The Northern Secretary, Dr John Reid, who makes his first appearance at the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body in Bournemouth on Monday, will, as his predecessors have done, be preaching to the converted. The biannual gathering of backbenchers from Leinster House and Westminster and now Stormont, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Jersey and Guernsey is a very moderate occasion. Heated arguments are rare and voices rarely raised. Even the extremes among its 56 members - the Tory right, the loony left and Sinn FΘin - tend not to round on each other but discuss differences with commendable reasonableness.
This bonhomie can be attributed largely to the fact that the UUP and DUP have boycotted the body since it was established in 1990 because it was set up under the scheme to increase cross-border co-operation. Two seats are kept in readiness for their long overdue arrival and, as happened before, there is hope again that recent political progress in the North might encourage them to send delegates. Although David Ervine and Billy Hutchinson have of late expressed interest in attending, the quota system excludes them in favour of the Alliance Party. Next week the North is represented by the SDLP's John Hume as a Westminster member and a Stormont delegation of three MLAs - Carmel Hanna (SDLP), Barry McElduff (SF) and Sean Neeson (Alliance).
In his recent speech at the University of Liverpool, Reid spoke on the issues of the day - the need for Unionists to engage fully in the political process to avoid the North becoming a "cold house" for them, and the horrors of sectarianism.
He is unlikely to dwell on the same topics on Monday because his audience needs little persuading on these matters. Instead, he is expected to talk about how the two major parliamentary chambers on these islands, the Dβil and the House of Commons, are examples of inclusive democracy which should be studied by the newly established assemblies. As a Scot, he may also speak on the devolution of power to the Scottish parliament and how Stormont could follow suit.