The latest round of cross-party talks to save devolution got underway at Stormont on Wednesday. The last-ditch attempt is supposed to be a more intense round of negotiations led by new Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Karen Bradley.
The jury is out on Mrs Bradley’s abilities to ‘knock heads together’ and with muted feedback from all five main parties who attended on the first couple of days, it is difficult to predict if the next few weeks will reveal a chink of light. It is fair to say however, that in the wake of the resignation of Sinn Féin MP Barry McElduff, the parties have been markedly more restrained in public and on social media platforms. Whether this translates into compromise on key issues in a few weeks’ time remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, and perhaps more interestingly, a small reshuffle of Stormont’s Permanent Secretaries has raised a few eyebrows when it was confirmed that top-level civil servant in the form of Sue Gray, would move from her current role as Director-General of the Propriety and Ethics team in the Cabinet Office, to take over the role of Permanent Secretary in Stormont’s Department of Finance.
It could be argued that this is a strange move for someone who has been described as ‘the most powerful person you’ve never heard of’ and the person who ‘runs’ the entire UK. Ms Gray has effectively ended the careers of three cabinet Ministers including most recently, Damien Green and also Andrew Mitchell of ‘Plebgate’ fame. She is also said to screen political memoirs to ensure they do not cause trouble for the Government. Former Conservative Minister Sir Oliver Letwin is alleged to have said that ‘nothing moves in Whitehall unless Sue says so.’
Why then, would such a powerful figure, right at the centre of the Cabinet Office, and who has enjoyed a fairly low profile to date, decide that a role heading up one of Stormont’s departments is a desirable next move?
Ms Gray does have connections to Northern Ireland – her husband is country and western singer Bill Conlon, and she spent her career break here in the 1980s (who wouldn’t?) running a pub outside Newry.
Having said that, with the formidable reputation she holds, it seems hard to believe that Whitehall are not priming her to become an instrumental figure in keeping NI plc running more smoothly in the absence of a political deal over the next couple of weeks.
Gray’s appointment has led many to speculate that the British Government are now preparing for a prolonged period of Direct Rule. In the absence of locally elected and accountable ministers, and with a £1 billion pot of money to administer, a reliable and steely civil servant will be required to balance the books.