recent exponent (whenever Mr Davies used to come over to Belfast my spies tell me he used to bring his dog to the hotel with him).

There are two arguments against. First, he told the 大象传媒's Evening Extra tonight he wanted to get used to his new party as a backbencher. Second, being a member of the Labour party appears to be a disqualification in this cabinet reshuffle.

I gather the first Brown Cabinet meeting has been pencilled in for the unusually late time of 6pm on Thursday which may mean that we won't have confirmation of who Peter Hain's successor will be until sometime on Thursday afternoon.

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Before flying off to the States, Edwin Poots reminded me on Inside Politics that an H block and the prison hospital at the Maze are listed buildings, so will stay in place even if there is no interpretative centre or "shrine" at the site. If he thought that was the last word, then he was mistaken. Today the MEP Jim Allister called on the Environment Minister Arlene Foster to de-list the buildings, presumably as a precursor to sending in the bulldozers. In his question time, the DFM Martin McGuinness denied there was any proposal to create a shrine.

This one will run and run...

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I have just recorded an interview with Peter Hain which might be his last formal turn before this week's Cabinet reshuffle. He seemed on good form although I don't imagine the list of questions were what he might have hoped for. After a few openers about nationalist claims of political interference with the DPP over Stevens and Pat Finucane's murder (Hain's response - I didn't know about the DPP's announcement before it was made) the rest of the interview went along the following lines (this is a sharply edited version):

MD The Sun says Gordon is going to sack you - they've had some good leaks before..

PH They've had some bad ones too

MD So is that all?

PH It's up to the PM. I'm not going to speculate..

MD: It must have been disappointing for Gordon Brown to offer Lord Ashdown your job

PH: GB phoned me and told me not to worry about all the froth. A lot of what was in the papers wasn't accurate...

MD: You came 5th in the Deputy Leadership contest. Do you regret getting involved...

PH: Je ne regrette rien...

The SoS will do his last Northern Ireland Questions on Wednesday by which time he will probably find it hard to make himself heard above the hubbub as MPs gather for Tony Blair's last turn. Will the Sun be proven right or will rumours that Mr Hain could get International Development turn out to be correct? All I know is that in his day dreams Mr Hain would have preferred a very different kind of interview today.. .

MD: You won the Deputy Leadership election handsomely - would you prefer to take the job of Deputy Prime Minister or Foreign Secretary?

PH: Mark it's obviously a matter for the PM but I have shown an ability to juggle two jobs in the past and I don't see why I shouldn't be able to do the same in the future...

MD: The Sun says that provided you play a senior role in the Cabinet it will back Labour in the next General Election

PH: They are very astute observers of the Westminster scene

MD: During the week Lord Ashdown indicated his willingness to accept a position as your butler

PH: You shouldn't believe all you read in the papers, but I think this appointment can be seen as an attempt to foster a new kind of politics, using people with unique talents in innovative roles..

Well we can all dream...

We shall be broadcasting NI Questions live on Wednesday at 11.30. But before that, tonight at 11.20 on 大象传媒2 we have a special Stormont (not at all Live) which features Martin McGuinness' first question time. We could not broadcast it live this afternoon because of Wimbledon. I don't think viewers would have forgiven us for replacing Maria Sharapova with the DFM.

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When I arrived at Stormont this morning one of the notices on the video screen in the Great Hall caught my eye. there amongst the list of school groups visiting, it said "13:00 Mr G Brown - Private Tour". I quickly scanned the security staff to detect any heightened state of alert. But 13:00 came and went with no helicopters on the lawn. So either Mr G Brown is more discreet than his predecessor, or it was a different Mr G Brown. My money is on the latter.

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I've just interviewed Edwin Poots for tomorrow's Inside Politics. I caught up with the Culture Minister before he headed for a plane to Washington D.C. to open a Titanic Exhibition linked to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Seven ministers are heading out to America for the Festival which features the culture of NI alongside the Mekong Delta. Edwin denied the trips were a junket, although come to think of it he only came up with reasons why four of the seven ministers ought to be there. Would there have been such an uptake on the trip if the Festival had not been taking place in the US capital, but in the Mekong Delta circa 1963?

