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Northern Ireland Bill

I take fully the hon. Gentleman’s point. It is the corollary of the point that I have just made—it is the other side of the coin. Given the point that the Government are at in pushing through some of these disagreeable measures, people might well have cause to allow the failure of the exercise so that they do not have to take responsibility for managing and steering those affairs from then on. So long as they can blame somebody else for that failure, they are home in a boat, as they would see it. I take his point and I hope that the Secretary of State is persuaded by the fact that there is a clear, strong argument, in terms of realpolitik, for this particular amendment. I will not speak to the amendments that we do not support. In this group, we are supportive of the amendments from the Ulster Unionist party on ensuring that the election of the First and Deputy First Ministers is carried out absolutely on the basis that was specified in the Good Friday agreement.