Will Gordon call?

Shockingly early though it was for the more nocturnal of us, I watched the inauguration of Gordon Brown on the BBC today. He was at pains in his speech to emphasise that his was a new regime, that people were tired of "the old politics". Obviously he wants to disassociate himself with the failings of the Blair government; a new-look cabinet may help him give the appearance of a fresh start.

The new PM mentioned the NHS, education, affordable housing... you might forgive a cynic for wondering what he was doing about those things over the past decade, when he was the second most powerful figure in the land. Good luck to him anyway.

Does all this matter much for us in Ireland? RTE certainly seem to think so, since their news coverage tonight is live from the Palace of Westminster. One of the opinion pieces in the Irish Times today frets that Mr. Brown may not pay as much attention to us in little old Ireland as did his predecessor. Engagement with Dublin is vital in terms of the Northern Ireland situation- this has been acknowleged at least since the Anglo-Irish Agreement in 1985-and the opinion of Mr. O'Brien is that Brown is more inclined to go it alone when it comes to the North.

I would argue that there's really no need to worry. Northern Ireland is not an area that a prudent Prime Minister will simply "brush aside", because of the nightmare it can become if things get nasty. Besides, with the hard work done- for now- as regards the peace process, Brown will know that it'll do him no harm to be associated with such a success story. It's already seen as the most important part of Blair's legacy.

Secondly, Brown, in his manoeuvres ahead of announcing his first cabinet line-up, has indicated that the post of Northern Ireland Secretary will be a stand-alone position once more (Peter Hain has responsiblity for Wales as well). He's offered the job to Paddy Ashdown, a former Liberal Democrat leader who was UN High Representative in Bosnia- hardly the action of a man who sees Ireland as a non-issue. He got the cold shoulder, admittedly, but now has recruited the Conservative Quentin Davies, himself a former spokesman on Northern Ireland. We're also talking about the man who Paisley and McGuinness squeezed over a billion pounds out of as part of the restoration of devolved government.

Britain has always longed to disentangle itself from the "Irish question", of course, now that most people there no longer reciprocate the fanatical devotion of the Unionist minority. But Gordon Brown will not be the man who turns Britain's back on us.