I couldn't let the programme go without exploring Edwin's reaction to Nigel Dodds' criticism that developing the Maze stadium would depend on unionists acceding to the creation of a shrine to IRA hunger strikers. The minister argues that the preservation order already placed on an H block and the medical wing where Bobby Sands died invalidates his party colleague's argument.

We also get the minister's frank reaction to a hint from the dissident former DUP councillor Robin Stirling that a new anti-deal unionist party could be formed in the next 6 months.

Sadly a statement from Alliance's Kieran McCarthy noting the Culture Minister's reluctance to attend GAA matches came in too late for our recording. Kieran said that as Opposition Culture spokesman and a keen GAA fan he would be only too happy to attend matches in the Minister's place in order to ensure that GAA is given fair treatment by the Assembly.

If I had been aware of this I could not only have cross questioned the minister on this point, but also touched him for any tickets going begging.... GAA, Soccer, Cricket...I'm not fussy...

P.S. My producer Robin Sheeran noted that the Minister was wearing a pair of tartan socks. The interview was conducted in the studio normally used by Stephen Nolan. Robin wondered whether this might be the first time a pair of jock socks had been worn in the home of the shock jock...

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With Peter Hain expected to pack his bags next week, we imagined that his successor would be more bland. And then along came the Lord Ashdown story, putting the Secretary of State's job at the centre of a political maelstrom over in Westminster. But the Lib Dem peer turned Gordon Brown down, aware that to say yes would have caused mayhem amongst Lib Dem ranks.

A few immediate thoughts - we have all assumed Peter Hain would be moved in the re-shuffle, but this confirms it. Whichever Labour politician gets offered the job will now be dogged by the knowledge that he or she wasn't Gordon's first choice.

If the future Prime Minister is dangling the keys to Hillsborough under people's noses, it also presumably means that he hasn't decided at this stage to merge the NIO with the Scottish and Welsh offices. So it looks like it will exist as a separate entity at least until the transfer of policing and justice powers is completed. So maybe Sinn Fein's John O'Dowd, who today put out a statement arguing that scrapping the NIO could release millions for frontline services, will have to wait a little longer.

If Lord Ashdown had taken the job, of course, he would probably have had to abandon his role as Chair of the Strategic Parades Review. Would this have concerned Gordon Brown? Or did the future PM even know Lord Ashdown was doing the job?

By the way I didn't get to blog on yesterday's joint appearance by Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness in front of the snappily named Committee for the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister. After a creaky start in which the First Minister read out a text full of incomprehensible civil service speak, the questions and answers were quite interesting and the body language between the two principals extremely relaxed.

Yesterday's news headlines concerned topics like Captain Nairac, the appointment of a Victims Commissioner and the alarming trend in teenage suicides. But given the Rathlin theme we have been developing in recent times, it's worth recording that Ian Paisley is optimistic about funding for a new ferry service from Ballycastle to Scotland and Martin McGuinness offered to be a "co-captain". The First Minister wasn't convinced that the Deputy First would be able to steer around Rathlin.

On this topic 大象传媒 Newsline is broadcasting live tonight and this lunchtime from Rathlin - the first live TV broadcasts from the island. No truth to the rumours that Robert the Bruce's original spider will be making a special guest appearance.

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On Monday night, as Alex Salmond, Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness were tucking into a formal dinner, I got a tip off that two more lap top computers had gone missing from Stormont. This followed the theft of two laptops reported on this blog on the 4th June. The brand new lap tops in question belonged to the Alliance member Sean Neeson and went missing from his party's offices.

It looked like the Stormont sneak thief had made a return visit. The police were called and dusted down the Alliance office for fingerprints. People were searched as they left Parliament Buildings in case they were trying to smuggle the lap tops away. But nothing turned up.

Until the next day that is when Sean Neeson's colleague Kieran McCarthy enquired what the fuss had been about. Not, he presumed, the two lap tops he had locked away in a cupboard for safe keeping?

