The Northern Ireland Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, has said she hopes she will be able to continue in the post long enough to make the peace process work.
Amid speculation of a new role for her in a reshuffle of the British cabinet expected next week, Dr Mowlam said she could never see out the entire peace process as it would take years for people in the North to truly deal with the history of the past.
In Eddisbury in Cheshire, England, where she was campaigning in a by-election, Dr Mowlam said: "I haven't had my fill of Northern Ireland. It's an issue that's difficult and problematic. We have made good progress and I would like to see more."
Dr Mowlam is known to have a poor personal relationship with the UUP leader, Mr David Trimble, and his party members have been campaigning in recent weeks for her to be recalled to London.
The North's First Minister recently said that one of the great difficulties in implementing the Belfast Agreement was the "widespread lack of confidence in the community, particularly among Ulster unionists, with regard to what the Secretary of State will do."
Front-runners to replace her are said to be Mr Paul Murphy, the North's Political Development Minister and Dr Mowlam's deputy, and Mr Peter Mandelson, who would be making a return to the British cabinet after six months on the back benches.