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One of many areas that the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition have had to try and tiptoe their way through is nuclear power.

It's a big issue for our region with plans for up to three new nuclear stations in Cumbria, and another in Hartlepool.

In the election manifestos, there couldn't have been a clearer divide between the Conservatives and Lib Dems.

The Tories said they wanted to press ahead with new nuclear power stations as long as they didn't need public subsidy.

The Liberal Democrats were categorical - no new nuclear.

Yet now one of their number - Chris Huhne - will be in charge of the department charged with introducing a new generation of nuclear power stations. ().

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The Conservatives will be allowed to press ahead with the drafting of a national planning statement which will include new nuclear build.

That will then be put to parliament, at which point a Liberal Democrat spokesperson will be allowed to speak against it.

The Lib Dem MPs will also be free to abstain in the vote on the plans.

But they won't be free to vote against, or turn it into a confidence vote.

It's one of a number of issues where there's some recognition of the Lib Dem point of view without any move to temper the policy.

Realpolitik suggests their votes wouldn't make any difference anyway because most Labour MPs are likely to vote for new nuclear stations and help the Conservatives carry the day.

But will MPs who've campaigned against nuclear power for so many years really be happy to abstain rather than vote against?

It's one of a number of issues where that problem may arise. The agreement promises similar abstentions on the married tax allowance and on tuition fees.

It may be one of the potential flash points in the coalition.

There might be more problems for the nuclear power plans though.

The Conservatives say they must be built without public subsidy. That would be a first, as .

Meanwhile, although there are still some ministerial appointments to come, our region will have to get used to having very few people at the ministerial table.

William Hague is Foreign Secretary of course, but so far there have been no other ministers appointed from our patch.

There's no sign of Westmorland and Lonsdale's Lib Dem Tim Farron, or Scarborough and Whitby Conservative Robert Goodwill yet, both of them were part of their parties' shadow ministerial teams.

And Lord Michael Bates' name has also yet to appear in the ministerial ranks.

We also don't know whether there will be regional ministers, or representatives for Tyneside, Wearside and Teesside as the Conservatives had originally planned.

The lack of northern ministers is almost inevitable given the lack of Lib Dem and Conservative MPs.

But the new administration will have to prove it can listen to the needs of this region, even if it hasn't provided many people for the government benches.

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