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When the First Minister (ours that is) started talking about Rathlin island, I knew it was only a matter of time before Robert the Bruce and his spider would get a mention. Ian Paisley was in the Senate welcoming the Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, and reflected on the fact that his constituency covered Rathlin, "at times an island of Scotland, at times an island of Ulster and Ireland". Then our First Minister reminded us that next weekend marked the 700th anniversary of Robert the Bruce's stay on the island. And of course that's where he is meant to have noticed the spider, trying, trying and trying again to weave its web.

Patience has been a political virtue both for the SNP and the DUP, who have spent long years waiting in the wings. Alex Salmond joked that he'd meant to ask Ian Paisley for Rathlin back, as it might come in handy should he have to go into hiding in the future. But, despite the growing Stormont Edinburgh accord, there's no sign of the island being handed over anytime soon.

Once the Rathlin Island peace talks ended, the Ministers got on to other things. Corporation tax: Mr Salmond argues, somewhat contentiously, that the three devolved nations working together will get further on this one than NI on its own. University fees: A meeting is promised between Sir Reg Empey and his Scottish counterpart to address the situation whereby students from the Republic won't pay fees at Scottish universities but students from NI will. Joint Ministerial Committees: Mr Salmond wants these structures revived. They would bring Scottish, NI, and Welsh ministers together with their London counterparts, possibly to the chagrin of Gordon Brown. Mr Salmond also supports a revitalised British Irish council.

Maybe as a dry run the Scottish, Welsh and NI Enviroment Minister Arlene Foster attended a meeting in London today with David Milliband to discuss climate change. Mr Milliband apparently signalled this could be a six monthly ocurrence.

Back at Stormont the two First and one Deputy First Ministers found themselves holding shinty and hurling shirts, donated by Scottish and NI schools which have been playing each other in a joint rules match. Ian Paisley took an Extra Large one, but I didn't see him try it on.

The first meeting of the British Irish Council is due sometime next month. Come to think of it, it still hasn't got a proper headquarters. How about a certain cave on Rathlin island?

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Cyclists all over the world are getting in shape for next month's Tour De France, and Stormont is no exception. Who would you put your money on to win, the DUP or Sinn Fein?

Assembly members took part in a cycling event outside Parliament Buidlings this morning. It was part of Bike Week 2007, raising funds for Action Cancer.

My spy (our reporter Natasha Sayee to be precise) tells me that junior minister Ian Paisley Jr. beat Education Minister Catriona Ruane in a quick sprint down the hill. However if this was really the Tour De France I'd put my money on Catriona being able to read the French road signs.

Don't bet, however, on the Transport Minister Conor Murphy. Promotional literature talked of him leading assembly members up the hill, but I gather he had some problems with his gears so had difficulty keeping up.

I'm told our presenter Noel Thompson was also out there on his regular ride. I have to admit I was busy catching up on my second breakfast in the Stormont canteen.

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Well I did ask her one question about flooded schools in East Belfast, so I think that justifies the corny title.

The Education Minister Ms Ruane is my guest on Inside Politics this weekend. She has interesting things to say about preventing teenage suicides. She also hints that the Education Boards may have their life prolonged, as the April 2008 timetable for the creation of a new Single Education Authority is proving hard to meet.

But on the key question of academic selection and the replacement for the 11 plus the interview is notable for the sparsity, not the content, of the minister's answers. And I see Sammy Wilson claims 36 grammar schools are already preparing their own entrance exams.

Oh, and I also ask Catriona if she agrees with her colleague Eoin O'Broin that Gerry Adams put up a weak performance on TV during the Irish election leaders debate.

On an entirely different topic, I've written a piece for the main website about Alex Salmond's visit to Stormont on Monday and the interesting dynamics which could develop between Belfast and Edinburgh. It should be published over the weekend.

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Our two action men junior ministers Ian Paisley Jr and Gerry Kelly have been pictured launching a comic intended to promote children's rights. The "Super Six" comic features super heroes who use their powers to fight for a better world for the kids. Named by children themselves, the heroes are called Herbie Healthy, Sophie Safe, Archie Achiever, Emer the Eco Girl, Donna Does-a-lot and Rory Rights.

