Reshuffle fever abates

Iain Dale reports that the reason Gordon Brown didn't merge the Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland jobs was because he would need to legislate to do so.

A similar problem befell Tony Blair when he tried to abolish the Welsh post some years ago. Only after the Wales Office was placed into what was then the new Department for Constitutional Affairs did No 10 discover numerous statutory references to the Secretary of State for Wales.

(In a legendary cock-up of a reshuffle, the Wales Office itself had briefed that its boss was to be known as the Minister for Wales. The Scotland Office had removed its own nameplate).

I'm not lawyer but I'm not sure the problem is insurmountable. You could use the short-hand description Secretary of State for the Union or Nations Secretary while appointing one person Secretary of State for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Politics is full of unofficial titles - Deputy Prime Minister, anyone - that creep into use, or indeed official titles that are seldom used - First Lord of the Treasury, First Secretary of State.

Perhaps the real reason the merger didn't happen was to do with unfinished business in Northern Ireland and the political damage (to Labour) caused by having a part-time Scottish Secretary.

As things stand, we shall probably have to endure months more of speculation along similar lines in the run-up to the next reshuffle.

United Nations? (2)

The "significant" event came and went, without offering immediate knock-on effects for Wales.

Gordon Brown says he will press ahead to complete devolution to Northern Ireland during the next few days - removing a possible barrier to the merger of the territorial Cabinet roles. The PM said today's report into the IRA could lead to the devolution of policing and justice to Belfast.

The non-devolution of policing and justice has been widely seen as an obstacle to the merger of the territorial jobs in Mr Brown's Government.

Gordon Brown said: "In the next few days, I will use all my efforts, working with the parties in
Northern Ireland, to make sure that the devolution of policing and justice can go ahead and the final stages of the peace process will now be completed, to the better government of Northern Ireland and to the peace and prosperity of the people there."

First Minister Peter Robinson is rather more cautious about today's report - and his approach may yet influence the timing of what is possibly the longest-trailed reshuffle saga in history.

First cuckoo of Spring

Rather like Spring, the first reports of the merger of territorial government departments seem to get earlier each year.

Yesterday's Evening Standard suggested, in its Londoner's Diary column, that the fuss over making Des Browne job-share Defence and Scotland could lead to the much-touted Secretary of State for the Nations taking a seat in Gordon Brown's Cabinet.

This would merge the Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland Offices in Whitehall - an option much-mooted over the years. Peter Hain would presumably be left free to concentrate on Work and Pensions while another Minister looks after Welsh interests.

Tomos Livingstone offers his usual perceptive analysis of developments here.

I seem to have been writing and broadcasting about this since 1999. It's true, the story has been doing the rounds since then, but that doesn't mean it won't come true.

Keep watching, as they used to say at the end of Dragon's Eye.