A price for policing?
The puzzling thing about yesterday's trip by Gordon Brown to Stormont was why he was there at all. Yes, we know that the government is keen to get a justice deal done before the next Westminster election. But the parties traipsed in talking about narrowing the gap on the justice budget and they traipsed out saying much the same. Surely if this is a work in progress it could be left to officials? Don't Prime Ministers (even ones who may be approaching the end of their period in power) come in to seal the deal, not just to beaver away at the details?
Perhaps this is too harsh and today's Downing Street discussions will prove more decisive than is apparent on the surface. But the revelation that the DUP is looking for a series of confidence building measures, not all of which would be welcome so far as republicans are concerned, gives a sense of the complexity of the discussions. Retaining the full time police reserve, reviewing the withdrawal of personal protection weapons or replacing the Parades Commission may build confidence amongst unionists, but is it a price nationalists and republicans will want to pay for the transfer of policing powers?
On a separate matter, the move by South Belfast Ulster Unionists to propose a unionist unity candidate in the constituency has the potential to unravel the UUP's understanding with the Conservatives. The DUP warmly welcomed the initiative but I suspect the UUP leadership will knock the association back.
It's just one of a number of headaches Sir Reg Empey will face in the coming months, as the UUP and the Conservatives try to divide up the electoral spoils. One UUP source suggested to me that the Conservatives were looking for an even 9:9 split of the 18 available seats and accused the Tories of asking for too much.
A number of UUP selection contests have been pushed back - the official explanation is that this will allow candidates diappointed in one seat to enter the fray in another. But I can't help thinking that the UUP's approach right now resembles that of Mr Micawber, living in the hope that if you push off hard decisions (most notably in North Down) "something will turn up."
I'm 
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