Are any of these doppelgangers for our new ministers? Or are there better nick-names out there for our "Super 14"?

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Like many motorists, I had an eventful journey to work this morning, trying to steer my car through the choppy waters lapping over all arts and parts of the Strangford constituency. Fortunately, I didn't stall nor did I need to call for assistance from the Roads Service or indeed their minister Conor Murphy. Fortunately, I might add, because according to the DUP's Simon Hamilton, Mr Murphy doesn't know where Strangford is. Simon Hamilton deduces this because in a recent reply to a written question about the poor state of the roads in Strangford, the Minister waxed lyrical about two new schemes in Donaghadee and Millisle. Both towns are in neighbouring North Down.

Not to worry, I am sure a quick tour around Strangford can be arranged for the minister, with Jim Shannon providing the tour bus commentary in Ulster Scots.

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The Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond is on Hearts and Minds tonight, ahead of his visit to Stormont on Monday. He is planning to travel to Northern Ireland courtesy of Whoosh, a Polish airline which has just started up flights between Dundee and Belfast. It's definitely a new Europe..

Just before the First and Deputy First Ministers meet the Scottish First Minister to discuss a Celtic Confederacy, the Deputy First Minister is meeting a group of Canadian Native Americans to discuss the Haudenosaunee or Iroquois confederacy. The Native American "Clan mothers" are veterans of battles with the Taser armed Ontario State Police over what they regard as the illegal annexation of their land.

I am sure there are all kinds of interesting historical analogies to be drawn. But for now I don't know whether to watch "Braveheart" or "The Last of the Mohicans" to prepare for what I may have to report next Monday.

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Peter Robinson must be the envy of fellow MPs. Bad luck to have your constituency hit by flash floods. But good luck to be the Finance Minister, able to put your hand in your pocket to alleviate some of the hardship. Of course six to eight council areas have been affected, and the Environment Minister Arlene Foster will have to distribute the new 拢5 million flooding disaster fund fairly between them. But it's a fact that East Belfast bore the brunt, and Mr Robinson must be happy that restoring devolution has meant that he can do more than just complain about his constituents' plight.

The Finance Minister is less happy about what he regards as the "direct rule mindset" of some of his fellow ministers who he believes approach every problem on their patch by asking for a handout. He thinks that instead
of giving a knee jerk response to every lobby group and demanding cash, ministers should come up with an imaginative solution. Such as? Well Finance Department sources point to the sale of the Crossnacreevy agricultural research site by Sinn Fein's Michelle Gildernew as an ingenious approach to solving a problem over funding slurry tanks, despite criticism from the Ulster Farmers Union.

So Peter Robinson thinks Michelle did okay, even though his former colleague Jim Allister accused her of selling off the Agriculture Department's family silver.

On a wider level, the Finance Minister warns of inevitable tensions between social based priorities and economic growth and points out that the Irish Republic suffered some short term pain in order to deliver long term gain. With no sign of a Gordon Brown pot of gold, this sounds like a warning of some tough times ahead, whether or not this monsoon weather continues.

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Yesterday Stormont sweltered in the heat. Today, like the rest of East Belfast, it took a pummelling from the rain. the benefit of being on top of a hill is that it cuts down the risk of flooding. You might have thought if anyone needed to worry it would be us journalists who are quartered like sewer rats in the basement. But we had the last laugh - the bits of Parliament Buildings which actually got flooded were on the fourth and third floors, courtesy of a leaky roof. At one point, the Deputy Speaker John Dallat warned the politicians that the torrential rain had affected the fire alarms, so MLAs should not rush out of the building, where they would get soaked.

You might have thought the change of weather would make yesterday's talk of shedding jackets redundant. But the Ulster Unionist Ken Robinson returned to the topic. He claimed to have seen a female MLA in the chaber holding not just a handbag, which he accepted as a reasonable accessory, but also a sizeable piece of luggage. Was there not a rule, the East Antrim MLA enquired, that MLAs should not bring large bags into the chamber.

On being told there is such a rule, Mr Robinson warned that in considering relaxing the Stormont dresscode MLAS "must not let other things creep in which could embarass the safety of members in the chamber".

