THE British and Irish governments appeared to be converging last night on proposals for a referendum to be held north and south of the Border inviting support for democratic principles band an end to violence.
There is continuing speculation at Westminster that the wording of a referendum question would be drawn from Paragraph 10 of the Downing Street Declaration. The referendum could take placed on the same day as any elections in the North.
However, London and Dublin sources say there is "much work still to be done" to agree a communique for an Anglo Irish summit still expected to take place next Wednesday.
Senator George Mitchell, who chaired the international body on decommissioning, visited Dublin yesterday for a 75 minute meeting with the three Government party leaders and the Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen. Mr Mitchell said afterwards President Clinton wanted to be helpful to the peace process, but the US administration would not intrude on decisions properly the role of the Irish and British governments and other parties.
Meanwhile, the UUP leader, Mr David Trimble, is understood to have told Mr Major he will not agree to "proximity talks" proposed by Dublin ahead of elections in the North. And as the Ulster Unionists and the SDLP battled to shape the political agenda, a senior nationalist source told The Irish Times the SDLP retained the option to boycott any elections called by the British government.
As Mr Major and Mr Trimble held their second meeting of the week at Westminster yesterday, the Ulster Unionists stepped up the pressure on the Prime Minister. A source suggested the party's nine MPs might vote against Mr Major in next Monday's crucial Commons vote on the Scott report. Earlier indications had been that they would abstain, but no final decision will be taken until Monday.
In the Commons yesterday, the Northern Ireland Secretary, Sir Patrick Mayhew, suggested the government would not be able to name a particular date on which all party talks would start. It is understood that the setting of a date is a central Dublin requirement.
Sir Patrick said: "What we cannot do is to identify a particular date as being the date with certainty upon which that will start." However, he indicated talks could start within a matter of days or weeks after an election.
In a letter to Mr Gerry Adams, the Sinn Fein president, last night, Mr Major's private secretary wrote: "The Prime Minister believes a framework leading directly, and within an agreed timeframe, to these negotiations can be achieved at an early date through an elective process".
It seemed clear last night that Mr Bruton and Mr Major are unlikely to be able to agree the form of any "elective process" in the North by next Wednesday.
The most optimistic scenario painted by one Irish source was that a communique might:
. Commit the two governments to the principle of a referendum, inviting public support for democratic principles and an end to the use of violence for political ends, and
. Initiate a fresh wave of intensive talks involving the two governments and the constitutional parties about the path to all party negotiations, including the part that an elective process or elected body might play in bringing that about.
But whatever form those talks might take, the signs from Whitehall are that they will not include Sinn Fein. Earlier in the week the SDLP appeared satisfied that proximity talks could involve Sinn Fein, since both governments had said contact with the party could be maintained at official level. However, informed sources say this would not wash with the Conservative Parliamentary Party and that Mr Major has set his face against the idea.
In Dublin yesterday, Mr Adams said he was "not optimistic" at this stage that a political package would be put together for him to take to the IRA to re establish the ceasefire. He was speaking after meeting the Fianna Fail leader, Mr Bertie Ahern.