New era, new Paisley

Hello again. So, Tony Blair has bowed out of domestic politics.

Like most political junkies I channel-hopped my way through several hours of coverage and there was one bit that really stood out for me.

The final exchange between Ian Paisley and Tony Blair in the House of Commons was remarkable and gripping.

It featured on all network and local bulletins, but it is worth watching in its entirety - not so much because of what it says about Tony Blair, but because of what it reveals about Ian Paisley.

The following link takes you to the full PMQs but also offers separate jumping off points, including the Paisley contribution.

In Northern Ireland we can forget talk of the Blair Years or the Brown Era.

This is the Paisley Present and it bears little relation to anything that went before.

"This is the Paisley Present and it bears little relation to anything that went before"
Peter Hain has kept a Cabinet post. The Sun predicted his demise and got it wrong.

It would have been rough justice after all he's done on behalf of Gordon Brown - such as help stymie any hopes of a tax break for Northern Ireland.

And even his enemies would have to concede that his "tough love" policy did help force a dynamic towards devolution.

Shaun Woodward returns in his place.

Mr Woodward - a former Tory MP, That's Life producer, and husband of a Sainsbury's heiress - was here before as health minister.

That job's no longer available, and the one he has got isn't the job it used to be either.

So, what are his plans? I'll be trying to find out when the secretary of state joins us on Sunday for his first major interview.

Gordon Brown has made affordable housing a key priority - he has even appointed a minister to do the job and given her rights to attend Cabinet.

Northern Ireland was already ahead of the game with Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie making it her number one priority.

But it could be that the Republic of Ireland is further ahead still - in this week's Politics Show, Rosy heads south of the border in search of solutions.

Robin has more on that here

Thanks for your texts last week: as usual, you can read them on the website.

See you Sunday, Jim

PS - Getting used to life after power is tricky.

You may have seen Tony Blair carrying his own bag from the train station in Sedgefield attempting to get into a silver BMW only to be told that his car was the slightly less luxurious Vauxhall Astra nearby.

It reminded me of a story told by a former Irish government minister.

Some time after the election which dumped his party from government, his fellow ex-minister was waiting at traffic lights.

The lights went green. Next thing he knew, there were horns blaring - "just right," he thought.

"Let's get a move on", he called out.

Then he realised he was the one in the driver's seat and the other motorists were honking at him.