He obviously has a serious point, but I couldn't help wondering which embarrassing things might start creeping around the chamber.

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As I left Parliament Buildings this evening an Ulster Unionist berated me for being too generous towards Ian Paisley. On Stormont Live, Jim Fitzpatrick asked me for a rating out of ten for the First Minister's First Question Time. I gave him 7 and a half, reflecting that he had his hits and his misses.

The hits were a good put down on Danny Kennedy, when the Ulster Unionist deputy leader tried to emphasise his closeness to Martin McGuinness, "a self confessed IRA commander". Dr Paisley said a "man in a glass house shouldn't throw stones". His second best hit was scored against Sinn Fein's Barry McElduff who complained about the failure to set an exact date for a meeting of the North South Ministerial Council. After a quick word with his son Ian Paisley Junior, the First Minister responded that the Executive was waiting for the formation of a government in Dublin after an election in which Mr McElduff's party "didn't do very well". "Where have you been?" he asked the West Tyrone MLA. It reminded me of one time when the DUP leader asked me "who are you, Rumpelstilstkin?"

His biggest miss, however, came in failing to answer questions from the SDLP's Thomas Burns and Patsy McGlone. Obviously keyed up for a question about Ian Paisley Jr.'s recent comments about gays, the First Minister trotted out a pre-packaged reply even though the two SDLP MLAs had in fact cross questioned him about old quotes from his son rubbishing the role of junior ministers.

So 7 and a half out of ten? No doubt if I had been leaving the building in the company of a DUP member he would have told me I'd been too harsh. I'd be interested to know if any of you watched Stormont Live on 大象传媒1 this afternoon and what your verdict was.

However, I have a horrible suspicion that the main sentiment will be annoyance from fans of afternoon TV that we were on at all. At least noone got killed in the chamber - I think the programme we replaced was "Murder, She Wrote".

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The no jacket required brigade scored a tactical victory this afternoon when the Deputy Speaker Francie Molloy relaxed the usual dress code as Stormont broiled. With a long hot summer ahead, Naomi Long argues that any review of the dress code should be extended to cover female MLAs.

A glance around the chamber reveals that the designation system defines more than your views on the border. Nationalists are all in their shirt sleeves. Unionists insist on keeping their jackets on. The Alliance leader David Ford has been glimpsed with his sleeves rolled up.

There is clearly room for extended academic research here. Is there a biological or cultural explanation? Is unionist blood temperature cooler? Or is this all about "old decency"?

" Sure me father wore it as a lad in the grand old days of yore
And it's on the 11th I love to wear, the Hugo Boss jacket and tie set my father wore".

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Sinn Fein's Alec Maskey is planning a heist. He wants a bank emptied of its contents. In this case the bank in question is in Stranmillis in South Belfast, and the contents are bottles.

Republicans have been accused of being too efficient at emptying banks in the past (e.g. Christmas 2004) and Alec has some experience in this activity himself as a teenager.

However, when it comes to bottle banks, the South Belfast MLA wants the Council to do the job more frequently, or, failing that, to install extra bottle banks.

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It's a sultry day at Stormont and the perspiring MLAs are obviously in rebellious mode. Last month, Sinn Fein's Barry McElduff asked whether the politicians had to keep their jackets on. Today the SDLP's Pat Ramsey joined the shirt sleeves brigade, raising a point of order with the Speaker. Willie Hay promised to monitor the temperatures, but in the meantime the MLAs are continuing to bake in their jackets.

Despite this, the politicians are appearing to keep their cool, even though the topic under discussion is the vexed matter of domestic rates.

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The DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson is my guest for this weekend's Inside Politics. I use the programme to explore the role of his Assembly and Executive Review Committee which is meant to be examining possible changes to the number of MLAs and Stormont departments, as well as reporting back by the end of February on what preparations have been made for transferring justice powers to local politicians.

The Lagan Valley MP was one of the most vocal opponents of the Sexual Orientation Regulations. So I also question him about a judgement this week by the Lord Chief Justice refusing to over turn the law banning unmarried couples from adopting.

