Britain:Interest has heightened in Gordon Brown's new cabinet with the DUP at odds over the post of Northern Ireland secretary, writes Frank Millar.
Leading DUP figures appear to be at odds over the position of a Northern Ireland secretary in Gordon Brown's new cabinet as interest heightens in the incoming British prime minister's plans for further constitutional reform.
Liberal Democrat leader Menzies Campbell ruled out the prospect of any members of his party serving in Mr Brown's first cabinet, to be appointed after the new Labour leader assumes power next Wednesday.
At the same time the Lib Dems again declared their enthusiasm for working with Mr Brown on "a cross-party basis" in a possible new constitutional convention.
Among other things, this might be tasked to overhaul the royal prerogative powers - including the prime ministerial power to declare war - and to make the UK government more accountable to parliament at Westminster.
With speculation rife as to the candidates for cabinet promotion and relegation or dismissal, DUP MP Nigel Dodds told The Irish Times he would like to see Mr Brown reinstate the position of a full-time Northern Ireland secretary. Provided "the lines of responsibility" were clearly drawn between Westminster and the devolved Northern Ireland Assembly - which he was "sure" they would be - Mr Dodds said: "My view is that it's better to have someone at the cabinet table fighting for your interests."
The Stormont Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister added that this would be "especially" the case when it came to the negotiation of the British government's comprehensive spending review.
However, Mr Dodds' position appeared to conflict with that of Ian Paisley Jnr, the Junior Minister in the Office of First and Deputy First Minister at Stormont. Following a report on UTV earlier this week, Mr Paisley Jnr confirmed his expectation that - whatever cabinet appointments are initially announced next week - the new prime minister would probably eventually appoint "a minister responsible for all the regions" embracing Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Mr Paisley jnr said he thought Mr Brown might move in the autumn to appoint a junior minister or ministers at cabinet office level, answering directly to him "as prime minister for every region of the United Kingdom".
Asked if the DUP leadership had already agreed there should be no Northern Ireland secretary with cabinet rank, Mr Paisley jnr replied: "We never supported the idea of a secretary of state.
"That was something foisted upon us when they took away our [ pre-1972, Northern Ireland] parliament in the first place."
In what some commentators regarded as a classic example of Labour "spin" suggesting that the incoming Brown administration would be "less tribal" in its approach to politics, the Guardian newspaper yesterday "splashed" a front-page report claiming that Mr Brown and Sir Menzies had met to consider a plan for one or two Liberal Democrats to join the new post-Blair cabinet.
Apparent uncertainty as to whether the appointees would be MPs or peers also raised speculation that one such Lib Dem minister might be Lord (Paddy) Ashdown, the former party leader. However, while confirming that Mr Brown and Sir Menzies had met for talks on a range of issues, Sir Menzies' spokesman, Edward Davey, said the Lib Dems were not prepared to give up their independent voice of opposition.