Bread and Butter Politics
The new Secretary of State teetered on the brink of one of those first day banana skins when talking about his convivial relations with nationalists and republicans. He said he'd been to some of the deepest and wildest parts of Northern Ireland in the company of Sinn Fein politicians. When asked by my colleague Gareth Gordon if that meant he regarded the places Sinn Fein represents as deep and wild, he at first defended himself by arguing that Forkhill felt very different, then steadied himself by claiming that Crossmaglen makes the best bread (McNamees according to Eamonn Mallie).
Not for the first time in local politics (remember Ian Paisley's fadge), breaking bread broke the ice, and the SoS made off, refusing to disclose the exact day of David Cameron's visit next week.
On the cuts, Mr Paterson said Northern Ireland would have to take its share of the efforts to reduce the UK budget deficit. However he repeated his view that NI could be designated a special enterprise zone and that a report will be produced examining the possibility of devolving powers over corporation tax to Stormont.
All the Stormont parties think a cut in corporation tax would be a good idea, but during the election the DUP and Sinn Fein argued this should be accomplished without any accompanying cut to the local budget. The Conservatives and Unionists responded that this would be in breach of the relevant European ruling (known as the Azores judgment) and that any advantage which accrues from lower regional corporation tax would have to be paid for by cuts in the regional budget.
So it's not something for nothing. Last month the We Won't Pay Campaign joined up the dots, arguing that Last Tuesday, the Finance Minister Sammy Wilson sounded far from convinced that lower corporation tax would be a So even though the Assembly might get the power, will they use it?
Another interesting aspect of today's news conferences included an apparent softening in the Conservatives and Unionists' manifesto pledge to ban double jobbing. Mr Paterson said he would like to come to a voluntary agreement with the local parties to end dual mandates, but reserved the right to legislate if necessary.
When the First and Deputy First Ministers came out to talk to us they gave a cautious welcome to the corporation tax plan. Peter Robinson described such a move as advantageous but wondered whether it would survive further scrutiny by the Treasury.
The DUP leader acknowledged there had been bruising exchanges with the Tories during the election campaign. But he expressed confidence that as mature politicians they could all move on.
One of the most striking moments was when Eamonn Mallie asked Mr Robinson about his defeat in East Belfast and Martin McGuinness leapt in to shift the focus. The Deputy First Minister said he didn't think this was the most important aspect of the recent election - instead he wanted to draw attention to the defeat of the "rejectionist" TUV.
After arguing in public at Limavady, we have now moved to a situation in which Martin McGuinness is acting as Peter Robinson's press minder. However the DUP leader was ready to answer the question, admitting he had suffered a personal disappointment, but going on to defend his party's general strategy.
The Stormont political double act went on to offer the Downing Street double act a few tips about partnership politics and coalitions. The First Minister said Messrs Cameron and Clegg should enjoy their first six months as they would find they have competing demands as time goes on. The FM and DFM quipped that if the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats hit a rocky patch they could head over to Hillsborough Castle as a suitable venue to sort out their differences.
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