Since January the Health Department has had proposals ready to change the law to bring it into line with the rest of the UK. This would enable both unmarried and same sex couples to adopt. The consultation, conducted by the former Health Minister Paul Goggins, received thousands of objections from Christians opposed to gay couples adopting, but Mr Goggins' department rejected their objections.

The current Health Minister Michael McGimpsey is "aware that this is an issue on which there are varying views and will give it his full consideration before deciding how to proceed.鈥� Which means he knows it could be a tricky one. True to form, Jeffrey Donaldson tells me his party will vigorously oppose any change in the law along the lines supported by Mr Goggins.

Coming after Ian Jr.'s "repulsed" comments, will adoption be the next litmus test for the DUP's attitude towards gay people?

P.S. Just as I was about to begin my interview with Jeffrey D., I discovered a pair of shoes under the studio desk. I suspect they belong to a Mr Stephen Nolan. Is he spending the weekend padding around in his socks? I think we should be told.

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Inexplicably I have not managed to mention Jim Shannon in the blog this week.

This, despite the fact that the DUP MLA for Strangford continued to speak in Ulster Scots in the chamber, most recently on the topic of rural post offices "we ir noo a devolved 鈥楽emmelie at bes fit tae maak a differ an鈥� pley a baag pairt no onie tae houl oantae oor Poast Offaices bit tae mak鈥� thaim betther.".

Not only that, but Mr Shannon sponsored a Games Fair event which saw a Williamite hussar and two white chargers at the bottom of the Stormont stairs, and the Environment Minister Arlene Foster posing with a hawk on her arm. So despite previous insinuations that Mr Shannon might view birds of prey as unfair competition for shooting enthusiasts in their common endeavour of bagging grouse, he has beaten all other legislators in the competition to bring the predators to Stormont.

The last straw, though, and the one which convinced me I had to rectify this omission was a question from Mr Shannon to the Environment Minister on the topic of rotting seaweed. Jim tells me he is hopeful that the Environment and Heritage Service will soon allow people at Ballyferris Beach to clear the seaweed by hand, if not by tractor.

One last plea - I know you've brought the birds of prey to Stormont, Jim, but don't feel you have to bring the rotting seaweed.

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The main political news today is Peter Robinson's decision to stop giving Sinn Fein money in order to directly employ their own drivers. One can imagine why republican ministers didn't in the past want to use civil service drivers. Now, unless the Finance Minister's decision is overturned, they will have to use the government car pool drivers or pay for their own. It could lead to a few good anecdotes along the lines of "I had that Martin McGuinness in the back of the car once..."

It reminds me of one freezing day in January 2005 when I was reporting on a Sinn Fein delegation getting a supposed "dressing down" from Tony Blair at Chequers. The encounter took place in the wake of the Northern Bank robbery and the murder of Robert McCartney.

I wanted to catch Gerry Adams for an Inside Politics interview and the only way to do it was to get into his car on his way back to Heathrow. Much to the bemusement of the waiting camera crews, I jumped into the vehicle as if I was part of the Sinn Fein delegation.

We then conducted our 15 minute interview with a bit of difficulty as the Sinn Fein people carrier swung around endless tight corners on the narrow roads through the Chiltern Hills. After finishing, I asked to be dropped off at the next village we came though. Gerry Adams' press officer conveyed the request to the driver, then the Sinn Fein President added "drop him off by all means, but there's no need to slow down". I think he was joking...

On the topic of ministerial cars, I am told a new fleet is on order and they are Skodas. At least they're not Trabants.

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The Ulster Unionists are notching up all the firsts so far as Assembly pyrotechnics go. First David McNarry claimed the prize for first walk out on the Culture Committee. Now Fred Cobain has beaten everyone else to the punch by demanding the resignation of an individual Executive Minister, just a month after the Executive was formed.

Fred is the Chair of the Regional Development Committee and his gripe is that he believes the Regional Development Minister Conor Murphy cut his Committee out of any role in drawing up the terms of reference for a new review of water charges.

The Minister reckons the Committee were just too slow about getting their act together, after having been informed last month of the timescale for launching the water reform review. The Newry and Armagh MP isn't in any mood to step down.

Not just that, but Mr Murphy's party colleague and Regional Development Committee member Raymond McCartney has accused Fred Cobain of "gross incompetence" and "narrow party politicking".

So it looks like Stormont and its Committees are operating pretty much as expected, then...

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Most of the attention on today's public meeting of the Policing Board focussed on the questions directed by the new boys and girl from Sinn Fein to the Chief Constable. But I was struck by some comments from the Ulster Unionist Basil McCrea seeking a guarantee from Sir Hugh Orde that all members of the Board will get exactly the same information. This was obviously a reference to the fact that the DUP Policing Board member Jeffrey Donaldson has been made a privy counsellor. As such the DUP expects they will get privileged access to security information which they will then draw upon in deciding when the time is right to approve the transfer of policing and justice powers. Basil is worried that he will be kept in the dark.

Sir Hugh promised to update everyone on the Policing Board equally but ran for cover when he saw politics looming, arguing that the devolution of justice was a matter for the "big white house on the hill". Jeffrey Donaldson chimed in, reminding everyone that the main vehicle these days for discussing the devolution of justice is not the Policing Board but the Assembly and Executive Review Committee chaired by, guess who, the Lagan Valley MP.

This is due to report by the end of February on whether the assembly is likely to request the transfer of these sensitive powers in time for the target date of May 1st 2008. This date is close to Sinn Fein's heart, but earlier this week the DUP's Ian Paisley Junior appeared to blow this out of the water by ruling out the transfer of justice until the next Assembly. That means 2011. Asked why, he says because there won't be sufficient community confidence until then.

Ian Jr.'s comments appear to render Jeffrey's Committee report a bit academic. But then I'm not a Privy Counsellor and nor is Basil McCrea, so who are we to judge?

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You more often hear Ian Paisley quoting Martin Luther than Martin Luther King. After all, didn't People's Democracy model their 1968 civil rights march, attacked by unionists at Burntollet, on King's 1965 Selma to Montgomery march?

But yesterday the new look Dr Paisley quoted the great civil rights leader's famous Lincoln Memorial speech when he told MLAs "like another King, I have had a dream. I have had a dream in which children can play together, in which people can work together, and in which families can live happily side by side, regardless of their community or ethnic background or their religious beliefs."

Genuinely impressive, although I wondered about that phrase "like another King". Isn't the monarch a Queen? Or is Dr Paisley considering making the First Minister's position hereditary?

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A bit belated this, but I notice that a recent edition of the Mourne Observer quotes SDLP activists in South Down as indicating that Eddie McGrady will defend his seat in the next general election. His logic, allegedly, is that if Ian Paisley can be First Minister at 81 there is no reason he cannot continue at Westminster. If this holds true, it won't bother his party colleague, the Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie but may unsettle the Education Minister Sinn Fein's Catriona Ruane. She must have hoped that a place at the Executive table would boost her chances of taking South Down next time around.

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After the falling out between the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Culture Committee reported earlier in this blog it seems that calm has been restored. Sinn Fein's Barry McElduff and the Ulster Unionist David McNarry met this afternoon for peace talks in the Assembly library. They didn't solve their differences over an inquiry into the latest round of consultation on an Irish language bill, but they agreed to disagree. Fortunately neither subscribe to the old Nazi dictum "when I hear the word Culture, I reach for my revolver".

On the topic of the Irish language consultation, officials are now wading through an estimated 4000 responses. Last time the balance of views was 93% in favour of an Irish Language Act. But this time both unionists and nationalists have clearly got organised. One unionist boasted to me that his office has processed 400 responses - it will be interesting to see what the balance is when officials work their way through the avalanche of incoming mail.

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The veteran Ulster Unionist MLA Robert Coulter asked if he had to declare an interest when rising to speak about the need for a Commissioner for Older People this afternoon. Robert Coulter is slipstreaming that other North Antrim unionist, Ian Paisley, in the race to be father of the Stormont house. He wondered whether both he and the First Minister would be barred from applying for the job if a Commissioner post is created (the answer is almost certainly yes, unless they stand down from their elected jobs).

Revd. Coulter was just getting into his stride embarking on the story of one elderly woman who.....when the young whipper snapper Deputy Speaker David McClarty cut him off in his stride as "out of time". However his party colleague Basil McCrea rushed to his aid using his speaking time to finish the anecdote which concerned an elderly woman being robbed by her own daughter.

Robert Coulter may look venerable, but he lives his life in the fast lane. An enthusiast for vintage motorbikes, he's the Ulster Unionists' silver haired Easy Rider.

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I know this blog is compulsive reading, but I hope that wasn't the reason someone "half inched" four lap tops from Parliament Buildings on Friday. The brand new lap tops were samples which the Assembly got whilst it was trying to determine which models to purchase. If you know where they are watch out - the PSNI is on your trail.

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I've always thought of the Stormont Speaker, Willie Hay, as a gentle soul, but someone must have put something in his tea this morning. During the proceedings shortly after noon he swatted away an attempted point of order on Ian Paisley Jr's "gay" comments by the SDLP's Dolores Kelly. Similar short shrift was given to Alliance's Kieran McCarthy. Then when the Ulster Unionist David Burnside tried to make what his erstwhile colleague Jeffrey Donaldson described as a "supercilious" point about policing and justice, the Speaker weighed in by reminding Mr Burnside that he had been a member in another place (i.e Westminster) but for a shorter time than he has been a member at Stormont. This reference to Mr Burnside's defeat at the hands of Mr Hay's DUP colleague William McCrea came rather close to party politics, but the new macho Willie got away with it.

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General support in the Stormont chamber this morning for our hard working farmers, and demands that there should be no delay to their "Single Farm Payments". But will the Agriculture Department continue to publicise exactly how much our sons and daughters of the soil get from the EU? They did so under direct rule but some farmers were incensed about what they viewed as a breach of their privacy. Some farmers' representatives hope to persuade the devolved government to end the publication. The word from the department is that publishing who gets what is considered EU best practice, but no decision has been taken about future publication of the subsidies.

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There's an old joke about a plane coming in to land at Aldergrove. The pilot tells his passengers to get ready to land and to re-adjust their watches as the "local time here is 1690".

Is that what was running through the mind of Lord Kilclooney (aka John Taylor) when he enquired if the government would clarify

"(a) how many time zones there are within the European Union, and (b) which nations belong to each of these time zones; and whether they will take steps to ensure that this information is widely known and understood"?

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The Queen is throwing a garden party in Coleraine. The guest list includes Ian Paisley Junior who has put out a statement criticising Sinn Fein for not bothering to go, even though the SDLP's Margaret Ritchie is amongst the guests. Ian Jr says "the sooner republicans embrace the personalities of the Crown the better."

Sinn Fein's Martina Anderson has responded by acknowledging the importance of Royal visits to unionists, but telling Ian Jr he would be better off using his time by apologising to gays and lesbians for his recent comments.

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I've just interviewed the Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie for tomorrow's inside Politics. She talks about Ian Paisley's comments on gays and hits back at Peter Robisnon's criticism of her for voting in favour of 拢80 million worth of expenditure on Free Personal Care in next year's budget. She's also interesting on the topic of money for the loyalist UPRG (her basic message is "Your money or Your Guns!"). There's also an indication of forthcoming regulation of charities here which may well include the churches under its umbrella.

And of course, given it's probably the biggest topic in her in tray we talk about the need for affordable housing, against a backdrop of a new study showing house prices are 45% higher than they were 12 months ago.

The Minister wants to do something for young couples who can't get on the property laddder. Couples, perhaps, like Peter Hain's son and daughter-in-law, who, the Secretary of State revealed, are still living with their grandparents because they can't afford to buy in London.

Amongst other things, Ms Ritchie is considering what public land could be turned over for social housing. Perhaps the 拢85 million Hillsborough castle could be divided up into apartments and one reserved for the young Hains, should they care to quit the overcrowded metropolis and move to the new vibrant Northern Ireland the older Hain has helped to mould.

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